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Title: Agroecological Strategies for Raising Crop Productivity with Reduced Inputs, with Less Water Requirement, and with Buffering of Climate-Change Stresses Speaker: Norman Uphoff, Cornell University, USA Presented at: ECHO 20th Annual Agricultural Conference Venue: ECHO, Ft. Myers, FL - December 10, 2013
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Agroecological Strategies for Raising Crop Productivity with Reduced Inputs, with Less Water Requirement, and with Buffering of Climate-Change Stresses
Norman Uphoff, Cornell University, USA
ECHO 20th Annual Agricultural Conference
Ft. Myers, FL - December 10, 2013
In the 21st century, we will need to learn how to
PRODUCE MORE FROM LESS
This paradoxical relationship will be needed for sustainable agricultural development
Amount of arable LAND per capita is declining, with less and less reliable supplies of WATER,
and higher ENERGY costs and prices of INPUTS
We need to protect and maintain the quality of our NATURAL RESOURCES -- soil, water, air -- and to ensure broad access to APPROPRIATE TECHNOLOGIES to reduce hunger & poverty
Green Revolution technologies from 1960s contributed to meeting food needs in past
century – but they are becoming less relevant to the emerging conditions of the 21st century
What was the central thrust of GR technology? • Development and use of NEW VARIETIES, • Application of more EXTERNAL INPUTS, • Provision of more/reliable WATER, plus
• Agrochemical CROP PROTECTION
How many know the book by Francis Chaboussou, Healthy Crops: A New Agricultural Revolution (1985 in
French, English translation 2004)? Presents his theory of ‘trophobiosis’ - formulated by an INRA ag scientist
Green Revolution strategy has come to be seen as the necessary, indeed the best or the only way to achieve higher crop yields and more productivity
However, this seeds + fertilizer (+ water) strategy has been encountering diminishing returns
Diminishing returns to agrochemical inputs are being experienced clearly in China
At the start of China’s Green Revolution, farmers’ agronomic N-use efficiency was 15-20 kg rice/kg N
• By 1981-83, this had fallen to 9.1 kg rice/kg N (Lin, 1991)
• By 2001, it was 6.4 kg rice/kg N in Zhejiang province (Wang et al., 2001)
• By 2006, this ratio was 5-10 kg rice/kg N (Peng et al., 2006) – and it is still declining
S.B. Peng et al., “Improving N fertilization in rice… “
Agronomy for Sustainable Development, 30 (2010), 649-656.
At the same time, nitrate (NO3) levels in China’s groundwater supplies have been
rising rapidly, from overuse of N fertilizer
Already 10 years ago, in many parts of China, level of NO3 in groundwater was >300 ppm
-- in the US, the EPA allows only 50 ppm J.L. Hatfield, “Nitrogen over-use, under-use and efficiency.”
Paper presented to 4th International Crop Science Congress, Brisbane, Australia, September, 2004
This kind of agricultural practice has unacceptable consequences and a bleak future
Fortunately, there are alternatives to this genocentric, input-dependent strategy,
ones that are very productive and economic:
AGROECOLOGICAL METHODOLOGIES
These methodologies (methods, practices)
mobilize and utilize the biological potentials
and ecological processes and dynamics that
already exist within crop plants and that are
inherent in the soil systems within which
plants grow
Agroecological methods promote the growth of more productive PHENOTYPES
from any given GENOTYPE, i.e., variety -- does everyone know the difference?
