What is System of Rice Intensification?
{{Orphan|date=February 2022}} {{Simple|date=January 2025}} The '''System of Rice Intensification''' ('''SRI''') is a way to grow rice. This plan for [[farming]] may grow more [[rice]] in the same field. It uses less water, takes more work, and uses younger seedlings spaced apart. SRI calls for hand weeding with special tools. It was started in 1983 by the [[France|French]] [[Jesuit]] [[Priest|Father]] Henri de Laulanié in [[Madagascar]].<ref name=henri>[http://www.tropicultura.org/text/v29n3/183.pdf Intensive Rice Farming in Madagascar] by H. De Laulanié, in [http://www.tropicultura.org/ Tropicultura], 2011, 29, 3, 183-187</ref> Full testing and spread of the system throughout the rice growing parts of the world did not happen until some years later with the help of schools like Cornell University. ==History and main ideas of SRI== Writing the plan now called SRI started in the 1960s when Fr. de Laulanie kept notes on growing rice. The SRI plan includes using less water and hand planting very young seedlings in a square.<ref name=henri/> The SRI plan continues to change. Sometimes people try to use only rain for water, and sometimes people try to plant seeds instead of young plants. The main parts of SRI plan written by [[Cornell University]], New York are:<ref>[http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/methods/index.html Cornell University, System of Rice Intensification]</ref> * Rice field soils are kept moist, not always full of water. Less water in the soil helps root growth and helps keep the soil full of helpful organisms. * Rice plants are planted alone and spaced wider apart to permit roots to grow more and give every leaf more sunshine. * Rice seedlings are planted young, less than 15 days old with just two leaves. Planting should be fast, and not hard to avoid hurting the roots and causing shock to the plants. ==Spread of SRI== Thanks to [[Norman Uphoff]], the SRI plan has spread from Madagascar to many places around the world. Norman Uphoff was director of the [http://ciifad.cornell.edu Cornell Inte