Wheat vs. Rice

[swissie]

Plenty of studies indicate, that rice with a high demand of water needed for growth, will eventually have to be replaced by an other "basic food crop" in S/E Asia.

In comparison to rice, wheat needs only a fraction of water compared to rice. On the other hand, during rainy season, wheat will probably rot away in the field, due to natural over-irrigation.

Amateur Farmer question, I know. But I am sure, that there are a couple of ex- mid western Dry Land Wheat Farmers in Thailand that are willing to give some "input". Especially if it comes to "natural over irrigation.".

Cheers

[kickstart]

They is some wheat grown in Thailand,mainly in the ,Chian Mai area,if was grown in say central Thailand would the yeilds be conpatible with rice,wheat would suffer from fungle disease, without doing some homework ,are the same chemicals that are used on rice, could be used on wheat?,also insects ,again having to use a lot insecticides,hardly a sustainable way of farming, I would say,yields would be a lot lower ,because of the above.

You would be right about the rainey season ,they would be no way ,this year growing rice ,next year growing wheat , unless a lot of expencive work is done,the old rice fields would have to be sub soiled to a high degree to get rid of the water, or some sort of drainage ,also most of the equipment is not readily available,they are some subsoilers that would do ,finding a good chisel plough to open the land not easy.

You have got your wheat crop,what do you do with it ,it will not be a good enough quality to make bread,the protein will not be high enough,might be able to do the Hagburg method,a way to increase the grain protein to make bread,if not ,you could sell it for animal feed,but would that be at a price where you could make money.

As you know the bigest problem will be getting the farmers to except a new crop,the only way would be a hign market price,but with the knock on effect, would any one buy the end product, if the price was to high.

As I see it the only way to reduce water usage would be to grow "Khow Ria",dry land rice, but that would be completely different rice varietys ,from paddey rice ,no Khow- Supan,no, Khow -Hom-Marley can not see it .

I would say, Thai rice farmers would drain every last river,Klong, in Thailand to grow their rice,then they might start and think about changes.

My 2 satangs worth.

KS

[farmerjo]

Feed barley and feed oats could possibly be grown in issarn,but they wont feed you.

And the price if there was a market would be way less.

Think it comes down to water management practises with rice.

As KS says with wheat quality,the falling numbers machine would go thru the roof for sprouted grain.

[Torrens54]

Sounds like an excellent idea but would take a LOT of convincing the local farmers.

Think many of them would rather go broke than admit they followed the advice of a Ferang.

[kerrysum]

Sounds like an excellent idea but would take a LOT of convincing the local farmers.

Think many of them would rather go broke than admit they followed the advice of a Ferang.

Have to admit, I totally agree with you.... Hard heads/hard ways.... Farang knowledge not needed....

[SOTIRIOS]

...oversimplification....

[glegolo]

Why worry about it.... Nearly nobody in Thailand, except for falangs, eat any bread.... There is NO MARKET to talk about at all...

Forget it and save your money..

Glegolo

[williet98248]

Wheat probably not feasible in Thailand. I will be retiring to the wife's farm in a few years and will spends a lot of time researching alternates to rice and sugar cane. Organically grown brown rice? Possibly high demand fruits and vegetables grown organically and sold at high end stores.

[Suradit69]

Sounds like an excellent idea but would take a LOT of convincing the local farmers.

Think many of them would rather go broke than admit they followed the advice of a Ferang.

"Think many of them would rather go broke than admit they followed the advice of a Ferang."

Farang have an abundant supply of free advice on everything with little understanding of either the consequences or of how local conditions differ from their own experience ... assuming the advice giver has had any experience at all. It seems when most farang come to Thailand they're instantly transformed into experts on everything.

[Jonathon]

Why worry about it.... Nearly nobody in Thailand, except for falangs, eat any bread.... There is NO MARKET to talk about at all...

Forget it and save your money..