HOW? by managing agroecosystems more productively -- rather than by focusing on
and mostly relying on external inputs HOW CAN THIS BE DONE? By improving
crops’ growing environments -- both below and above ground – this focuses on the
E factor in geneticists’ symbolic equation:
P = ƒ G + E + GxE
Agroecological practices modify and optimize the management of
plants, soil, water and nutrients, in ways that mobilize the services of the
PLANT-SOIL MICROBIOME, i.e., the multitude of beneficial microorganisms
that live in, on and around plants
Much as beneficial microorganisms
live in, on and around our human bodies, in what is called the human microbiome
Agroecological approaches include:
• Agroforestry
• Conservation agriculture (CA)
• Holistic land and livestock management (Allan Savory)
• Integrated pest management (IPM)
• Integrated crop-fish culture
• System of Rice Intensification (SRI)
• System of Crop Intensification (SCI)
Today we focus on the latter: SRI and SCI
SRI by changing management of the plants, soil, water and nutrients for growing rice: A. Induces plants to have larger, healthier
and better functioning ROOT SYSTEMS, B. Nurtures soil systems that have larger
populations of SOIL ORGANISMS which are more biodiverse and more active
Both roots & soil biota make crucial contributions to crop production, and they can reduce the current demand for both water and nitrogen fertilizer
Evidence on water saving and productivity: A meta-analysis of 29 published studies (2006-2013), with results from 251 comparison trials across 8 countries
Water use: SRI mgmt 12.03 million liters ha-1
Standard 15.33 million liters ha-1
SRI reduction in total water use = 22% SRI reduction in irrigation water use = 35% with 11% more yield (SRI 5.9 tons ha-1 vs. 5.1 tons ha-1 - usually SRI yield increase is much greater than this)
Total WUE 0.6 vs. 0.39 grams/liter (52% more) Irrigation WUE 1.23 vs. 0.69 grams/liter (78%more)
P. Jagannath, H. Pullabhotla and N. Uphoff, “Evaluation of water use, water saving and water use efficiency in irrigated rice production with
SRI vs. traditional management,” Taiwan Water Conservancy (2013)
Some demonstrations of how more productive phenotypes
are being obtained from available crop genotypes –
without reliance on new varieties,
or on chemical fertilizer, and with less water requirement,
because of better root systems and enhanced life in the soil
NEPAL: Farmer with a rice plant
grown from a single seed
with SRI methods
in Morang district
CUBA: Farmer with two plants of the same variety (VN 2084) and same age (52 DAS)
Indonesia: Stump of a rice plant (modern
variety) grown from a single seed with SRI management
methods -- having 223 tillers &
massive root growth
Panda’an, E. Java, 2009
IRAQ: Comparison trials at Al-Mishkhab Rice Research Station, Najaf
SRI
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
IH H FH MR W R YRStage
Org
an d
ry w
eig
ht(
g/h
ill)
IH H FH MR WR YR
CK Yellow leafand sheath
Panicle
Leaf
Sheath
Stem
47.9% 34.7%
Non-Flooding Rice Farming Technology in Irrigated Paddy Field Dr. Tao Longxing, China National Rice Research Institute, 2004
Results of trials conducted by the China National Rice Research Institute over two years, 2004/2005, using 2 super-hybrid varieties with an intention to break the ‘yield plateau’ now limiting hybrids
Standard Rice Mgmt
• 30-day seedlings
• 20x20 cm spacing
• Continuous flooding
• Fertilization:
– 100% chemical
New Rice Mgmt (~ 75% ‘SRI’)
• 20-day seedlings
• 30x30 cm spacing
• Alt. wetting/drying (AWD)
• Fertilization:
– 50/50 chemical/organic
X.Q. Lin, D.F. Zhu, H.Z. Chen, S.H. Cheng and N. Uphoff (2009). “Effect of
plant density and nitrogen fertilizer rates on grain yield and nitrogen uptake of hybrid rice (Oryza sativa L.)” Journal of Agricultural
Biotechnology and Sustainable Development, 1(2): 44-53
Average yields of (kg/ha) hybrid varieties with ‘new rice management’ vs. standard rice
management at different plant densities per ha
0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
10000
150,000 180,000 210,000
NRM
SRM
Plant population per hectare
SRI practices yield more productive phenotypes -- Chinese farmers are WASTING seeds and water and N fertilizer
SRI methods have set a new world yield record
Paddy production: Bihar
panchayat breaks China’s record New Delhi, Mar 20: A gram panchayat in Nalanda district of Bihar has
surpassed the Chinese record of paddy production,
the Union Agriculture Minister Mr Sharad Pawar
informed Parliament today. “As per the reports
received from the state government, the yield of wet
paddy has been recorded at 22.4 tonnes per hectare
and that of dry paddy at 20.16 tonnes a hectare ...,”
Mr Pawar said in a written reply to Lok Sabha.
The record yield was achieved under demonstration
on System of Rice Intensification (SRI) which was
organised at farmer’s field during kharif 2011, he
added. “It has surpassed the yield of 19 tonnes per
hectare which was recorded earlier in China.”
