Dr.B.J.PandianDirector, Water Technology

CentreTNAU, Coimbatore-3

Total geographical area (km2) 1,30,069Total population (million) 66.4Total cultivable area (million ha)

7.99(2001-02)

Total paddy area (million ha) 1.93

(2006-07)Paddy area (%) to total cultivable area

24.16

Major rice season(s) Jun – Sep, Aug – Jan, Dec– Apr

Total paddy production (million tonnes)

9.92(2006-07)

State’s contribution to national

7.08

paddy production (%)  

Paddy productivity (t ha-1) 5.14

(2006-07)All-India rank in productivity 2Constraints in paddy cultivation

Water & labour

FACTS ABOUT RICE FARMING IN TAMIL NADU

Man power requirement for transplanting is 30 man days/haTransplanting cost at Rs 150/day will be Rs 4500/HATransplanting cost for mechanical transplanting alone = 3500/HA

IRRI-MANUAL TRANSPLANTER6 ROW 0.25HA/DAY RS10000

HAND CRANKED2 ROW 0.4 HA/DAY RS12000

SINGLE WHEEL RIDING TYPE8ROW 1.52 HA/DAY RS 1,90,000

WALK BEHIND TYPE4-ROW, 0.5 -0.65 HA/DAY RS 2.2 LAKHS

4WD 6 ROW 1.75 HA /DAY RS10,00,000

4WD 8 ROW 2.5 HA/DAY RS17,50,000

Jan Feb MarApri

lMay June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec Jan

Sornavari (<120)

Kuruvai (<120)

Late samba/Th

aladi

Navarai (<120)

Early kar(<120)

Early samba 130-135

Late Pishanam

Kar SambaLate

Thaladi

Agency : Green Indus Agro tech Pvt. Ltd Tanjore

Operation : Delta Districts.

Activity : Custom Hiring, Sale of transplanters

Transplanter used : Daedong (South Korea) Specification : 6 Row 30 cm spacing

Field capacity : 4.4 ac/day of 8hrs

Operator : one @ Rs 333/day* Helper :One @Rs 200/day Fuel consumption : 2.75 to 3 lit petrol/hr The team will have to transplant a minimum of

5 acres/day and for coverage over 8acres/day Rs 100/ acre is given as incentive

Cost of six row 4WD Transplanter – 10,00,000 Cost after 50% subsidy - 5,00,000 Target pay back period - 500hrs Warranty provided by dealer for first 500 hrs of

use. The customer should compulsorily service the

transplanter after 500hrs of use. Trained operators services are provided along

with each transplanter sold. Most service providers have one to two

transpalnters

Sl.No

Cost classification Cost (Rs/acre)

1 Cost of Machine 1000

2 Fuel 250

3 Operator 67

4 Helper 40

5 Maintenance 100

6 Transport of machine

100

Total 1557

Sl.No Cost calssification Cost (Rs/acre)

1 Operating Cost 1560

2 Seed 440

3 Sowing labour 100

4 Polyethylene sheet 25

5 Total cost/ac 2125 ~2200

6 Custom rate for transplanting with nursery/ac

3000

7 Profit to service provider/ac

800

8 Management-overhead Nursery maintenance-one supervisor and one Manager for overall management

9 Machinery transport 15000/month contract

Agency : Rakkappa Farms Melavaniyangudi,

Sivagangai Propriter : K.Kanna Subramanian,MA

Operation : Supplies mat seedling all over state

Activity : Sale of seedling mat grown on coirpith and custom transplanting

Nursery : Nursery raised on trays Nursery medium : Coirpith Sowing : with automatic tray

sowing machine @450 trays/hr

Watering : Sprinklers Capacity : 20 acres/day 1400

trays/day

Sl.No Cost Calssification Cost in Rs

1 Cost of one tray 25

2 No of trays/ac 70

3 Cost of seedling including transporting

1750

4Cost of custom transplanting Rs 20/tray

5 Transplanting cost 1400

6Total cost of transplanting 3150/ac

7Complete package with seedling 4500/ac

Manual

Automatic

Agency : PACs (10 Nos.) Salem Dist (More than 2200 PACS to setup Agro service centers )

Initiative : Joint Registrar of cooperatives

Operation : Custom hiring of VST Yanji Transplanters weeders , tractors and Power tillers

Activity : Tray nursery raised at farmers holdings with or without SRI template seeder Transplanting done by Green army voluenteers Cost Rs 3000/ac

Under the Tegra technology, paddy seedlings are grown in a special media comprising straw, soil, nutrients, chemicals and other such things in a tray.

The seedlings are developed in a nursery and then replanted after 15 days with a special transplant machinery. Syngenta offers the technology at Rs 75 a tray and an acre requires 70 trays

There are reportedly seven centers in Tamil Nadu for providing transplanting services

Now cost of crop care concept works out to Rs 6000/ac

The transplanter service provider will get Rs 20/tray

Video

Sl. No

Transplanter-Make

Numbers (Approximate)

1 Yanmar 8 row 60

2 Kubota 6 row 70

3 Deodang 6 Row 35

4 Kukje 6 Row 25

4 WD Transplanters 190

1 Kukje 4 row 50

2 Southern agro Chennai

500

3 Kubota 4 row 200

4 Yanchi 8 row 200

5 Deodang 4 row 6

Total 956

Rapid growth with coverage of 5% area at present

Emergence of centralized nursery for supply of seedlings at Sivaganga, Kumbakonam and Vaipoor

Emergence of transplanter service providers.

