Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA)

The Cereal Systems Initiative for South Asia (CSISA) was established in 2009 with a goal of benefiting more than 8 million farmers by the end of 2020. The project is led by the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) and implemented jointly with the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). Operating in rural ‘innovation hubs’ in Bangladesh, India and Nepal, CSISA works to increase the adoption of various resource-conserving and climate-resilient technologies, and improve farmers’ access to market information and enterprise development. CSISA supports women farmers by improving their access and exposure to modern and improved technological innovations, knowledge and entrepreneurial skills.

ICAR in collaboration with CSISA focuses on areas of the eastern Indo-Gangetic Plains dominated by small farm sizes, low incomes and comparatively low levels of agricultural mechanization, irrigation and productivity. Project hubs are located at KVKs of Bihar, eastern Uttar Pradesh and Odisha.

Present centres for field trials under ATARI Kolkata are implemented by Cuttack, Mayurbhanj-I and Bhadrak KVKs of Odisha.

CSISA Goals

• Promote widespread adoption of resource-conserving practices, technologies and services that increase yields with lower water, labour and input costs.
• Support mainstreaming innovations in national-, state- and district-level government programs to improve long-term impacts achieved through investments in the agricultural sector.
• Generate and disseminate new knowledge on cropping system management practices that can withstand the impacts of climate change in South Asia.
• Improve the policy environment to facilitate the adoption of sustainable intensification technologies.
• Build strategic partnerships that can sustain and enhance the scale of benefits accrued through improving cereal system productivity.

CSISA’s core interventions in India include:

1. Directly-sown rice (DSR) to address labour and energy constraints to precision rice establishment.
2. Strengthening the foundations of agro-advisory through knowledge organization and data integration.
3. Building precision nutrient management approaches around established and emerging scaling pathways.
4. Income-generating maize production in neglected hill and plateau ecologies.
5. Rice-fallows development in coastal Odisha.
6. Increasing the capacity of National Agricultural Research and Extension Systems (NARES) to conduct participatory on-farm technology evaluations.
7. Integrated weed management to facilitate sustainable intensification transitions in rice.
8. Accelerating the emergence of mechanized solutions for sustainable intensification.
9. Coping with climate extremes in rice–wheat cropping systems.

Budget Sanction for FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20

ICAR-ATARI Kolkata has been sanctioned an amount of Rs. 49.55 lakh for the year 2018-19. The budget sanction for 2019-20 is yet to be received.

Brief overview of the year 2017-18

The result from 10 locations in Bhadrak, Odisha revealed that seed drill sown direct seeded rice in dry soil condition recorded higher yield (5.40 t/ha) compared to traditional manual broadcasted and beushening practice (4.33 t/ha) and manual random transplanting (5.13 t/ha).The result from 12 locations in Mayurbhanj, Odisha showed that mechanical transplanting of rice recorded similar yield (5.8 t/ha) with manual line transplanting (5.6 t/ha) which is comparatively higher than manual random transplanting (4.8 t/ha). However, there is cost saving of INR 7500 /ha in mechanical transplanting compared to both manual line transplanting and manual random transplanting. Data from 10 locations in Mayurbhanj and Bhadrak districts confirmed that application of Bispyribac sodium + Pyrazosulfuron at 20 + 20 g ai/ha (200 ml+200 g/ha or 80 ml + 80 g/acre) at 15-25 days after sowing (DAS) followed by one hand weeding at 30-35 DAS recorded highest rice yield (5.7 t/ha) followed by treatment where application of pre-emergence herbicide pretilachlor with safener (SOFIT) 500 g ai/ha followed by hand weeding at 20-25 DAS recorded rice yield of (5.5 t/ha). Results from 5 locations in Mayurbhanj district showed that treatment having spacing 60 cm x 20 cm and N:P₂O₅:K₂O in the ratio of 150:75:60 recorded highest maize yield (8.1 t/ha) which is almost double compared to that of the treatment with spacing 60 cm x 30 cm and N:P₂O₅:K₂O in the ratio of 120:60:60 (4.6 t/ha).

The KVK system is acquiring new capabilities on landscape diagnostics within the digital space using Open Data Kit (ODK). The production practice survey design and its methodology were finalised through series of discussions in joint workshops in August 2017. The ODK based survey was pilot tested in December, 2017. The KVKs staff was trained on the process of randomization through 7 training sessions starting from July 2017.

Salient findings on CSISA project in Kharif, 2017-18 in KVK Bhadrak, Odisha

• Direct Seeded Rice (DSR) method has more grain yield (61.45q/ha) and no. of filled grains/panicle (107.8) followed by Manual Random Transplanting (MRT). So, DSR is superior to MRT in terms of crop establishment methods.
• Mechanical Transplanting (MT) is found to be superior with respect to rice transplanting method followed by Mechanical Line Transplanting (MLT) due to more no of panicles/m2 (330.3), 1000 grain weight (21.33) and grain weight (2.69 kg/4 m2).
• Bispyribac + pyrazosulfuron at 20 + 20 g ai/ha 15-25 DAS fb one hand weeding at 30-35 DAS (POST fb HW) is best followed by Bispyribac + pyrazosulfuron at 20 + 20 g ai/ha 15-25 DAS (POST). More no of panicles/m2 (298.6) and grain weight (2.51 kg/4 m2) are attributed for this superiority.