Before 1999: Madagascar 1999-2000: China, Indonesia 2001-02: Bangladesh, Cuba, Laos, Cambodia, Gambia, India, Nepal, Myanmar, Philippines, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Thailand 2003: Benin, Guinea, Mozambique, Peru 2004-05: Senegal, Pakistan, Vietnam 2006: Burkina Faso, Bhutan, Iran, Iraq, Zambia
2007: Afghanistan, Brazil, Mali
2008: Rwanda, Costa Rica, Egypt, Ecuador, Ghana, Japan
2009: Malaysia, Timor Leste
2010: Kenya, DPRK, Panama, Haiti
2011: Colombia, Korea, Taiwan, Tanzania
2012: Burundi, Dominican Republic, Niger, Nigeria, Togo
2013: Malawi, Cameroon
2013: SRI’s phenotypic benefits have been seen now in >50 countries of Asia, Africa, and Latin America
These changes in crop management can be effective in very different and
quite contrasting agroecosystems:
* AFGHANISTAN: Baghlan province 1600 masl, temperate climate, with a short growing season
* MALI: Timbuktu province
on the edge of the Sahara Desert, with hot, dry subtropical climate
AFGHANISTAN: SRI field in Baghlan Province, supported by Aga Khan Foundation Natural Resource Management program
AKF technician making a field visit in Baghlan province
SRI field at 30 days
SRI plant @ 72 days after transplanting
with 133 tillers 11.56 t/ha
2008: 6 farmers got SRI yields of 10.1 t/ha vs. 5.4 t/ha regular methods 2009: 42 farmers got SRI yields of 9.3 t/ha vs. 5.6 t/ha with regular methods - 2nd year SRI farmers got
13.3 t/ha vs. 5.6 t/ha - 1st year SRI farmers got
8.7 t/ha vs. 5.5 t/ha 2011: 106 farmers got SRI yields of 10.1 t/ha vs. 5.04 t/ha with regular methods
All were using less water
MALI -- SRI nursery in Timbuktu region – 8-day seedlings are ready for transplanting
SRI transplanting on edge of Sahara Desert
Mali farmer working with the NGO Africare
in Timbuktu region with support from BUF,
showing difference between rice plants: regular (left) and SRI
2007/08: 1 farmer -
SRI yield of 8.98 t/ha 2008/09: 60 farmers -
9.01 vs. 5.49 t/ha 2009/10: 130 farmers –
7.71 vs. 4.48 t/ha using 32% less water
Gao region ave.: 7.84 t/ha
Mopti region ave.: 7.85 t/ha
Environmental Benefits with SRI: 1. Reduced water requirements – higher crop water-use
efficiency -- puts less pressure on ecosystems in competition with agriculture for water supplies
2. Higher land productivity – reducing pressures for the expansion of arable area to feed growing populations
3. Less use of inorganic fertilizer – reactive N is “the third major threat to our planet after biodiversity loss and climate change” (John Lawton, former chief executive, UK National Environmental Research Council)
4. Less reliance on agrochemicals for crop protection - which enhances the quality of both soil and water
5. Buffering against the effects of climate change – drought, storms (resist lodging), cold temperatures
6. Some reduction in greenhouse gases (GHG) – CH4 can be reduced without producing offsetting N2O
Other Benefits from Changes in Practices
1. Water saving – major concern in many places, also now have ‘rainfed’ version with similar results
2. Greater resistance to biotic and abiotic stresses – less damage from pests and diseases, drought, typhoons, flooding, cold spells [discuss tomorrow]
3. Shorter crop cycle – same varieties are harvested by 1-3 weeks sooner, save water, less crop risk
4. High milling output – by about 15%, due to fewer unfilled grains (less chaff) and fewer broken grains
5. Reductions in labor requirements – widely reported incentive for changing practices in India and China; also, mechanization is being introduced many places
6. Reductions in costs of production – greater farmer income and profitability, also health benefits
Drought-resistance: Rice fields in Sri Lanka 3 weeks after irrigation stopped because of drought -- conventionally-grown field is on left,
and SRI field is on right-- same variety, same soil, same climate
Results from Bihar State, 2007-2011 Data from Bihar Rural Livelihood Promotion Society, Govt. of Bihar
SYSTEM OF RICE INTENSIFICATION -- state ave. 2.3 t/ha
2007 2008 2009 2010
Climatic conditions Normal rainfall
Water submergence occurred 2x
Drought, but rainfall in
Sept.
