AAPI Bulletin Vol 12 February 2012 (English)

This month AAPI participated in two fairs. The first was America Week in Chittagong from January 30 to February 1. The second was the Agriculture Seed Fair in Mymensingh [Bangladesh Agriculture University (BAU)] from February 8 to 11 organized by the Seed Science Society of Bangladesh and the Seed Wing, Ministry of Agriculture. At both events AAPI manned a booth that displayed urea deep placement (UDP) technology and attracted a high level of public interest. At the Seed Fair, AAPI was awarded a special commendation certificate for the display. It was gratifying that many BAU students were aware of the technology and keen to learn more of the theory and practice! This month there are articles from our Senior Agriculture Specialist, Mr. Mofizul Islam, and our Soil Scientist,

Dr. Mazid Miah. Mofiz has written about some work done by graduate students of the Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agricultural University, Dhaka. It is great to see the universities researching the technology. I know a number of universities around the country now have UDP technology included in their teaching and research. Mazid has written some do’s and don’ts when using UDP technology in order to get the best results. We have also reported on the success we are having working with the Imams in rural areas. We are always trying to improve this newsletter. Your comments and feedback would be most welcome. This month we are including activity achievements for the month. Much work is being done by all our staff and we want to recognize their efforts.

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Notes from Chief of Party, AAPI Inside this issue:

Guti Urea in Hybrid Varieties: Key to Increased Rice Yields

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The Do’s and Don’ts for Better Efficiency of Guti Urea

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Imams Showing the Way 4

Activity Achievements in February 2012

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AAPI Events in March 2012 5

Volume 12

Accelerating Agriculture Productivity Improvement (AAPI)

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN February 29, 2012 A project supported by USAID in collaboration with DAE

AAPI News Bulletin is a monthly publication of the AAPI project. Subscriptions are free. IFDC is a Public International Organization (PIO) based in Alabama, USA. IFDC focuses o n i n c r e a s i n g a n d sustaining food security and agricultural productivity in developing countries. Managing Editor: Ishrat Jahan Resident Representative IFDC Bangladesh Eurasia Division and Project Coordinator, AAPI Design and Layout: Syed Afzal Hossain Data Management Unit, AAPI

The views expressed in this bulletin do not necessarily reflect views of the United States Agency for International Development or the United States Government

AAPI Booth at Seed Fair, Mymensingh AAPI Booth at America Week, Chittagong

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Guti Urea in Hybrid Varieties: Key to Increased Rice Yields Urea is the principal source of nitrogen (N), an essential element for rice productivity. However, 60 to 70 percent of N is lost to the air, water and underground in the traditional method of broadcasting urea in three splits across a rice season. These losses could be reduced by using Guti urea, which ensures 60 to 70 percent urea utilization and increases rice yields by at least 15 to 20 percent. IFDC has been working diligently to promote better nutrient management, especially of N, by using Guti urea in rice and some vegetable crops. This proven technology has resulted in excellent yields. Farmers are embracing it as the prices of farm inputs escalate and the ever increasing population creates pressure on shrinking agricultural land. The technology has been further substantiated by a recent field study conducted by graduate students of the Department of Agronomy, Sher-e-Bangla Agriculture University, Dhaka. The research on “Influence of Nitrogen and Phosphorous on Growth and Yield of Hybrid Rice” found much higher yields of rice when using Guti urea. They used 165 kilograms (kg) of Guti urea versus 260 kg, 350 kg and 435 kg of broadcasted urea per hectare (ha). When Guti urea was used, the tillers per hill increased significantly and the number of grains per panicle was higher. The number of filled grains per panicle also increased. These significant improvements led to much higher yield compared to the fields where prilled urea was used.

