The Official Maize and Rotational Crops Thread

[kickstart]

1 hour ago, IsaanAussie said:

Yar Koom (whatever that means). Smells like 2-4D to me, but I am almost over trying to find answers. Or maybe I just do not need to know. There was a buying spree for the farm shop prior to the bans and I doubt they have a stock out yet. Shhhhhh!

I have wondered about that for a while ,it was what I thought after I asked management ,wife, Yar Koom ,is the same word as the female contractive pill , or the injection, do not ask how a pre emergent spray has the same name as a contractive .

So I Googled ยาคุมข้าวโพด,Yar-Koom -Khow-Port ( maize ),a lot of chemicals they for sale   ,could not see  a English name for them ,but one ,still for sale was Atrazine ,what we used many years ago ,thought that was banned . 

[farmerjo]

11 hours ago, kickstart said:

Atrazine ,what we used many years ago ,thought that was banned

Only paraquat on the herbicides side KS.

And it hurts as once you start talking in crop herbicides it hits the pocket hard.

2-4d @ 320 baht/litre

Oxadiazon @ 1180 baht/litre

 

[kickstart]

Cutting corn for cattle feed no rain has taken its toll ,the big block was cut with a tractor and chopper.

This guy cutting by hand will load it on to his pickup.

The crop was in flower ,but the pollen was not fertile ,just dried up, so no cobs.

Was thinking about our farang company farm with their  3000 rie in the area, the 50 rie near us drilled 18 days ago does not look good ,can not see them making much money this year.

[JungleBiker]

yar koom = "medicine control" (weeds, conception, whatever)

[JungleBiker]

Hi Kickstart, You mentioned a farang company with 3,000 rai - can you share the name of the company or do you have a contact? I know someone in Laos who is looking for someone with experience of large-scale corn/soybean/peanut growing - preferably in the USA - and I think perhaps the farang company you mention might be worth him contacting.

Thanks.

JB. 

[JungleBiker]

On 6/4/2021 at 6:23 PM, farmerjo said:

While it's been raining cats and dogs here i've been thinking my strategy on the pre emergence herbicide.

In an ideal world my choice would have been a paraquat/oxadiazon mix the day before planting to kill surface weeds  then seed.

Since paraquat is no longer around and glyphosate wouldn't have time to work it looks like seed first then just spray oxadiazon after weather permitting following up after a month with some 2-4d.

I'm just worried about erosion with the tram lines from the sprayer after seeding.

Going to have a crack at getting some into tomorrow.

 

 

While looking for something else, I just came this factsheet about herbicides for direct-seed rice in Cambodia. It's produced by an "agricultural consulting and contracting company specialising in conservation agriculture, sustainable crop protection and integrated pest management". Headed by an Australian Ph.D.  

 

https://asrcambo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Herbicide-options-for-direct-seeded-rice-in-Cambodia.pdf

 

 

[kickstart]

On 6/21/2021 at 6:51 AM, JungleBiker said:

Hi Kickstart, You mentioned a farang company with 3,000 rai - can you share the name of the company or do you have a contact? I know someone in Laos who is looking for someone with experience of large-scale corn/soybean/peanut growing - preferably in the USA - and I think perhaps the farang company you mention might be worth him contacting.

Thanks.

JB. 

I see what I can do ,give me a few days ,they are based near me ,again what I know the owner ? comes from the USA ,he sold a 20 000 cow  dairy farm in China and is investing in Thailand ,just 3 km from me he is building a 7000  dairy cow  farm( I think I have got the noughts in the right place),the wife was talking to some of their  builders ,there  I  wish him luck ,I think he will need a lot of it.

[farmerjo]

On 6/22/2021 at 7:35 AM, JungleBiker said:

 

While looking for something else, I just came this factsheet about herbicides for direct-seed rice in Cambodia. It's produced by an "agricultural consulting and contracting company specialising in conservation agriculture, sustainable crop protection and integrated pest management". Headed by an Australian Ph.D.  

 

https://asrcambo.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Herbicide-options-for-direct-seeded-rice-in-Cambodia.pdf

 

 

Thanks JB for the guide.

