IRRI eyes public-private sector support for wider DSR adoption
Friday, 2018/02/16 | 05:26:24
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IRRI, 06 February 2017, Los Baños, Philippines — The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is targeting more public-private support to address key challenges in the successful and wider adoption of Direct-Seeded Rice (DSR) systems in South and Southeast Asia.
Presented during the recent launch of the Direct-Seeded Rice Consortium (DSRC), IRRI’s main proponent for the initiative, were priority areas for DSR research with particular focus on improving mechanized and precise direct-seeding practices to help current DSR end-users maximize its full benefits.
“DSR is a more resource-efficient, climate-resilient, and sustainable alternative agricultural system to manual transplanting but gaps are still present. Many agronomic DSR practices have become inefficient because of lack of mechanization, precision application, and proper education, hence the prevalent preference for manual systems,” says IRRI senior scientist and DSRC Coordinator Dr. Virender Kumar.
DSR systems are more rapidly and easily planted, less labor intensive, consume less irrigation water, mature earlier, are more conducive to mechanization, and have fewer methane emissions. Overall analysis of 77 published studies shows that various methods of direct seeding reduced the cost of production by US$9– 125 ha compared with conventional transplanting methods.
While DSR is widely practiced in many Asian countries such as Malaysia, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines, Manual Puddled Transplanted Rice (PTR) system is still the predominant method or rice establishment in most parts of Asia. Other setbacks to its wider adoption are DSR-associated risks including weed infestation and yield losses.
To address these gaps and ease end-users’ transition from PTR to DSR, the consortium will propose science-based, scalable solutions for precise crop and weed management, characterizing areas suitable for DSR, GIS-guided sowing windows and crop modelling approaches, and efficient evaluation of new superior rice cultivars adapted to DSR conditions.
See more: http://irri.org/news/media-releases/irri-eyes-public-private-sector-support-for-wider-dsr-adoption
Figure: DSRC members with IRRI DDGR Jacqueline Hughes load seeds in a mechanical direct seeder for ceremonial planting. |
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