These findings suggest that proper use of Guti urea in hybrid rice can significantly increase yields. Hybrid rice can produce 15 to 20 percent

AAPI NEWS BULLETIN Volume 12

AAPI News Bulletin

Contact Persons: Ishrat Jahan Grahame D. Hunter

Address: Dhaka Office: Road No. 62, House No. 4B, Apt-B2 Gulshan - 2, Dhaka -1212 Bangladesh Tel: 880-2-9894288 880-2-8817391 Fax: 880-2-8826109 Website: www.ifdc.org

Barisal Office: “Zohora” 834 (New) Police Line Road, Barisal Tel: 0431-2176566

Jessore Office: 1351 Police Line Road Talikhola, Puratonkasba Jessore

AAPI Management:

Ishrat Jahan, Project Coordinator; Grahame D. Hunter, Chief of Party; Md. Mofizul Islam, Sr. Agriculture Specialist; Dr. Shaharuk Ahmed, Md. Fozlul Hoque, Md. Iqbal Hossain, Dr. AKM Farhad, Agriculture Specialists; Md. Mozammel Haque, Abul Hossain Mollah, Mahmood Hussain, Training Specialists; Dr. Md. Abdul Mazid Mia, Mainul Ahsan, Soil Scientists; Md. Nurul Islam, Market/Business Develop-ment Specialist; Ram Proshad Ghosh, Mechanical Engineer; Dr. Abdul Wohab, Agriculture Engineer; Rubina Islam, Gender Specialist; Syed Afzal Mahmood Hossain, Senior Data Management Specialist; Farin Islam, M&E Specialist; AFM Saleh Chowdhury, Chief Accountant; Bishnu Rup Chowdhury, Administrative and Procurement Officer

more rice with the application of almost the same amount of agricultural inputs. Guti urea is a more efficient use of N fertilizer and does less harm to the environment, which is a global concern today. The conclusion drawn is that applying these technologies is crucial to feed the ever-increasing population. Bangladesh’s present population is nearly 160 million, and 30 million will be added in the next 20 years, while the rice cultivation area will decline by 10.28 million ha. Under such circumstances, using Guti urea technology and cultivating with hybrid rice varieties will improve nitrogen management (using less urea) and increase yields.

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The Do’s and Don’ts for Better Efficiency of Guti Urea Guti urea has now become a proven technology in enhancing rice productivity. However, its performance varies in different agro-climatic field conditions. While use of Guti urea leads to higher yields, poor performance has sometimes been observed in the field because of soil, plant and management factors. Like any technology, there are “Do’s and Don’ts” when using UDP technology. These should be taken into consideration to maximize the agronomic efficiency of the technology. Soil Factors Do use Guti urea in medium- to fine-textured puddle soils: Fortunately, this applies to most of the AAPI project. For the first four days after deep placement of Guti urea, there could be very high amounts of urea and ammonium at the placement site due to the chemical reaction of urea

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which determines the initial growth of the plants and has significant impact on yield. Strong and healthy seedlings can cope with the transplantation lag better than weak, sick seedlings. The healthy seedlings come from well-prepared and fertilized seedbeds sown with good seed. Do use short-or medium-duration (120 days) varieties: Guti urea performs much better when applied to short- to medium-duration varieties. For long-duration varieties, the nitrogen of Guti urea may become exhausted before maturity, leaving more nutrient requirements for the final stage growth. Do not use long-duration varieties (>150 days): The long-duration variety (>150 days) may require a higher dose of nitrogen (more than 100 kilograms per hectare). Topdressing of limited prilled urea at panicle initiation stage can supplement Guti urea. Management Factors Do place Guti urea at a depth of 7-10 cm: If placement depth is less than 7 cm, part of the nitrogen can diffuse to the soil surface, floodwater and will be prone to losses. On the other hand, if the placement depth is more than 10 cm, rice roots cannot utilize the nitrogen or may take so long that the initial plant growth will be adversely affected. Don’t leave the placement hole open: When Guti urea is manually placed, the hole must be closed. Otherwise, the open holes permit the dissolved urea and/or ammonium to enter the floodwater where high amounts of nitrogen can accumulate. Eventually, it causes nitrogen losses, stimulates weeds and decreases yields. Closure of all holes fully and immediately after deep placement of Guti urea is a must. When machines are used for urea deep placement, they must have efficient mechanisms to immediately seal the holes or furrows. Don’t disturb the placement point: Any disturbance of the Guti placement point during pest control or weeding may adversely affect the rate and duration of nitrogen supply from the briquettes. Therefore, always use the traffic lane where Guti urea was not placed for walking