I have a lot of trials going on this year with rice.

90 rai all up.

1st 20 rai succumbed to FIL,ploughed then rotovated in paddy fields.14 rai planted by iron buffalo seeder and seed went on at about 20 kilo/rai no chemicals used then the rains came harder so last 6 rai he did by hand spreading about the same rate,this was late may early june.Variety caneow something something 6.

The other 70 rai i got caught out with land being to wet to pass over so when we had a couple of days of drying weather last week i sprayed glyphosate 5 litres/hct and seeded over the following 2 days(zero till) jasmine variety at 3 kg/rai,had 10mm of rain on completion that afternoon and due to spray oxidiazon over next 2 days.

Will be interesting to see how the next month pans out.

 

[farmerjo]

A picture of some jasmine rice planted on aerobic soil coming up.

And one of iron buffalo planted caneow rice with 1st in crop spraying done a couple of days a go.

200ml 2-4d/rai combined with 30grm/rai of bispyrbac sodium. 

 

[farmerjo]

Picture of our jasmine rice this morning.

Would love a decent rain to get it up to closing canopy stage.

Need some more chemical to knock out some difficult grasses but not happening as staying put at home.It will be what it will be.(shut the gate till harvest)

Have knocked out the majority of broadleaf weeds which was why i planted rice in the 1st place.

What's concerning here is i live as remote as you can get yet i have two quarantine huts underway 400 metres from our farm.

 

 

[kickstart]

The maize crop again this year is not looking good ,a lot of the first crop was lost due to not enough rain, a lot of crops flowered, but the pollen just dried up ,so no cobs ,no crop .

Local dairy farmers did well cutting the crops as feed for their   cattle ,our local farming company have made 4 large clamps of silage for they proposed 2000 cow herd ,not good quality no corn  just the plant ,so a low  energy feed .

Now the crops that have been re sown are now being eaten by the Fall Army Worm ,some crops have been sprayed twice already ,crops are  only 1-2 foot tall .

Most of the tractors that drive past our house have sprayers on the back and are fitted with crop row wheels ,that also lift the tractor up almost 2  foot ,for crop clearance .

Anyone else got the Fall Army Worm .

[farmerjo]

Hi KS

I have two neighbours doing corn 2nd time round this year.

1st time worked out ok with harvest completed about 2 weeks a go when the dry spell came.

We had over 600 mm of rain for that growing season and i didn't see an fall army worm however there was signs of the other corn worm damage on some leaves.

The 2nd crops have just been planted over the last week.

I've been meaning to ask with the failure to produce cobs in your area,are the farmers using old heirloom seeds or hybrids.

Hopefully our dry spell here has finished and the rains come regularly now after 10mm yesterday.

I had 2 days last week pumping water into the paddy fields.

I've put the sprayer away,what weeds are in crop are too big and am worried if i sprayed the residual would stay in the soil too long affecting the follow up crop.

As far as insects,i haven't seen any major damage to warrant any use here but i do have a lot of bird activity in the fields daily.. 

  

[kickstart]

Hi FJ 

        Farmers are using all hybrid seed from the big seed company CP and Pacific Seed are the main players .

The wife says when she was a kid ,a lot of years ago, they used to keep seed back from one crop for another crop ,now it is all hybrid seed ,

As you know maize relies on pollination to produce a cob when I had the gardens back in the UK we were told not to put maize in a row like other crops but in a block ,for pollination .

But when in April you have 264 mm of rain ,every one was planting their maize crop but in May and June only 79 mm of rain the maize crops grew come out in flower ,ready for pollination but no rain it just dried the pollen up or with no rain a stunted/thin  crop, strong winds will just blow the pollen away  so no pollination .the 224 mm in July was too late to do any good. 

So far this year we have had 567 mm of rain ,almost the same as you ,but not even, maize like it water on a regular basis.

If I would to grow any crops again I would say it would Sesame seed and Mung beans ,the crops of these I have seen have looked well ,maize is just getting  I  much of a problem ,a few crops are being harvested , the very early sown ones that escaped the drought ,not certain on price ,will have to ask about.   

