25 research outputs found
Southeast Asian Studies : Rural Northeast Thailand in Transition
No full textSoutheast Asian Studies, vol. 6, n° 2 (August 2017), special issue, Rural Northeast Thailand in Transition: Recent Changes and Their Implications for the Long-Term Transformation of the Region Guest Editors: Kono Yasuyuki, Arunee Promkhambut, and A. Terry Rambo Table of contents Introduction by Yasuyuki Kono, Promkhambut Arunee , A. Terry Rambo The Agrarian Transformation in Northeastern Thailand: A Review of Recent Research by A. Terry Rambo Household Dynamics, the Capitalist Economy, and Ag..
Southeast Asian Studies : Rural Northeast Thailand in Transition
No full textSoutheast Asian Studies, vol. 6, n° 2 (August 2017), special issue, Rural Northeast Thailand in Transition: Recent Changes and Their Implications for the Long-Term Transformation of the Region Guest Editors: Kono Yasuyuki, Arunee Promkhambut, and A. Terry Rambo Table of contents Introduction by Yasuyuki Kono, Promkhambut Arunee , A. Terry Rambo The Agrarian Transformation in Northeastern Thailand: A Review of Recent Research by A. Terry Rambo Household Dynamics, the Capitalist Economy, and Ag..
Wood vinegar seed priming improves yield and suppresses weeds in dryland direct-seeding rice under rainfed production
No full textRice seed vigor can affect speed of germination, field emergence and crop yield. These agronomic performance characteristics are essential for sustainable production of rainfed, dry direct-seeding rice. Seed priming may enhance rice seed vigor and agronomic performance for rainfed production. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of GA3 and wood vinegar seed priming on seed vigor, seedling performance, and grain yield in farmer’s fields. The experimental design was a splitsplit plot with 4 replications and planted in Thailand between April to December, 2013 and 2014. Two rice cultivars (KDML 105 and RD6) were main-plots, 2 planting methods (broadcast and row) were sub-plots and 3 seed priming treatments (GA3, wood vinegar and untreated control) were subsub- plots. Seed priming enhanced speed of germination and final germination percentage under laboratory and field condition. However, field agronomic performance was strongly influenced by year of production. Wood vinegar primed seeds had greater shoot growth and plant population, while GA3 primed seeds had faster speed of seed germination and greater germination percentage. Total weed biomass was different between rice cultivars and planting methods. At 20 and 40 days after sowing (DAS), weed biomass was dependent on planting method and cultivar. Seed priming significantly reduced weed biomass at 140 DAS in 2013, but not in 2014. Yield-related agronomic performance characteristics of tillers plant-1 and yield in ton ha-1 were significantly higher for primed seed in 2013. Seed priming with wood vinegar is a good, sustainable alternative to improve seedling emergence and increase yield of dry direct-seeding rice. However, the response depends on optimal soil moisture availability during flowering and seed formation.This is a manucript of an article published as Simma, Bubpha, Anan Polthanee, A. Susana Goggi, Boonmee Siri, Arunee Promkhambut, and Petrutza C. Caragea. "Wood vinegar seed priming improves yield and suppresses weeds in dryland direct-seeding rice under rainfed production." Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2017) 37: 56. doi: 10.1007/s13593-017-0466-2. Posted with permission.</p
Drought, Flood, and Rice Security in Central Thailand
No full textWith roughly 63 percent of the country’s agricultural area allocated for rice farming, rice has long been a key food staple and export crop for Thailand. As with other crops, rice is heavily dependent on water, whether it is from precipitation or irrigation, and is also sensitive to changing temperatures. The impacts of droughts and floods on rice farming are a fundamental source of concern for Thai farmers and the government.
This article focuses on the effects of droughts and floods on rice quality and quantity, as well as on farmers’ rice income and prospects for livelihood diversification. Based on our interviews with rice farmers in Uthaithani, Chainat, and Ayutthaya, droughts and floods diminish rice yields and increase incidences of crop failures, both partial and complete. They also lower the quality of rice and further depress net head rice yields by altering rice grain dimensions and moisture levels, as well as increasing the amount of cracked and immature grains. These outcomes contribute to a significant decline in farmers’ earnings and investment losses in the case of crop failures. Reduced access to government subsidies together with increased input costs due to droughts and floods are also crucial factors decreasing farmers’ earnings. Off-farm and on-farm livelihood diversification becomes an inevitable survival strategy for many rice-farming households to manage weather related challenges, stabilize their income, and smooth consumption. Our findings point out the need to bolster on-farm adaption capacities of rice farmers at the household, provincial, and national levels to ensure domestic and global rice security and ameliorate dangers to Thai farmers’ livelihood and well-being
Multiple Cropping after the Rice Harvest in Rainfed Rice Cropping Systems in Khon Kaen Province, Northeast Thailand
No full textCropping intensification in rainfed rice-based farming systems through multiple cropping after the rice harvest by using residual soil moisture and supplemental irrigation offers a way to increase agricultural productivity and boost rural incomes in Northeast Thailand. This study identifies localities, planted areas, types of crops, and number of households growing crops after rainfed rice in Khon Kaen Province; it also analyzes some of the physical and social factors associated with the occurrence of this system. A questionnaire survey was conducted in 2013 of 198 agricultural extension officers in each subdistrict (tambol) in the province to collect data on multiple cropping. An area of 10, 384 ha (2.9% of the total rainfed rice area) was used for multiple cropping by 16, 184 households (10.9% of all rainfed rice farming households). Both field crops (e.g., cassava, crotalaria, field corn) and vegetables (e.g., sweet corn, watermelon, Chinese radish) were grown. These crops generated USD414–49, 072 per hectare per crop for a total revenue of USD32 million, which is three times higher than the value of rice grown in the same field area. However, the area that can be utilized for multiple cropping in different subdistricts may be limited by physical conditions, including availability of irrigation sources and soil texture, as well as social and economic factors such as availability of markets, institutional support, and farmer skills