Complete drought
No. of smallholders 128 5,146 8,367 19,911
Area under SRI (ha) 30 544 786 1,412
SRI yield (t/ha) 10.0 7.75 6.5 3.22*
Conv. yield (t/ha) 2.7 2.36 2.02 1.66*
,
SYSTEM OF WHEAT INTENSIFICATION -- state ave. 2.4 t/ha
2008-09 2009-10 2010-11
No. of smallholders 415 25,235 48,521
Area under SWI (ha) 16 1,200 2,536
SWI average yield (t/ha) 3.6 4.5 NA
Conv. average yield (t/ha) 1.6 1.6 NA
* Results from measurements of yield on 74 farmers’ SRI and conventional fields
Year 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 Total
SRI area (ha) 1,133 7,267 57,400 117,267 204,467 252,467 301,067 941,068
SRI yield (kg/ha) 9,105 9,435 8,805 9,075 9,300 9,495 9,555 9,252
Non-SRI yield (kg/ha) 7,740 7,650 7,005 7,395 7,575 7,710 7,740 7,545
SRI increment (t/ha)* 1,365 1,785 1,800# 1,680 1,725 1,785 1,815# 1,708
SRI % increase in yield* 17.6% 23.3% 25.7% 22.7% 22.8% 23.2% 23.5% 22.7%
Increased grain (tons) 1,547 12,971 103,320 197,008 352,705 450,653 546,436 1,664,640
Grain price (RMB
Yuan/kg) 1.44 1.44 1.44 1.50 1.80 1.84 1.95 1.63
Added net income due
to SRI (million RMB)* 1.28 11.64 106.51 205.10 450.85 571.69 704.27
2,051
($300 m)
* Comparison is with Sichuan provincial average for paddy yield and SRI profitability # In drought years, SRI yields were relatively higher than with conventional methods Source: Data are from the Sichuan Provincial Department of Agriculture.
CHINA: SRI extension and impact in Sichuan, 2004-10
Storm resistance: Adjacent fields
after being hit by a tropical storm
in Dông Trù village, Hanoi province,
Vietnam
On left are SRI field
and rice plant; on right, conventional
field and plant
Same variety was used in both fields -- on right, we see serious lodging;
on left, no lodging
Incidence of diseases and pests in Vietnam: National IPM Program evaluation -- averages of data from on-farm trials in 8 provinces, 2005-06:
Spring season Summer season
SRI plots
Farmer plots
Differ-ence
SRI plots
Farmer Plots
Differ-ence
Sheath blight
6.7% 18.1% 63.0% 5.2% 19.8% 73.7%
Leaf blight -- -- -- 8.6% 36.3% 76.5%
Small leaf folder *
63.4 107.7 41.1% 61.8 122.3 49.5%
Brown plant hopper *
542 1,440 62.4% 545 3,214 83.0%
AVERAGE 55.5% 70.7%
* Insects/m2
Resistance to both biotic and abiotic stresses: fields were hit by both brown planthopper (BPH) and by storm damage in Indonesia – the rice field on left was grown with standard
practices, while the field on the right is organic SRI
Modern improved
variety (Ciherang) – no yield
Traditional aromatic variety
(Sintanur) - 8 t/ha
Comparison of methane gas emission
CT SRI
kg C
H4 / h
a
0
200
400
600
800
1000
840.1
237.6
72 %
Treatment Emission (kg/ha) CO2 ton/ha
equivalent CH4 N2O
CT 840.1 0 17.6
SRI 237.6 0.074 5.0
SRI practices are now being used beyond rice, for broader System of Crop Intensification (SCI)
Farmer-led innovations with civil society help in:
• Wheat (SWI) -- India, Nepal, Ethiopia, Mali
• Sugarcane (SSI) -- India, Cuba
• Finger millet (SFMI) -- India, Ethiopia
• Mustard (rapeseed/canola) -- India
• Teff -- Ethiopia
• Sorghum – Ethiopia
Also: maize, soya bean, black gram, green gram, red gram, tomatoes, chilies, eggplant, sesame, turmeric, etc. -- India, Ethiopia
Crops Yield increase
Profitability per ha
Rice 86% 250%
Wheat 72% 86%
Oil seeds 50% 93%
Pulses 56% 67%
Vegetables 20% 37% Enhancing Agricultural Livelihoods through
Community Institutions in Bihar, India (2013) D. Behera et al., World Bank India Office,
New Delhi, and JEEVIKA, Patna, India
Report on System of Crop Intensification (SCI) results in the Indian state of Bihar
System of Wheat Intensification on-farm trials in Tigray Province, Ethiopia, 2009-10,
supported by a grant from Oxfam America to Institute for Sustainable Development (ISD)
-- 39 grains vs. 56 grains per panicle
SWI results in Mali (1st year) Africare program, 2009
• Seed reduction: 94% (10 vs 170 kg/ha)
• Yield increase: 10% (2.2 vs 2.0 t/ha)
• Labor reduction: 40% • Irrigation water reduction: 30% • Problems: mortality, spacing was too
wide (25cm x 25cm 20 x 20 cm)
SWI: 10.2 cm Traditional: 4.2 cm Panicle length: Numbers of tillers
18.4 3.7
Panicles of SWI wheat in Bihar, India
In 2012, area with SWI management >180,000 ha, aided
by JEEVIKA program with WB/IDA support
ICRISAT-WWF Sugarcane Initiative: • 20-100% more cane yield, with
• 30% reduction in water, and
• 25% reduction in chemical inputs
“The inspiration for putting
this package together is from the successful
approach of SRI – System of Rice Intensification.”