 

[kickstart]

I was out today found a combine at work harvesting a maize crop ,the guy was getting 5,90 baht/kg .I asked about moisture he said no deduction for high moisture ,looking at this crop it was about 25% moisture, no deduction for moisture to me means not a lot of corn about ,not over fussy, make sense with the drought.

But, a price of 5.90 baht does not, that is a low price ,a lot of farmers rent they corn land at 1000 baht/rie /year rent plus inputs that does not leave a lot for a profit margin .

A farmer with just 25 rie an average block of land in this area ,would have to use someone to do most of the work ,take their costs out again  does not leave a lot ,if anything .

Farmers could reduce their  costs by 40% ??,by direct drilling they crop's no 3 disc or 7 discs ,that would save a lot of costs ,sunflowers are now 80% direct drilled in to maize stubble .

I have asked why do they not direct drill they first maize crop ,they say the land is to hard after the dry season, I said well wait for some rain to soften the land no answer from them ,it is a case of we have always done it that way .

 

[IsaanAussie]

On 8/13/2021 at 9:50 PM, kickstart said:

a case of we have always done it that way .

How many times have I heard that in the past? But it does seem that "always" is getting shorter.

[farmerjo]

On 8/13/2021 at 8:50 PM, kickstart said:

Farmers could reduce their  costs by 40% ??,by direct drilling they crop's no 3 disc or 7 discs ,that would save a lot of costs ,sunflowers are now 80% direct drilled in to maize stubble .

I have asked why do they not direct drill they first maize crop ,they say the land is to hard after the dry season, I said well wait for some rain to soften the land no answer from them ,it is a case of we have always done it that way .

I would hope we are not far away from the drone revolution to take off as technology gets better and cheaper.

Seed,fertilize and weed spraying from the air and returning to the shed for refills.

Offset disc the seed in with some depth control and the next time your on the land is with the rubber tracked harvester.

Minimal compaction.

As the ma and pa store for beer is within the 3km working limits it maybe able to help in this area in covid times as well.

Only thing i need confirming about a drone is the realibilty of the gps in our area.

The other factor is with an aging FIL and a son not interested at this stage in farming is my will to wake up and enjoy the challenge which i must admit has be waning over the last couple of years due to the warmer weather.   

   

[kickstart]

8 hours ago, farmerjo said:

I would hope we are not far away from the drone revolution to take off as technology gets better and cheaper.

Seed,fertilize and weed spraying from the air and returning to the shed for refills.

Offset disc the seed in with some depth control and the next time your on the land is with the rubber tracked harvester.

Minimal compaction.

As the ma and pa store for beer is within the 3km working limits it maybe able to help in this area in covid times as well.

Only thing i need confirming about a drone is the realibilty of the gps in our area.

The other factor is with an aging FIL and a son not interested at this stage in farming is my will to wake up and enjoy the challenge which i must admit has be waning over the last couple of years due to the warmer weather.   

   

Drones are becoming more popular in this area a few are used on rice crops,for spraying, but the ones I see most of are spraying maize for Fall Army Worm ,the price has come down to I have herd of 150 baht/rie ,and what I can remember a tractor and sprayer is/was 120baht/rie with no tractors running up and down the field compaction and running on a few plant the drone seems a better bet .

Like you, I did wonder about GPS ,I can remember you saying the system you use is the next stage up from the basic mobile phone system ,again around  here not a problem ,I think you are a lot more rural than we are, more of a problem .

Minimal compaction ,soil compaction  is a problem ,the rice farmers with they wide cage wheels do well ,flotation tyres are good ,but expensive ,I would say to wide for some Thai machinery like drilling , you would be running on what you have just drilled.  

[farmerjo]

Not much to report over the last few weeks other then lots of rain.

And a big weed burden growing in the crops.

On the way to town the other day i noticed one of the big corn middleman establishments had now become a drone dealer.

So i took a sample of my recent sunn hemp seed harvest in and drooled over the drone.