and water. This can be lost by leaching from the rice root zone in a coarse-textured soil with a high percolation rate. When Guti urea is placed in fine-textured soil with high Cation Exchange Capacity (CEC), relatively more ammonium tends to exist in the adsorbed phase than in the solution phase at Guti placement sites. This eventually helps decrease leaching losses of nitrogen from Guti urea. Higher CEC ensures higher efficiency of Guti urea and even helps prolong the duration of nitrogen availability to the rice plants. Don’t use Guti urea in coarse-textured soils with a high percolation rate: In this case, look to good water management to control percolation and/or a hard pan to prevent leaching. When Guti urea is deep placed in coarse-textured soil with low CEC, more ammonium stays in the placement site during solution phase leaving it susceptible to leaching losses. Sandy soil has very low CEC, and so Guti urea is less efficient, although still superior to prilled urea. Plant Factors Do use dwarf, semi-dwarf and plant types with bigger panicle-size to ensure best agronomic efficiency of Guti urea: On the basis of yield-contributing parameters of the panicle, there are two yield components that seem to respond differently to Guti urea: (1) panicle number and (2) panicle size. Guti urea increases the growth and development of panicles and increases grain yield because of increased panicle weight. Panicle number is also important, but if there is prolonged vegetative growth after flowering, there will be a number of unproductive tillers. The plant height can be another factor influencing the efficiency of deep-placed urea. It is most efficient in dwarf and medium height varieties than in the tall plant types. Mutual shading due to vigorous vegetative growth may result in more lodging in the tall varieties. Do use strong, healthy seedlings: Transplanted young rice seedlings cannot immediately start absorbing nitrogen from the Guti urea placed beneath the soil because it is spatially unavailable to them. During the lag period, seedlings largely depend on soil nitrogen status,

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during all post-transplanting field operations, such as weeding and spraying of crop protection products.

* * * Imams Showing the Way The year 2008 was a very special one for Maulana Fazlul Haque Akand. His paddy field was very different from other years. The plants were healthy and there were many more tiller hills than those of the other fields. “It was worth seeing when the plants turned golden. I did not see such a yield of rice ever before. Everybody would visit my field and ask how the yield was so good. I said it is not magic, but using Guti urea technology,” he said. “I was so happy about it. Many farmers were impressed by that yield too,” said Fazlul Haque, 53, Imam of Kuripara Uttar Nadirpar Jame Masjid of Phulpur, Mymensingh. Imams are Islamic clerics widely respected in Bangladesh society. Fazlul Haque used 22 kilograms of Guti urea after learning of the technology during training by IFDC at the Phulpur upazila agriculture office prior to Boro season 2007/08. Guti urea technology is placing a compact urea briquette under the soil at the rice root zone. The technology uses less urea and still increases yields with less waste or run-off. The yield of Hira Dhan-2 on 20 decimals of land was 17 maunds, which is usually no more than 13 maunds in the fields where urea is broadcast. Tremendously benefiting by the technology, he continued to use Guti urea. Of his three acres of arable land, he used Guti urea on one acre of Boro field this year and leased out two acres on the condition that the sharecropper would also use the technology. “Guti urea obstructs growth of weeds and discourages insects,” Fazlul Haque said. Last year he also used Guti urea in his jute field and witnessed jute plants growing up to 17 feet high. He even received an award by exhibiting the jute plants at the upazila agriculture office. Thus he has been inspiring others to use Guti urea and providing information to the farmers; many of