System of Teff Intensification
(STI) in Ethiopia now supported by the government’s
Agricultural Transformation
Agency (ATA) and BMGF
Transplanted teff on left; conventional
broadcast teff on right
7,000 farmers in 2012, plus 160,000 farmers practicing STI ‘lite’
(drilled > transplanted)
These results do not argue against making further genetic improvements or against any use of external inputs
They do suggest, however, that progress can be made right now at low cost with savings of water and with buffering against climate
change -- by changing crop management practices, especially by attending to the
purposeful nurturing of roots and soil biota
WHAT IS GOING ON?
Two practical conclusions: 1. Instead of focusing so much on
‘feeding the plant’ (with fertilizer), we should be ‘feeding the soil’
with organic matter, so that the soil system will feed the plant 2. Rather than focus so much on growing plants (above ground),
we should do whatever is needed to grow roots! -- because it is the root systems that grow the plant
With SRI/SCI we see the importance of the abundance, diversity and activity of beneficial SOIL ORGANISMS promoted by soil organic matter and by exudates
from large, functioning ROOT SYSTEMS which support plant growth and health
We are just starting to understand
better the contributions of symbiotic endophytes to mobilizing the services for crops of the plant-soil microbiome
Soil-aerating hand weeder in Sri Lanka costing <$20
Effects of ‘Active Soil Aeration’
412 farmers in Morang district of Nepal when using SRI in monsoon season, 2005
SRI yield = 6.3 t/ha vs. control yield = 3.1 t/ha
Data show how WEEDINGS can raise yield
No. of No. of Average Range
weedings farmers yield of yields
1 32 5.16 (3.6 - 7.6)
2 366 5.87 (3.5 - 11.0)
3 14 7.87 (5.85 - 10.4)
No. of mech.
weedings
Farmers
(N)
Area
(ha)
Harvest
(kg)
Yield
(t/ha)
0 2 0.11 657 5.973
1 8 0.62 3,741 7.723
2 27 3.54 26,102 7.373
3 24 5.21 47,516 9.120
4 15 5.92 69,693 11.772
Impact of weedings on yield with SRI methods in Ambatovaky, Madagascar, 1997-98
ENDOPHYTIC AZOSPIRILLUM, TILLERING, AND RICE YIELDS WITH CULTIVATION
PRACTICES AND NUTRIENT AMENDMENTS Replicated trials at Anjomakely, Madagascar, 2001 (Andriankaja, 2002)
CLAY SOIL Azospirillum in roots
(103 CFU/mg)
Tillers/ plant
Yield (t/ha)
Traditional cultivation, no amendments
65 17 1.8
SRI cultivation, with no amendments
1,100 45 6.1
SRI cultivation, with NPK amendments
450 68 9.0
SRI cultivation, with compost
1,400 78 10.5
LOAM SOIL SRI cultivation with no amendments
75 32 2.1
SRI cultivation, with compost
2,000 47 6.6
Microbial populations in rice rhizosphere Tamil Nadu Agricultural University research
Microorganisms Conventional
management
SRI management
Total bacteria 88 x 106 105 x 106 (20% more)
Azospirillum 8 x 105 31 x 105 (~4x more)
Azotobacter 39 x 103 66 x 103 (~2x more)
Phosphobacteria 33 x 103 59 x 103 (~2x more)
T. M. Thiyagarajan, WRRC presentation, Tsukuba, Japan, 2004
Total bacteria Total diazotrophs
Microbial populations in rhizosphere soil of rice crop under different management at active tillering, panicle initiation, and flowering (conv. = red; SRI = yellow). Units are √ transformed values of population/gram of dry soil (data from IPB)
Phosphobacteria \
Azotobacter
0
10
20
30
40
Dehydrogenase activity (μg TPF) Urease activity (μg NH4-N))
Microbial activity in rhizosphere soil of rice crop under different management (conv. = red; SRI = yellow) at active tillering, panicle initiation, and flowering stages
Units are √ transformed values of population/gram of dry soil per 24 h
