California-based Netafim, the global leader in drip irrigation, has collaborated with researchers at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University to study the viability of utilizing drip irrigation to mass-produce rice crops.
The multi-year research study, conducted in conjunction with Dr. Eli Vered, agronomist at Netafim, demonstrates the ability of drip irrigation to improve rice production while reducing water use.
Dr. T. Parthasarathi, Ph.D. Scholar in Crop Physiology at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University presented the study results during the International Annual Meeting on Synergy in Science scheduled held November 18th in Minneapolis.
“As the world’s second-most produced staple crop, rice has been grown for over 5,000 years using flood irrigation methods. But, as lack of water availability becomes an issue for farmers across the globe, water-intensive crops such as rice are the target of increased scrutiny as questions are raised about the crop’s viability as an environmentally sustainable food source,” said Zeev Barylka, Director of Marketing at Netafim USA.
“Our collaboration with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has the potential to impact the livelihood of thousands of small farmers in developing countries, as well as large corporations in developed countries,” he said.
In addition to studying water and yield impacts, Netafim’s work with the University has revealed that drip irrigation has a significant impact in reducing the emission of greenhouse gases that result as a natural byproduct of rice growth.
Growing rice in drip irrigation is a novel technology suitable for water scarce regions.
“A collaborative research on drip irrigation in rice with Netafim and Tamil Nadu Agricultural University revealed that proliferation in the metabolic activity of rice roots by drip irrigation (surface and subsurface drip irrigation) could improve the photosynthetic rate, which favors rice growth and yield,” said Dr. T. Parthasarathi, Ph.D. Scholar in Crop Physiology at Tamil Nadu Agricultural University.
“The versatility of Netafim’s drip irrigation systems and their low pressure requirements made them ideal for operating with energy collected through solar panels. As a result, small farmers are able to benefit from increased carbon credits,” added Dr. T. Parthasarathi.
“Our work with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University has shown that the use of drip irrigation can significantly reduce the volume of greenhouse gasses emitted by a rice crop during its growth stages,” added Barylka.
Other collaborators from Tamil Nadu University in the research were Dr. S. Mohandass and Dr. K. Vanitha. fii-news.com.