Works out they have one there for demonstrations and contracting.

So have organised the drone for next week,100 baht a rai and will mix liquid fertilizer and some chemical together for one pass.

Anyway onto the sample,i've been trying to get into the government arena but each year the money seems to disappear come buying time and the market around here is small with the farmers backsides hanging out.

So they took the sample to someone in the know and within minutes he rang back and said he would take it all.5200 kg's @16 baht/kilo.

Delivered it today so a win/win as he had never bought it before(but will make decent money on it),i got my shed cleaned out ready for the rice harvest and mrs is happy as she's been planting some trees in pots to keep busy and thinks that gave us good luck.

I'd hate to have to tell her that they think i'm buying a drone had more influence.  

[farmerjo]

Well had the drone out yesterday so thought i would mull over the result before giving an update.

Having a few passing showers through the day,it was a good chance to give a solid test.

Positives - Had a good operator.(didn't crash it)

Was able to mix some liquid fertilizer in with the herbicide saving another pass.

No land machine would of got on the land after all the rain weve had.

Could be the difference in getting some rice yield or none.

Liked the way it sucked the chemical into the crop.

The range of drone is excellent being able to base at one location to cover over 100 rai.

100 baht a rai i thought was quite reasonable.

 

Negatives - Was a 3 year old drone so not fully automonous(or didn't appear to be)

I bulk mixed enough chemical to do a 68 rai field,by the time they finished there was 25%

left over.I can see what happened as after he started he realised on a field that size the battery 

couldn't cope with the flying time for the rate required.

4 batteries wasn't enough for prolonged continous use and delays from recharging the remote battery as well

Didn't have the ability to fly at consistent height over undulating land.

 

It was a DJI T-20 drone,i'm not sure if a few of the things that it wouldn't do was due to RTK  being enabled or not.The guy said when asked that the subscription was about 8000 baht a year.

Or the land needs to be mapped in more detail rather than working on point A to B with a different drone.

I think there a great tool for farmers in emergency situations if the contractors are avalible and the price stays reasonable.

As far as owning one,the thought of being up for about 170,000 baht for replacement batteries inside 5 years is a bit scary.I think the land sprayer for the bulk of the work and drone for specialist work is the go. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kickstart]

One hundred  baht rie ,is about what it is around here , have heard 120 baht/rie getting more competitive ,it stated of at about 150 baht/rie ,but as more drones appear the price has dropped .

Two operators around here have 2-3 battery  packs with a generator working the whole time charging the battery ,they seem to change a pack every time they fill up .

One guy said his drone cost 220 k ,did not ask how many battery packs come with that price ,and I did not realize just  how expensive they are .

Like you, I have seen some drones flying where a tractor just could not travel,which ask's  the question  ,if it was that wet would the chemicals do any good ,and any liquid fertilizer would that just get washed away. 

Wives rice farmer son-in-law brought a battery powered nap sack sprayer with his 5000 baht from the Thai social security system, 3500 baht he seemed well pleased ,I said why not use a drone to spray your rice crop ,to expensive he said ,I said what abut wading though a rice field with a sprayer ,getting spray all over the place ,no comment. 

[farmerjo]

Hi KS

This report sums it up pretty well.If you read other country reviews,the maintenance costs are more than 100 baht/rai so i don't know how long that price will last.

https://www.ide.go.jp/library/English/Publish/Reports/Brc/pdf/27_05.pdf

I was suspect with the ultra low volume rates of the drone however by including a sticker to the mix and no rain for two days after spraying the results are looking positive.

 

Looking back on it i don't recall seeing the RTK dongle attached to the remote control so they were just using the same free sattelites as my Trimble 250 ezy-guide does.(plus,minus 0.6 metre accuracy).

 

As you say sometimes it's easier to keep things simple,a battery or engine backpack sprayer and a mister will do the job for the average size Thai farmers at considerable less cost(except your health)

 

I'm still working on a solution for my snapped track on my Morooka,if available i wouldn't have needed the drone but as it was the drone was a saviour in this circumstance.