Farmer fertilization practices of mature rubber plantations in Northeast Thailand during a period of low rubber prices
No full textSince 2000, farmers in Northeast Thailand have planted more than 5,000 sq km of rubber on land previously devoted to agriculture. The expansion of rubber led to a significant increase in tree cover in Northeast Thailand. Rubber prices peaked in 2011 and since then farmers have had to adjust to lower prices. Little research has documented how farmers responded to low rubber prices. This paper seeks to describe how small-scale rubber farmers use fertilizer in a region that did not historically grow rubber du ring a period of low rubber prices. We collected data from structured interviews with 29 farmers in Subsomboon village in Khon Kaen province, Northeast Thailand. Most farmers reported that they reduced fertilizer costs by reducing the number of times they applied fertilizer, as well as changing to cheaper brands and/or using organic fertilizer. The majority of farmers still used large amounts of chemical fertilizers, either alone or in combination with commercial organic fertilizers with unknown nutrient contents. The N and P20s contents of the chemical fertilizer alone were consistent with national recommendations (82.0-137.6 kg N/ha/y and 33.3-97.7 kg P20s/ha/y). Thai national recommendations for rubber, however, were developed for rubber plantations in traditional planting area where rubber has been grown for over a century, and are considered by many experts to be high. The study's findings indicated that small scale rubber farmers would benefit from recommendations for fertilizer applications that respond to variations in rubber prices, while taking into account the diversity of individual household characteristics and goals. To optimize recommendations that sustain the growth and yield of rubber, limit the effects of environmental externalities, and maintain rubber's profitability, policymakers require detailed information on the diverse situations in which rubber is grown. This requires experimental research that tests a variety of fertilization practices under different biological and physical conditions
Impact of COVID-19 on rice farmers in Southeast Asia
No full textFor more about the East-West Center, see http://www.eastwestcenter.org/In Southeast Asia, COVID 19 has affected rice farming in many ways including security of land tenure and access to credit, capital inputs, remittance income, and safe food and water. During emergencies such as the 2019 drought and the COVID-19 pandemic, farmers need assistance, either from the government or private philanthropy. Thailand and Vietnam, the wealthier countries in the region, have provided farmers with basic assistance. Farmers in Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia are struggling
Dynamic of rubber production in Northeast Thailand: A case study at Subsomboon village, Doonsard sub-district, Kranuan district, Khon Kaen province
No full textThis research aim to study changes in rubber production and farmers' practices at Subsomboon village, Doonsard sub-district, Kranuan district, Khon Kaen province since the promotion of rubber plantation. Data were collected by using literature review, semi-structured interview (SSI) with Key-informants (KIs) using sub-topics and interviewing with a sample of 30 accessible rubber farmers using a closed ended questionnaire. It was found that rubber production in the area could be divided into 3 periods including the first period: Beginning of rubber cultivation (1992-2003) farmers started rubber plantation with government support for the production inputs and knowledge, the second period: Rubber booming (2004-2011) where the area of rubber dramatically increased mostly by farmer' s own investment and partly supported by the government and the third period: Declining of rubber (2012-present), when limited expansion of new rubber area was farmers own investment and no rubber replanting in some farms. Moreover, the study found that there are different practices among farmers at each period showing the adaptation of farmers in their plots according to the situation of family condition and rubber production in each period
Potential of native phosphate solubilizing bacteria isolated from the rhizosphere of economic crops and vermicast in Northeast Thailand to solubilize insoluble phosphates under in vitro conditions
No full textAlthough soils generally contain a large amount of total P, only a small proportion is immediately available for plant uptake making it a major constraint on crop production in many tropical countries. Free - living bacteria and fungi can mobilize o rthophosphate from either organic or inorganic P sources such as Phosphate Rock (PR). These phosphate - solubilizing microorganisms (PSM) are characterized by their capacity to solubilize precipitated forms of P, the main P ingredient in PR and could be good bio - fertilizers for improving phosphorus plant nutrition. The present study examined phosphate solubilising bacteria (PSB) isolated from cassava, groundnut , rubber tree, sunchoke , rice, rice - soybean, rice - soybean - corn and rice - chili fields and vermicast o f earthworm varieties in Northeast of Thailand, where soils are mainly sandy and P - deficient. PSB isolates were tested by using different P sources [Tri - calcium Phosphate (Ca 3 (PO 4 ) 2 ), Ferric Phosphate (FePO 4 ) and Aluminium Phosphate (AlPO 4 )] on specific cu lture media (National Botanical Research Institute Phosphate Growth Medium, NBRIP). Our results showed that five of the PSB isolates from economic crops and vermicast of earthworm varieties solubilised a significantly (P 0.01) higher amount of AlPO 4 and FePO 4 over the uninoculated control. The highest activity of solubilization was achieved for AlPO 4 followed by FePO 4 which are the main forms of insoluble phosphates in acidic sandy soils. We found that PSB isolated from vermicast of earthworm varieties Ph eretima posthuma and Eudrilus eugeniae were able to solubilize both AlPO 4 and FePO 4 at relatively high rates (up to 1,918.49 mgP/l ), in contrast, PSB isolated from cassava, rice - soybean and groundnut field soil tended to have lower solubilisation rates for FePO 4 . None of the isolates tested were able to solubilize CaPO 4 . Finally, IAA production was observed only in PSB isolated of E. eugeniae vermicast and rice - soybean field soil. These results highlight variability of specific PSB isolates from different r hizospheres and vermicast of earthworm varieties and provide essential information for the management of soil fertility
