Second Crop

[sierra01]

My TG owns a bit of land about 35km north of Korat, her parents use it to grow rice for their own consumption, they get 1 crop per year. Is it possible to grow corn, peanut, garlic or something when there isn't enough water to grow rice? The land has access to a limited water supply, so they can only grow something that doesn't need too much water, any ideas?

[Andyfez]

I'm 50 KMs north of Khorat, and the main problem is the salty soil.

Very few crops will grow in this soil and in the dry season when you want to do a second crop, the lack of water makes it just too salty to do anything.

This is why no-one bothers.

Andy

[sierra01]

Thanks Andy, it just seemed crazy to leave the plot unused for 6 months of the year, I was hoping they could grow something else as well as rice to suppliment their quite low income. If the soil is too salty then that's that idea down the toilet.

[pnustedt]

I was hoping they could grow something else as well as rice to suppliment their quite low income. 

Have they tried chillies - we're moving more land over to this as it seems to be more profitable.

[chownah]

Celery grows in salty soil if its not too salty, but it take alot of water....maybe you could grow dry celery? If you grow celery in salty soil it is already salted when you eat it...or so I've read.

On a more serious note:

First you should check to see if you have salty soil...might not...if you look around you can probably find free soil test through the gov't...maybe at some agriculture university...maybe in Khon Kaen.

They might try growing a green manure crop in the dry season....something that you would not harvest and sell but would plow in to enrich the soil. This should increase the rice harvest so it would pay off but not directly. Sunn Hemp is a legume (not even related to true hemp) that doesn't require alot of water. I have read that if you plant it in moist soil you will only have to irrigate it once later on to grow a green manure crop. Seeds are available in Thailand and in fact the gov't had a program of giving away Sunn Hemp seeds to farmers as an incentive to try it but I don't know if they are still doing this....I'm in the process of growing my own seed now....you might ask about this at the agriculture place where you get your soil tested.

Also, you say they have access to a limited water supply...can you describe it?...is it alot of water every two weeks or a little bit every day or what? Do you have to pump it or does it come in a canal?...from a pond?

[sierra01]

Thanks a lot for the advice people, I'm sure they/I can sort something out.

The limited access to water is from a big fish pond next to the rice field, they sell the fish oncer per year I think. They could easily drain off a little water now and again, there is a dug channel connecting the pond and the field that is blocked off.

[Gary A]

I live in Loei province and the farmers here who double crop plant soybeans.

[RamdomChances]

The growing season here, well where I am anyway, it might vary a bit regionaly, goes from anout May to October. Usually get the first rains around end of april, making the ground soft enough to plough, and the last rains about october/november. Unfortunatly I'm not sure about rice, can you grow anything in the paddies or is it just sutible for rice, the growing time for rich I though was about 3 months, they double crop here, treble in some areas, with acces to irrigation.

Around here they(first/second crop) maize/sunflower, maize/sorghram, maize/cotton, sugar caine (1 crop a year, it takes that long to grow). Peanuts and I belive soya can be double croped, but you second crop is risky and they are'nt cheap to plant and look after. Other than that if they have any live stock put some "yaa jumbo" in grows in just about anything, does'nt need much water, no looking after, and its cheap, its only much good for feeding cattle ect though not a cash crop.

RC

Edited December 19, 2005 by RamdomChances

[Gary A]

The first crop here is always rice during the rainy season. The rice has now been harvested and now they are busy planting soybeans in the rice paddies.

The growing season here, well where I am anyway, it might vary a bit regionaly, goes from anout May to October. Usually get the first rains around end of april, making the ground soft enough to plough, and the last rains about october/november. Unfortunatly I'm not sure about rice, can you grow anything in the paddies or is it just sutible for rice, the growing time for rich I though was about 3 months, they double crop here, treble in some areas, with acces to irrigation.

Around here they(first/second crop) maize/sunflower, maize/sorghram, maize/cotton, sugar caine (1 crop a year, it takes that long to grow). Peanuts and I belive soya can be double croped, but you second crop is risky and they are'nt cheap to plant and look after. Other than that if they have any live stock put some "yaa jumbo" in grows in just about anything, does'nt need much water, no looking after, and its cheap, its only much good for feeding cattle ect though not a cash crop.

RC

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[chownah]

People around here are doing soybeans after rice too....but you need a good supply of water for soybeans.

[dr.cruella]

Your can grow rice by type or species selection such as Kor kor 1(rice for abandon area) or Suwon1(corn for abandon area), not Jusmin rice in Korat. If you need advisory you can ask for help from agiculture research station at Suwon Field in Pakchong area close to ChockChai Farm.

I have orchid farm at WongNamKeaw (50 kms far from The Mall Korat)and now start to run Hydroponic Plants .Organic Plants and Soiless Plants.

Normally soil type at Korat area is Sandy-loam.

[Andyfez]

Sorry to dissappoint, but the number of salt factories round here will confirm the soil is AMAZINGLY salty.

The phimai/ Talad Khae area is on top of a salt mountain.

Apparently 50 million years ago the Korat plain was an inland sea.

In the dry season the tap water is like sea water (not that we drink it).

We can't even use it to water the garden.

This goes on to my next point in that the dry season is, and has been very unpredictable (and very dry the last few years).

Water from the tap works out too expensive to use on a daily basis on crops, even if it isn't too salty.

I don't know the value of chillis, but unless you're on a reliable river bank I don't think it would be practical if you were growing enough to make it worth anything more than for use by the local villagers.

But I'd be pleased to be proved wrong.

The key element here remember is the salty soil.

Andy

[chownah]

Sorry to dissappoint, but the number of salt factories round here will confirm the soil is AMAZINGLY salty.

The phimai/ Talad Khae area is on top of a salt mountain.

Apparently 50 million years ago the Korat plain was an inland sea.

In the dry season the tap water is like sea water (not that we drink it).

We can't even use it to water the garden.

This goes on to my next point in that the dry season is, and has been very unpredictable (and very dry the last few years).

Water from the tap works out too expensive to use on a daily basis on crops, even if it isn't too salty.

I don't know the value of chillis, but unless you're on a reliable river bank I don't think it would be practical if you were growing enough to make it worth anything more than for use by the local villagers.

But I'd be pleased to be proved wrong.

The key element here remember is the salty soil.

Andy

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Get a soil test....around here they are free.....

[Andyfez]

Having been so negative in my earlier posting (the soil really is salty round here), it got me thinking.

We're going to plant the nearest field with Chillis and see how they do this year.

It's near enough to be able to supply water, although the supply will be the tap. I'll have to monitor usage, and hopefully chillis don't need too much once the seedlings have grown.

My wifes main worry is that the crop won't be finished before we have to pull them up to replant the rice crop.

Chillis will take a month or so for the seedlings, then 75-100 days after they're planted out for the chillis to grow.

Andy

[chownah]

Having been so negative in my earlier posting (the soil really is salty round here), it got me thinking.

We're going to plant the nearest field with Chillis and see how they do this year.

It's near enough to be able to supply water, although the supply will be the tap. I'll have to monitor usage, and hopefully chillis don't need too much once the seedlings have grown.

My wifes main worry is that the crop won't be finished before we have to pull them up to replant the rice crop.

Chillis will take a month or so for the seedlings, then 75-100 days after they're planted out for the chillis to grow.

Andy

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To conserve water you can put a layer of mulch on the soil....rice straw is good for this and so are rice hulls...or leaves etc.

[WatersEdge]

For what it may be worth,

I learned in the past week that Asparagus is salt tolerant

maybe even likes salt

It also requires a cool conditions if I recall,

which may rule your area out

You also can convert the whole thing to fish ponds.