After 16 inches of rain for September if i can get 4 inches this month to finish the crop off the money will be well spent for the hire of the drone.

 

My thoughts go out to those farmers affected by the flooding at present,it must be heart breaking.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kickstart]

Hi FJ

        An interesting report saying about  the low volume ,and a 10-15 % loss of production by using a drone ,something which wife's son-in-law probable did not think of .

I think they are here to stay ,have seen a good few spraying maize crops,against the fall army worm .so no shortage of work.

But with Thai's not being the most patience of people  in the long queue in waiting for a drone ,a lot will simply get the knapsack sprayer out .

I thought you had got your Morooka sorted out ,not my field ,but would a track off 360 back hoe fit ,they should be joining links for tracks available or are they a different pitch for the sprockets .

Reading that report ,made a change from reading about Lumpy Skin disease ,a farmer friend asked how often do you vaccinate against LSD  after ,an hour on Google , not at all easy to eliminate,could be impossible, vaccinate for 3 years , and you need an 80%  herd immunity  for a good protection 

[farmerjo]

On 10/4/2021 at 8:56 PM, kickstart said:

thought you had got your Morooka sorted out ,not my field ,but would a track off 360 back hoe fit ,they should be joining links for tracks available or are they a different pitch for the sprockets

Hi KS

You would have to start from scratch(idlers,sprockets etc) changing rubber to steel,i did ask a company if they would do for me and he said forget it too expensive.Funny thing was he wouldn't give a price so i could determine that.

What i want to do as an easy fix to make it mobile is make it like a self propelled swather.A couple of 2nd hand rear tractor tyres on the front and some castor wheels on the back.

Problem has been tracking down the castors in Thailand.If you have seen anything similar on other bits of gear in your travels let us know.

 

 

 

 

 

[farmerjo]

Went to town yesterday for son's school exam.

We don't flood where we are but this video is 8 km's down our main road to the highway 201.

Haven't seen water flowing here since 2011 so checked my rain records and they are near identical years.The locals thought it a good opportunity to get the fishing gear out.

 

 

[kickstart]

8 hours ago, farmerjo said:

Went to town yesterday for son's school exam.

We don't flood where we are but this video is 8 km's down our main road to the highway 201.

Haven't seen water flowing here since 2011 so checked my rain records and they are near identical years.The locals thought it a good opportunity to get the fishing gear out.

 

 

Have heard about flooding in KK ,this looks mild to what we have seen on Thai TV ,was any of the big floods near you .

We are drying out ,but part of my filed is still under 1 foot of water it has now been 17 days , since my neighbour has banked up his fish-ponds the water has nowhere to go ,he had a big 360 in for 4 days banking up the fish-pond to prevent flooding ,but he did not do one side next to house ,that was where water come in and a lot of his Blar Nin left the pond .

Week before the flood we cut some Napier grass ,left the stems about 10-12 inches high ,then as per usual I cut the stems and any other weeds down to the ground 

Rip-Roy,floods come this part of the field was sat in water for 3 days I am almost certain that patch of Napier is now an ex Napier ,first time I have seen this with Napier grass ,have cut the rest of the field and that is growing back, not over well ,will have to keep some back for replanting root stock next year. 

Like you this is our  worse flooding since 2011.

Was out this evening ,our other neighbour had a drone in spraying his rice crop ,mainly for aphids ,he was also applying some magnesium fertilizer ,this drone was charging 80 baht/rie  ,getting more competitive in this area now ,as the guy said good few about now .

[farmerjo]

On 10/14/2021 at 8:14 PM, kickstart said:

Have heard about flooding in KK ,this looks mild to what we have seen on Thai TV ,was any of the big floods near you .

We are drying out ,but part of my filed is still under 1 foot of water it has now been 17 days , since my neighbour has banked up his fish-ponds the water has nowhere to go ,he had a big 360 in for 4 days banking up the fish-pond to prevent flooding ,but he did not do one side next to house ,that was where water come in and a lot of his Blar Nin left the pond .

