A field experiment was conducted at Agricultural Research Station, Gangavati (Tungabhadra command) of  University of Agricultural Sciences, Dharwad during summer 2005 – 2006 and kharif  2006 – 2007 to study the response of rice to nutrients in conventional and System of  Rice Intensification (SRI) methods of cultivation. Among the different growth parameters, plant height and number of  tillers per hill in two methods of cultivation increased more rapidly and  Significantly up to flowering stage and then showed a gradual decrease. The effect of nutrient levels was significant on plant height at all the growth stages. Among the nutrient levels tried, treatment receiving 75 per cent RDF + bio fertilizers with 25 kg ZnSO4 per ha recorded highest growth parameters, yield attributes and grain and straw yield than the rest of the treatments and the lowest was recorded by the treatment receiving 50 per cent RDF with 10 kg ZnSO4 per ha.