Acid phosphate activity (μg p-Nitrophenol) \
Nitrogenase activity (nano mol C2H4)
Total microbes and numbers of beneficial microbes (CFU mg-1) under conventional and SRI cultivation methods, Tanjung Sari, Indonesia, Feb.-Aug. 2009 (Iswandi et al., 2009)
Cultivation method and fertilization
Total microbes
(x105)
Azoto-bacter (x103)
Azospi- rillum (x103)
P-solubilizing bacteria
(x104)
Conventional mgmt (NPK) 2.3a 1.9a 0.9a 3.3a
Inorganic SRI (with NPK) 2.7a 2.2a 1.7ab 4.0a
Organic SRI (compost) 3.8b 3.7b 2.8bc 5.9b
Inorganic SRI + biofertilizer 4.8c 4.4b 3.3c 6.4b
These results suggest the importance of
studying and understanding the
contributions that are made by
symbiotic endophytes
(aka endophytic symbionts) – major
parts of the plant-soil microbiome
“Ascending Migration of Endophytic Rhizobia, from Roots and Leaves, inside Rice Plants and Assessment of
Benefits to Rice Growth Physiology”
Feng Chi et al., Applied and Envir. Microbiology 71: 7271-7278 (2005)
Rhizo-bium strain
Total plant root vol/pot
(cm3) ± SE
Shoot dry wt/pot
(g) ± SE
Net photosyn- thesis rate
(µmol of CO2 m-2 s-1) ± SE
Water utilization efficiency
± SE
Grain yield/pot
(g) ± SE
Ac-ORS 571
210 ± 36A
63 ± 2A
16.42 ± 1.39A
3.63 ± 0.17BC
86 ± 5A
Sm-1021 180 ± 26A
67 ± 5A
14.99 ± 1.64B
4.02 ± 0.19AB
86 ± 4A
Sm-1002 168 ± 8AAB
52 ± 4BC
13.70 ± 0.73B
4.15 ± 0.32A
61 ± 4B
R1-2370 175 ± 23A
61 ± 8AB
13.85 ± 0.38B
3.36 ± 0.41C
64 ± 9B
Mh-93 193 ± 16A
67 ± 4A
13.86 ± 0.76B
3.18 ± 0.25CD
77 ± 5A
Control 130 ± 10B
47 ± 6C
10.23 ± 1.03C
2.77 ± 0.69D
51 ± 4C
“Proteomic analysis of rice seedlings infected by Sinorhizobium meliloti 1021”
Feng Chi et al., Proteomics 10: 1861-1874 (2010)
Data are based on the average linear root and shoot growth of three symbiotic (dashed line) and three nonsymbiotic (solid line) plants.
Arrows indicate the times when root hair development started.
Ratio of root and shoot growth in symbiotic and
nonsymbiotic rice plants -- seeds were inoculated with the fungus Fusarium culmorum vs. controls R. J. Rodriguez et al., ‘Symbiotic regulation of plant growth,
development and reproduction” Communicative and Integrative Biology, 2:3 (2009).
Growth of nonsymbiotic (on left) and symbiotic (on right) rice seedlings. On the growth of endophyte (F. culmorum) and plant inoculation procedures, see Rodriguez et al., Communicative and Integrative Biology, 2:3 (2009).
More productive phenotypes also can give higher water-use efficiency as measured by the ratio of photosynthesis to transpiration
For each 1 millimol of water lost by transpiration:
3.6 millimols of CO2 are fixed in SRI plants,
1.6 millimols of CO2 are fixed in RMP plants
This becomes more important with climate change
“An assessment of physiological effects of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) compared with recommended rice cultivation
practices in India,” A.K. Thakur, N. Uphoff and E. Antony Experimental Agriculture, 46(1), 77-98 (2010)
Economics, environmental vulnerabilities, and climate change effects will require a
different kind of agriculture in 21st century.
Suggest we RE-BIOLOGIZE AGRICULTURE
We need an understanding of agriculture that is more informed by microbiology, crop physiology,
soil ecology, and epigenetics – which are becoming more prominent in our contemporary science
Closing thought: Darwin’s ‘tree of life’ was good taxonomy, but not very good biology
-- We never left the microbes behind…
THANK YOU
Web page: http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/ Email: [email protected] [NTU-one]