SAM HIGGINBOTTOM UNIVERSITY OF AGRICULTURE,

TECHNOLOGY AND SCIENCES

MASTERS SEMINAR – AGRN 780

on
SYSTEM OF WHEAT INTENSIFICATION (SWI)

ADVISOR-
PRESENTED BY-
Dr. VIKRAM SINGH
RICHA EVELYN SINGH
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
18MSAGRO002
DEPARTMENT OF AGRONOMY
M.Sc. Ag. (AGRONOMY)
NAINI AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE, SHUATS
1st SEMESTER
 WHAT IS SWI?

The technology which has high potentiality to

provide high wheat yield per drop of water
and per kg of agricultural inputs (fertilizer,
seed etc.) and application of other SRI
principles to wheat crop, is known as system
of wheat intensification (Dhar et al., 2014).

SWI manipulates the soil environment for

better root and shoot growth.
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Evidence is accumulating that once farmers
become more comfortable and skilled with the
new methods, SWI can become labour saving
with infra-structural support, particularly farm
mechanization (Satyanarayana et al., 2007).

Adoption of this technology can increase the

productivity of wheat by more than 2 times
(Uphoff et al., 2011).

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 HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
The first trials adapting SRI concepts to wheat
was started in Uttarakhand and Himachal
Pradesh states of India, under the leadership of
Dehradun based NGO People’s Science Institute
(PSI) during winter 2006-07.

These were followed by trials and

demonstrations in Madhya Pradesh state which
has now spread in to many Indian states like
Bihar, Chattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha,
Punjab and Uttar Pradesh. 4
BASIC PRINCIPLES OF SWI
Principle of root development-
 In the case of SWI, plants are spaced wide and
mostly in a square pattern to avoid inhibition of
root growth that results from crowding which
later gives higher yield.

 By exposing plants to more light and air, SWI

creates the edge effect (border effect) for the
whole field.
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PRINCIPLE OF INTENSIVE CARE-
 Priming of seeds with seed selection/treatment.

 Wide and uniform spacing of single plants set out

in a square pattern in the field (starting at 20cm ×
20cm, but going upto 50cm × 50cm).

 Suppressing weeds mechanically rather than

chemically or by hand to increase aerating of the
soil by 2 or 3 times.

 Intermittent irrigation for keeping the soil moist.

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Comparison between traditional wheat
cultivation and system of wheat intensification
(SWI).

Source: ATMA (2008) ; PRADHAN (2012) 7

PRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY FOR SWI
Land preparation:
 Prior to final land preparation (15- 20 days ahead)
2.0 t FYM or 0.4 t of vermi compost per acre of land
should be applied.
 Before the last ploughing, broadcast 27 kg DAP
(4.86 kg N and 12.42 kg P2O5) and 13.5 kg potash
per acre of land.
Selection of seed:
 Always certified seed, purchased from a reliable
source (Govt. Farms, State Agricultural University,
State Seed Corporation Ltd., Krishi Vigyan Kendra
and Private Seed Companies) should be purchased.
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SEED TREATMENT:
According to PRADAN (2012) the following steps are to
be taken sequentially-
i) Separate foreign materials from 10 kg seed, if any.
ii) Take 20 liters of warm water (up to 60°C) in a vessel.
iii) Put the seed material in the warm water.
iv) Remove the floating seeds (chaffy in nature) from the
warm water. Add 5 kg vermicompost, 4 kg gur
(molasses) and 4 liters of cow urine, and keep the
mixture for 8 hours.
v) Separate the seed mixture from the solution, and then
sieving it through a cotton cloth after 8 hours.
vi) Add 20 g Bavistin to the seed mixture and keep this for
12 hours in a wet jute bag for germination and for
subsequent sowing.
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Time of seed sowing:
 It depends mostly on soil temperature,
irrigation facilities and duration of wheat
varieties.

Method of seed sowing:

 Two seeds/hill are normally sown and spacing
is usually maintained at 20 cm. If the
germination is not uniform then gap filling
should be done within 7 days.

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Irrigation:
 First irrigation is done 15 days after sowing
(DAS) to trigger root initiation.
 Second irrigation is given at 25 DAS.
 Third irrigation is given at 35-40 DAS.
 Subsequent irrigations are given at 60, 80 and
100 DAS , depending on soil and climatic
conditions.
 During the flowering and grain-filling stage,
appropriate moisture should be available in the
soil.
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Manure and fertilizer: Phase-wise manure and
fertilizer application should be as follows-
 After the first and third irrigation, manure and
fertilizer are applied.

