System of Wheat Intensification (SWI): A Novel Approach

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the most extensively grown cereal crop in the world, covering about 237 million hectares annually, accounting for a total of 420 million tonnes. Wheat stands second in grain production in the world and most widely cultivated food. SWI is a new concept and goes with the SRI principle. It can reduce weeding time to one-third and to one-half of the time needed for current weeding practice. Herbicide use is effective with SWI, but farmers are inventing or modifying tools that reduce the labour time required for weeding. Thus, SWI is a methodology aimed at increasing the yield of wheat, where all agronomic principles are put into practices to provide high wheat yield per drop of water and per kg of agricultural inputs like fertilizer, seed etc.