INFLUENCE OF SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION (SRI) PRACTICES ON GRAIN YIELD AND ASSOCIATED PHYSIOLOGICAL CHANGES IN RICE PLANTS COMPARED TO CONVENTIONAL FLOODED RICE AMOD KUMAR THAKUR, SREELATA RATH and ASHWANI KUMAR

System of Rice Intensification (SRI) management practices depart from conventionallyrecommended methods for rice cultivation, aiming to provide rice plants with optimal growing conditions, to enhance yield and resource productivity (Stoop et al. 2002). The benefits of SRI practices have been seen already in 42 countries and are reported to increase yields of irrigated rice by 25–50% or even more (Ceesay et al. 2006; Chapagain and Yamaji 2010; Kabir and Uphoff 2007; Namara et al. 2008; Sato and Uphoff 2007; Satyanarayana et al. 2007; Sinha and Talati 2007; Thakur et al. 2010b; Tsujimoto et al. 2009; Zhao et al. 2010). However, little is known about how SRI practices affect rice plants’ morphology, their physiology, and their implications on crop performance. This investigation undertook to assess, through standard agronomic methods, what if any phenotypical changes would be induced by changes in management practices.