IRAN
Summary
Encouraged by the Deputy Minister for Extension in the Ministry of Agriculture, the Agronomy Group of Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center started SRI trials in 2004 with guidance from CIIFAD's SRI website. During 2005-2008, various experiments with traditional, improved and hybrid varieties were undertaken at the experiment station and in farmers' fields with positive results (see 2006, 2007 and 2008 reports). After the first year, a training program on SRI was established for farmers and governmental rice staff. The 2008 report notes that, in addition to reducing water use by 2/3, SRI practices "increase rice yield about 60% due to higher tiller number and panicle number, increasing numbers of grains per panicle, percentage of ripened grains, root and plant health, resistance to lodging, and tolerance to pest damage." H. Aghagolzadeh has designed the first rotary weeders in Iran that can be used with SRI.
Progress and Activities
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2008 SRI Report for Iran
Bahman Amiri Larijani, head of the agronomy department at the Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center in
Amol, near the Caspian Sea, has sent in a report (with photos) from the 2008trialsboth on-station and
in farmers' fields. Average SRI yield advantagehasbeen 60% thus far. The three
years of on-farm trials have shown a 64% advantage for SRI methods, 6 tons/ha
vs. 3.65 tons, using less than 2/3 as much water as usual. Of the various
on-station SRI experiments with organic and chemical fertilizers, trials using
chicken manure plus NPK fertilizer gave an average yield of 7 tons/ha.
Larijani's colleague, Mr. H. Aghagolzadeh, has designed the first rotary
weeders in Iran that can be used with SRI(see photos at left and right; click
on the photos to enlarge). -
2007 Trials Confirm Yield Benefits of SRI
Larijani sent in a report (436
kb) on the trials conducted
during 2007 on-station and on nearby farmers' fields, evaluating the impact of
SRI practices on a favored local variety (Tarom), an improved variety, and a
hybrid. The comparisons with conventional methods are reported as follows:
Local variety yield was increased from 3.6 to 5.8 t/ha; the improved variety
yield was increased from 6.1 to 9.8 t/ha; and the hybrid rice yield was
increased from 7.2 to 10.8 t/ha. The average increase was 5 6.2%, with
reduction in inputs of water and chemical fertilizer. -
2005-2006 SRI Trials in the Province of Mazandaran
Bahman Amiri Larijani, head of the agronomy group at the Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center in Amol,
evaluated SRI trials in the rice-growing province of Mazandaran near the
Caspian Sea (see report, 430 KB pdf). The main
reasons for interest in SRI practice in Iran are:- The prevalence of small-scale farms with average rice field ownership about 0.7 ha.
- High costs of production and resulting low income from rice cultivation based on the labor of family members.
- Frequent water shortages during the rice cropping season.
- Local varieties with high consumer demand give low yield with present practices and are susceptible to blast disease and lodging.
- Heavy application of agrochemical inputs that contributies to contamination of water and soil resources.
SRI research which started in 2005 on a 2 ha paddy field near the Caspian Sea continued this year with field experimental plots and demonstration fields (click on photo of the experiments at right to enlarge). Evaluation was done with a traditional variety (Tarom) that has high-quality grain and a good market price but which is generally low-yielding. The yield on farmers' fields with conventional methods was 3.65 t/ha vs. 6.0.
At the Amol research station, 12 different treatments were evaluated with different combinations of plant spacing and fertilizer treatment, together with other SRI methods. Highest yield, 7.03 t/ha, was with spacing of 25x25 cm and a combination of chemical fertilizer and chicken manure. The average yield for three spacings (25x25, 30x30 and 40x40 cm) was 5.18 t/ha with chemical fertilizer, 6.12 t/ha with chicken manure, and 6.07 t/ha with a combination of both.
Reports and Articles
- Larijani, Bahman A. 2009. The System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Islamic Republic of Iran in 2008. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center, Amol, Mazandaran, Iran. System of Rice Intensification website. (7p., 308KB pdf)
- Larijani, Bahman A. 2008. Report on System of Rice Intensification in Iran, 2007. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center, Amol, Mazandaran, Iran. System of Rice Intensification website. (4p., 435KB pdf)
- Larjani, Bahman A. 2006. System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Islamic Republic of Iran. Ministry of Jihad-e-Agriculture, Haraz Extension and Technology Development Center, Amol, Mazandaran, Iran. System of Rice Intensification website. (6p.,430KB pdf)
