Ozzydom,khowan & Sap,

[Lickey]

Hi all, last time i heard from Ozzydom was that lightning had hit his house electric supply and cooked his PC,TV, and anything else that was on at the time, that was early October, I hope you dont mind Dom but i think you were 70 years old also in early October, Pan, {my mrs} thought you were the same age as me,56ish, hope you get things sorted soon and it will be good to see you back online mate, your general farming knowledge is invaluable to us rookies.

Khowan, you told me via phone that you were off to Scotland, the first time in 6 years, for your birthday, same day as mine but a few years apart!!, I for 1 are seeking your advice on cassava, seems so many farmers here in Namsom are selling after only 5/6 months growing, is this normal? or do thai farmers smell a rat and dropping prices? it seems the rain has stopped now, but many farmers have re-planted already, is this ok with no more rain, i really think that most dont have any kind of irrigation, looking forward to your summary when the haggis and Mc Ewans export beer has worn off!!

SAP, i think most of you will remeber SAP as the potato and sweetcorn specialist, Sap has helped me a lot with understanding how to grow potatoes in a hot climate, how to lighten the soil with manure/compost, and also more importantly how to make the compost, so far with Saps guidance, all is looking good for the spuds.

I met Sap 1 time at his leaving Thai party in Udon, along with Ozzydom, we had a great evening, Sap is 31 i think, and has been in Thai near 9 years as a Agri specialist,

Sap has phoned me 2 times from NZ to ask how the spuds are doing, he also told me that he has just planted some spuds and it snowed the next day, he said he is not too worried because it was a freak snow and would be gone the next day, he also said how nice it was to go into an Agri shop, and be able to read the labels, I can agree with this too.

So you 3 gentlemen farmers, im sure im not the only one missing your valuable contributions, and i hope you are all well and fit!

Best Wishes, Lickey,

PS, ever seen a farmer on a pushbike?

[Khonwan]

Hi Lickey

And both were very tasty!

Cassava has always also been grown at this time of the year (and without irrigation). The soil, after the season’s rain, is still moist enough to plant cassava. Growers will hope for an occasional day of rain from time to time to replenish that moisture - if there isn’t, the tubers growth will be slow and the eventual yield reduced. It is riskier, which is why I choose not to plant at this time. A big benefit, however, is weed control: not as many weeds grow as the dry season commences.

Harvesting after 5-6 months? Sounds like farmers with serious cash-flow issues! Poor tuber and starch yields should make this exceptional rather than common in your area. Could be due to cash-flow problems, in conjunction with the government’s current offer of Bt1,800 per tonne of fresh tubers pledged (don’t ask me about the pledge scheme – I don’t know the details). Some villages are repaying the government village-million-baht-loan next month (15th, in the case of my neighbouring village) – this could be a possible cause.

Cheers

Khonwan

[Lickey]

Hi Khonwan, glad you had a good time and thanks for your reply, not sure if its a shortage of money or payback time for the goverment? the truck and trailer loads groaning up the hill past our house dont look very big tuber wise, perhaps 1/2 kilo average size.

Now picking your brains a bit, we have 3 rai of set-aside, {no, we dont get paid for this, wish we did!! } im thinking of putting in some cassava sticks, [ taking sticks from the prolific crop in the tamarind orchard] no cultivation, no weed killer, minimum fert, and irrigation if ness, The re-planting locals seem to be doing this with no cultivation ect, but perhaps leaving the crop for 2 years would be advantageous?

Thanks, Lickey.

[Khonwan]

Hi Lickey

You should be able to do as you suggest. But, eliminate weeds first. 1 or 2 years? No need to decide now – you can make that decision next year, whether to harvest or leave for another 6 months.

Rgds

Khonwan

PS I’m still experiencing Internet problems – especially this morning!