 After the first irrigation, 4 q of vermi-compost

and 40 kg of urea per acre are applied.

 After the third irrigation, 15 kg urea and 13 kg

potash per acre are applied

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Weeding: Phase-wise weeding should be
followed which would help in producing more
numbers of tiller / plant with greater vigor.

 First weeding is done 2-3 days after irrigation.

 After each irrigation, hoeing and weeding

should be done to loosen the soil and to make
the wheat field weed-free.

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SWI AT A GLANCE

Source: Modified from Sheehy et al. (2004)

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RESEARCH FINDINGS

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YIELD OF WHEAT AS INFLUENCED BY SYSTEM
OF WHEAT INTENSIFICATION
• A field experiment was conducted during rabi
season of 2012-13 at the farm of Wheat
Research Unit, Dr. Panjabrao Deshmukh Krishi
Vidyapeeth, Akola (Maharashtra), India.
• The treatments consisted of seed treatment
with organic (T1 : Treated seed, with T2 :non-
treated wheat seed) and 4 combinations of row
spacings S1: Conventional line sowing (18.5 cm),
S2: (10 × 10 cm), S3: (15× 15 cm) and S4: (20 ×
20 cm).
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 Grain yield, straw yield, (kg ha-1) and grain to straw
ratio as influenced by various treatments during 2012-13

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Grain and straw yield (kg ha-1) as influenced by
various treatments.

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THE SYSTEM OF WHEAT INTENSIFICATION IN COMPARISON WITH
CONVENTIONAL METHOD OF WHEAT LINE SOWING TO INCREASE
WHEAT YIELD WITH LOW INPUT COST

• System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) was

compared with conventional method of wheat
sowing under the yield aspects during the rabi
seasons of 2013-14, 2014-15 and 2015-16 with 30
farmers of block Mohkhed at district Chhindwara,
Madhya Pradesh.
• Seed treatment comprises of treated and
untreated seeds were allocted in SWI (25×25cm)
and conventional line (22.5cm).
• Medium height wheat variety GW- 322 were used
for experiments in all 3 years.
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Yield character of wheat cv. GW-322 sown
in SWI and conventional method

Source : Bhargava et al., (2016) 21

 CONCLUSION
SWI technology has already establised its
strength in terms of multiple benefits like
enhanced productivity per unit land,
water and other inputs with higher
economic gain.
Thus, it can contribute in satisfying the
food requirement of the growing
population.

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 REFERENCES
Adhikari. (2013). Short communication: System of wheat intensification in
farmers’ field of Sindhuli Nepal. Agronomy Journal of Nepal, 3: 168-171.
Bhandalwar, Toncher, Gite, Wanjari. (2015). Yield and economics of wheat
as influenced by System of Wheat Intensification. Plant Archives, 15 (1):
271-275.
Bhargava, Deshmukh, Sawarkar, Alawa, Ahirwar. (2016). The system of
wheat intensification in comparison with conventional method of wheat
line sowing to increase wheat yield with low input cost. Plant Archive,
16(2): 801-804.
Dhar, S., Barah, B.C. and Vyas, A.K. (2014). Comparative performance of
System of Wheat Intensification (SWI) and other methods of wheat
cultivation in north western plain zone of India. In: International SRI
Research seminar on recent Changes in Rice Production and Rural
Livelihoods: New Insights on the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) as
a Socio-Technical Movement in India. Indian Agricultural Research
Institute, New Delhi. Available at URL: http://www.sri-
india.net/event2014/research.htm#Abstract_7 (Accessed 12th March,
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2015).
PRADAN. (2012). Cultivating wheat with SRI Principles: A manual.
System of Rice Intensification website.
Rana, Banerjee, Ray, Sarkar. (2017). System of wheat intensification
(SWI)- A new approach for increasing wheat yield in small holder
farming system. Journal of Applied and Natural Science, 9(3): 1453-
1464
Uphoff, N., Kassam, A. and Harwood, R. (2011). SRI as a
methodology for raising crop and water productivity: productive
adaptations in rice agronomy and irrigation water management. Paddy
Water Environ., 9:3-11.
Uphoff, N., (2012). Supporting food security in 21st century through
resource conserving increases in Agriculture production. Agric. &food
security, 1 : 18.
http://jeevankuruvilla.blogspot.com/2013/01/exposure-visit.html
http://sri.ciifad.cornell.edu/aboutsri/othercrops/wheat/index.html

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