them started using the technology in Rupashi union. Farmers Hafez Abu Taher, Fakhruddin, Idris Ali, Hashmat Ali, Akkas Ali, Hazrat Ali and Habibur Rahman of Rupashi village are a few among many. In July 2011, Fazlul Haque and around 50 more Imams attended a workshop on Guti urea organized by IFDC at the Islamic Foundation in Mymensingh. There, they were requested to motivate the devotees on the weekly prayer days to try Guti urea. “Since then, it’s become my official duty to tell people about Guti urea during the sermon,” he said. Other than that, whenever some farmers gather together, he discusses placement techniques and benefits of Guti urea. The technology is now used by 60-70 percent of farmers versus 30-40 percent of farmers broadcasting prilled urea.

Fazlul Haque is one of over 100 trained Imams in Mymensingh and Sherpur in the mid-northern part of Bangladesh, who are voluntarily serving to extend Guti urea promoted by IFDC’s AAPI project (funded by USAID) in collaboration with the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE). Helal Uddin, 45, Imam of Rouha Jame Masjid in Sherpur sadar, said he has been motivating the farmers both during the Friday sermon and prayers and also outside the mosque since receiving training last November, ahead of the current Boro season. “This Boro season, I used Guti urea on three acres. My brother and a brother-in-law also used it on

Maulana Fazlul Haque Akand working in his Boro paddy field.

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three acres each,” he said. Many others are using the technology this season following his advice in Sherpur. Inspired by Imam Jahurul Islam at Rajballavpur in Sherpur sadar, many farmers who had not earlier heard of Guti urea have used briquettes this season. “I know seven or eight farmers who are using it,” said Jahurul Islam. Some farmers said they would use the technology once they see its benefits this season. Other farmers complain that placing Guti urea requires extra labor cost. “But I told them, even if this is true, the field will have fewer weeds and require less pesticide. On the other hand, the yield will be more and they would get more paddy straws, bringing more benefits,” Jahurul Islam said. Maulana Mahmudul Islam Zihadi, chairman of the National Imam Association of Mymensingh district, said IFDC’s training has generated a new spirit among the Imams, many of whom are farmers. People respect the Imams and their advice. Imams also create awareness on various social issues including dowry, literacy, child rights, trafficking, population control, etc. Guti urea is an issue very

close to the hearts of people in rural areas, he said. According to Maulana Mahmudul, there are about 300,000 Imams across the country. “If IFDC can train them, provide them some materials on the technology, maintain follow- up contacts and arrange refresher trainings, these religious leaders can play an even more significant role than that of the national media, in expanding the technology,” Maulana Mahmudul said.

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Indicator Unit Boro 

Target

Achievement in February

2012

Achievement of Boro 

Total to date

% of Target

UDP coverage for Boro ha 588,026 210,302 533,399 91%

Extension staff training Batches 65 1 55 85%

Farmer Training Batches 3,480 305 3,492 100%

Rice field demonstrations No. 393 121 449 114%

Other crop demonstrations No. 54 2 66 122%

Rice Trials No. 36 8 36 100%

Other crop trials No. - 17

Motivational field trips No. 41 15 37%

Stakeholder workshops No. 40 2 17 43%

Sale of briquette machines No. 289 38 304 105%

Briquette producer training Batches 20 1 15 75%

Activity Achievements in February 2012 In February 2012, AAPI successfully completed activities as shown in the following table.

AAPI Events in March 2012

In the month of March 2012, AAPI is concentrating its activities for Boro paddy and preparation for Aus paddy. In this month, the following activities will be carried out.

Preparation of Aus work plan

Staff meeting in Dhaka with all staff including all Field Monitoring Officers to finalize the Aus Work Plan

13 motivational field trip

10 open sky shows

130 farmers training programs

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