Subsidy on machines by government is a great driver

Mechanized transplanting has spread in delta and slowly increasing in other districts

High demand for mechanized transplanting in Northern districts of Kancheepuram, Chengalpet Thruvannamalai.

Trend seems to favour custom hiring services

System of Rice Intensification (SRI)System of Rice Intensification (SRI)

Younger seedlings

(14-15 days old)

Reduction in nursery area &

seed rate(100 m2/ha7.5kg/ha

Alternate wetting

and Drying

Mechanical weeding

(4 times from 10 DAT)

Square Plantingof single seedling& wider Spacing

(25 x 25 cm)

Components

Progress made

a.2007-08 – AMRC, TNAU, Coimbatoreb.2008-09 – AEC&RI, Kumulurc.2009-10 – VST – PPP Mode

Basins covered

Varaganadhi – Vilupuram Upper vellar – Salem Agniyar – TanjurTherkar – Madurai Aliyar - Coimbatore Pennaiyar- Krishnagiri

AMRC, TNAU, Coimbatore

Seed rate50 / 75 / 100 / 125 g per Mat

AEC&RI, Kumulur

AEC&RI, Kumulur

AEC&RI, Kumulur

AEC&RI, Kumulur

One kg table salt in 10 lit of waterVST, PPP Mode

VST, PPP Mode

IMPROVED MAT NURSERY FOR MACHINE TRANSPLANTING

VST, PPP Mode

VST, PPP Mode

VST, PPP Mode

Sub basinArea

covered (ha)

Averg. Grain yield (kg/ha) %

increaseTransplant

erConvention

al

Varaganadhi 30 6200 5200 19.2

Upper vellar

15 6175 5240 17.8

Aliyar 5 5940 4750 25.0

Therkar 5 6410 5170 23.9

Agniyar 8 6840 5090 34.4

VST, PPP Mode

TNAU – SRI GREEN ARMY Mechanical ‘Yanchi’ Rice Transplanter

“Due to square planting, there was enough aeration and sun light between plants. In addition there was no rat problem”

Area covered: 100 acres of (100 farmers) SRI in pillekothur, Pathakotta, Podur, Gangapuram, Gobachandram, Kamandoddi and Kaverinagar.

Each machine covered 2.5 ac per day and farmers were charged Rs.1500/ac.

Benefits: Time saving and better yield Average Yield: 3.30 t / ac (Demo); conventional (2.60 t/ ac)

Pennaiyar (upto Krishnagiri) Sub basin

TNAU – SRI GREEN ARMY Mechanical ‘Yanchi’ Rice Transplanter

“Due to square planting, there was enough aeration and sun light between plants. In addition there was no rat problem”

Area covered: 100 acres of (100 farmers) SRI in pillekothur, Pathakotta, Podur, Gangapuram, Gobachandram, Kamandoddi and Kaverinagar.

Each machine covered 2.5 ac per day and farmers were charged Rs.1500/ac.

Benefits: Time saving and better yield Average Yield: 3.30 t / ac (Demo); conventional (2.60 t/ ac)

Pennaiyar (upto Krishnagiri) Sub basin

World bank New Innovations

Comparative performance of SRI- Mechanical Rice transplanter with other methods of rice cultivation

ParticularsConventional

random planting

SRISRI with

mechanical rice transplanter

Plant population (m-2) 24 19.75 17.65

No. of seedlings (hill-1) 5.2 1.4 2.9

Age of seedlings 22.5 15.9 17.8

No. of productive tillers (hill-1) 14.1 24.6 28.7

No. of grains (panicle -1) 184.1 209.7 208

Grain yield (kg/ha) 6400 8000 8275

Man hours consumed 1778 1153 903

labour producutivity 3.6 6.9 9.2

Irrigation water used 1180 885 921

Water productivity 5.4 9.04 8.98

Hurdles faced in the farmers’ fieldSieved soil was used in many locations to avoid small stones if not hinders planting

Incidence of sucking pest in the nurseries probably due to enriched rooting media

Experienced drivers only could achieve square planting in the entire field

Main field preparation to the needed condition was a problem and convincing the farmer to dry the field was a major hurdle

Being canal irrigated area, water management during initial period was so cumbersome

Matching sowing of nursery and main field preparation was also tough; so as to plant at appropriate age of seedlings

Paddy seedlings ready for transplanting

Machine transplanting operation at vadamadurai -03.02.2012

Machine transplanting operation at vadamadurai -03.02.2012

Comparative performance of SRI- Mechanical Rice transplanter with other methods of rice cultivation

Name of the Sub basin : ARANIYAR

Name of the Activity : SRI-Machine Transplanting Total Physical Target : 100 acresTotal No of Beneficiaries : 18

Comparison of SRI and Machine Transplanting over Conventional Method

Conventional. Yield

(kg ha-1)

SRI Yield

(kg ha-1)

SRI Machine Transplantin

g Yield(kg ha-1)

Increase in grain yield in Machine

Transplanting over Conventional

(%)

Increase in grain yield in SRI over conventional

(%)

5654 6733 6708 18.64 19.08