Salient findings on CSISA project in Rabi, 2017-18 in KVK Cuttack, Odisha

• In rainfed ecology, it is found that Rice-toria cropping system has more Biomass weight (5245.3 kg/ha) and grain weight (841.3 kg/ha) than Rice-greengram with Biomass weight (3062.6kg/ha) and grain weight (305.3 kg/ha.). So, Rice -Toria is best cropping system in rabi rainfed ecology.
• In irrigated ecology, Conventional Tillage (CT) performed better over Zero Tillage (ZT) due to its highest biomass weight (7789kg/ha) and test weight (1.12 g) in Rice-Toria ecosystem.
• The optimum sowing time for green gram is 15th of December in the residual soil moisture after rice harvest.

Salient findings on CSISA project in Rabi, 2017-18 in KVK Mayurbhanj-I, Odisha

• In rainfed ecology, it is found that green gram as rabi crop in sequence with rice performed better (green gram yielded 0.51 t/ha) as compared to toria (0.30 t/ha) or black gram (0.32 t/ha).
• The optimum sowing time of green gram in residual soil moisture after rice harvest is 3rd week of November, which produces higher yield (0.51 t/ha) as compared to green gram sowing at 1st week of December (0.38 t/ha) or at 2nd week of December (0.15 t/ha).
• The optimum sowing time of toria in residual soil moisture after medium and late rice harvest is 1st week of November, which produces more than double yield (1.05 t/ha) as compared to sowing at 3rd week of December (0.40 t/ha). The yield decreased with the increase in date of sowing time starting from 1st week of November and optimum time of sowing was found to be 1st -3rdweek of November.
• Sowing of green gram with Conventional Tillage (CT) in residual soil moisture and with one supplementary irrigation around 25-30 days after sowing recorded significantly higher green gram yield (0.93 t/ha) compared to sowing with CT in residual soil moisture without any irrigation (0.38 t/ha) or Zero Tillage (ZT) both with or without supplementary irrigation (0.25-0.45 t/ha). Hence confirmed, that one supplementary irrigation has significant yield advantage both in CT and ZT condition.

Adoptive research trials under CSISA for 2018-19 in KVKs Cuttack & Mayurbhanj-I

Trial 1:   To compare the performance of different crop establishment methods in low land ecologies of Odisha

Trial 2:   To compare the different methods of rice transplanting in double rice ecologies of Odisha

Trial 3:   To find out suitable integrated weed management option in direct seeded rice (Drill sown in dry soil)

Trial 4:   To find out suitable plant spacing and nutrient management in kharif hybrid maize in Plateau Ecology of Mayurbhanj

Trial 5:   Optimization of seed rate and weed management practices in Beushening practice of Odisha

Brief overview of the year 2018-19

KVKs Cuttack and Mayurbhanj-I in the state of Odisha has conducted the field trials during the year. Also, the ODK-Landscape Survey was conducted in 6 KVKs under ATARI Kolkata, namely KVKs Coochbehar, Hooghly and West Midnapore in the state of West Bengal and KVKs Cuttack, Mayurbhanj-I and Khordha in the state of Odisha. During the fag end of the year, 18 more KVKs, under ATARI Kolkata, were added under the project for conducting the ODK-Landscape Survey. The new KVKs added are as follows:

Salient findings on CSISA project in 2018-19 in KVK Cuttack, Odisha

• DSR is superior to MRT in terms of crop establishment method. DSR yield is 61.45q/ha.
• MT is found to be superior with respect to rice transplanting method followed by MLT. MT- 330 (panicle/m2).

Salient findings on CSISA project in 2018-19 in KVK Mayurbhanj-I, Odisha

• The highest average yield i.e. 4.95 tones/ha was achieved in DSR followed by MRT i.e. 4.62t/ha. The lowest average productivity was achieved in Manual Broadcasting i.e. 3.28 tones/ha.
• The highest average productivity i.e. 5.29 t/ha was achieved in MT followed by MLT i.e. 4.78t/ha.
• The highest average yield was achieved in Pre-emergence pretilachlor with safener (SOFIT) 500 g ai/ha followed by hand weeding at 20-25 DAS i.e. 5.02 t/ha.
• The highest yield was achieved in lower seed rate (60 kg/ha) with weed control by PRE pretilachlor + safener followed by POE bispyribac + 1 HW at 2 wks after POE herbicide spray (5.18 t/ha).
• The spacing 60 cm x 20 cm, 150:75:60/ha has recorded highest maize yield (8.19 t/ha) which is almost double to the spacing 60 cm x 30 cm and N: P2O5:K2O 120:60:60.

Adoptive research trials under CSISA for 2019-20 in KVKs Bhadrak, Cuttack & Mayurbhanj-I

Trial 1:   To compare the performance of different crop establishment methods in low land ecologies of Odisha.

Trial 2:   To find out suitable integrated weed management option in direct seeded rice
(Drill sown in dry soil).