Week before the flood we cut some Napier grass ,left the stems about 10-12 inches high ,then as per usual I cut the stems and any other weeds down to the ground 

Rip-Roy,floods come this part of the field was sat in water for 3 days I am almost certain that patch of Napier is now an ex Napier ,first time I have seen this with Napier grass ,have cut the rest of the field and that is growing back, not over well ,will have to keep some back for replanting root stock next year. 

Like you this is our  worse flooding since 2011.

Was out this evening ,our other neighbour had a drone in spraying his rice crop ,mainly for aphids ,he was also applying some magnesium fertilizer ,this drone was charging 80 baht/rie  ,getting more competitive in this area now ,as the guy said good few about now .

Hi KS,

Had to do another trip to town today for school again so went the other way thru Phuphaman,that borders on Chaiyrapum(something like that) province and a lot of standing and flowing water in the fields.Certainly a lot more affected than where i am,i think some runoff from Chulaporn dam comes down there if they open the gates as well.

Not sure when the rain is going to let up as had another 85mm in last 4 days.

Good to see the drone price coming down but can't see how they will stay in business at the low prices.

Got a bit excited when i saw a harvester in the village here,was an old Kubota DC-60 bagging machine and half stripped down doing maintenance for the coming season.

Think it will get plenty of work as some bumper rice crops around and can see a lot of lodging from the weight of the heads coming on.

 

[farmerjo]

Some good finishing rains in october for the rice.(200mm)

Heads are filling out and harvest still looks at least another two weeks away.

1st picture is a bit of cawneo planted,i think the local research station are trying to modify the genes to make it shorter.Don't think i will grow it again as it tended to lack vigor competing with weeds during the growing season and the yield looks average for a long season variety. 

2nd picture is of the KDML105(hom mali) i direct seeded at 3 kg/rai on aerobic soil.

With the extra wet season and seeding light it has tillered really well and doing ok

.No fertilizer has been applied as had sunn hemp in prior so it has been a cheap input crop to grow.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[IsaanAussie]

Your second picture, the 105 has me interested. Please let me know what the yield ends up being. We seeded about the same rate, but fert costs much higher

 

[farmerjo]

13 hours ago, IsaanAussie said:

Your second picture, the 105 has me interested. Please let me know what the yield ends up being. We seeded about the same rate, but fert costs much higher

 

Will do IA

What is the season shaping like down your way?

I'm trying to get a gauge on how much effect the flooding in area's has had.

As decision time will come with what to do with the excess straw after harvest.

We don't really have a market for straw bales here but i would like to bale this year as part of the field cleansing.

Problem is there is going to be a lot of bales and an expensive exercise if i can't get rid of them.

I'm not sure if i will even be allowed to burn the rows so may be stuck with a lot of straw i would prefer not to incorporate back in.

[kickstart]

2 hours ago, farmerjo said:

Will do IA

What is the season shaping like down your way?

I'm trying to get a gauge on how much effect the flooding in area's has had.

As decision time will come with what to do with the excess straw after harvest.

We don't really have a market for straw bales here but i would like to bale this year as part of the field cleansing.

Problem is there is going to be a lot of bales and an expensive exercise if i can't get rid of them.

I'm not sure if i will even be allowed to burn the rows so may be stuck with a lot of straw i would prefer not to incorporate back in.

I would have thought incorporating the straw back in to the land would do it some good ,organic matter and all that ,but with your Marroka  being in dock the fuel costs for the Ford could be high you would have to go over it a few times ? to incorporate it all,could you chop the straw first.

Where you are is not a cow area ,but you could still bale it and store it ,the locale cattle farmers will soon know and will buy it off you during the dry season,i know it could be a pain just selling a few bales at a time ,as you say better than burning it,then a bale could be sold for about 25 baht .

It must be 35 years now since straw burning was banned in the UK ,then farmers said a good burn was worth a few quid an acre killing any disease  and pests ,and the P and K in the ash .

A lot of big arable farms on heavy land said what do we do with the straw ,so , the combines had straw choppers on ,chopped the straw ,then disc/cultivators incorporated it to the land ,after a few years of this soil fertility  did improve .