Glegolo

Lots of bread is eaten here by Thai kids, so probably a growing market.

[maidee]

soon monsanto will also have a GMO rice

so the best option will be: eat none of them

both full with pesticides, herbicides, and many people allergic to them or get fat as fell as being empty starches for rice and for wheat, the most important nutrient has been stripped in the process

[thousandpercent]

soon monsanto will also have a GMO rice

so the best option will be: eat none of them

both full with pesticides, herbicides, and many people allergic to them or get fat as fell as being empty starches for rice and for wheat, the most important nutrient has been stripped in the process

.

Hippies should be composted and used as fertilizer.

[glegolo]

soon monsanto will also have a GMO rice

so the best option will be: eat none of them

both full with pesticides, herbicides, and many people allergic to them or get fat as fell as being empty starches for rice and for wheat, the most important nutrient has been stripped in the process

.

Hippies should be composted and used as fertilizer.

Hehehe, ,,,,,,,, we are the hippies, the hippie-generation.... What are you??? Daycarecenter-baby?

Glegolo

[Catoni]

I think... with the way science and genetic engineering is going... it will be only a matter of time before they have a rice that will do well in drier areas...higher resistance to drought..

... and a wheat that will do well in wetter areas..... including resistance to insect pests and fungal infections that need much less pesticide. And these grains will be genetically engineered to have higher levels of nutrients also. We already have some of these foods on the shelves in North America...

They've already done this sort of thing..and created "Golden Rice", growing it in the Philippines for example...produced through genetic engineering to biosynthesize beta-carotene, a precursor of vitamin A, in the edible parts of rice. The research was conducted with the goal of producing a fortified food to be grown and consumed in areas with a shortage of dietary vitamin A, a deficiency which is estimated to kill 670,000 children under the age of 5 each year.

https://en.wikipedia.org/?title=Golden_rice

In North America... there are tomatoes with a much longer shelf life.... and new forms of corn.... . new forms of food that need much less pesticide.. The world is changing...

[Catoni]

soon monsanto will also have a GMO rice

so the best option will be: eat none of them

both full with pesticides, herbicides, and many people allergic to them or get fat as fell as being empty starches for rice and for wheat, the most important nutrient has been stripped in the process

.

Hippies should be composted and used as fertilizer.

Hehehe, ,,,,,,,, we are the hippies, the hippie-generation.... What are you??? Daycarecenter-baby?

Glegolo

Many new GMO foods are or will be being created that will be genetically engineered to be more resistant to pests and funguses etc..... these foods will need much less pesticides and herbicides...

That might be a good thing..... in North America...there are already a lot of GMO foods on the shelves.... more then many people realize...

"Golden Rice" is a good thing for example... Google.. "Golden Rice"

[duanebigsby]

In North America... there are tomatoes with a much longer shelf life.... and new forms of corn.... . new forms of food that need much less pesticide.. The world is changing...

I remember the tomatoes of my childhood, sweet, juicy, and delicious.

You could eat them like you would a fruit. (I know, technically they are.)

I wish they could use the GMO's to taste better.

Edited June 24, 2015 by duanebigsby

[Scuba 1st]

From my experience in Western Australia not only soil level would have to be raised or fields sub soil drained, both very expencive. The main problem is soil type, over here the soil is sandy and all the soil that I've observed in Thailand is high content clay, so you would have to open the soil which comes once again with a cost both in monetary terms and time.

[slapout]

as noted soil type lay of land(lvel) replacement crop, land ownereship /coop/private/gov, etc potential, market, transport irrigtatio0n allotme4nts, storage enter the picture and get local support

i havge noticed a tendency to business deals here being done with the intention f someone getting screwed badley insyead of sha etcmany factors to consder and experi8e4nced peo0plke wwho are intrest6esw in selfr beiing of the general p-opulaqt6io0n instead of a miinority has to eres tough way to run a business or a country

[thaiturkey]

WHEAT NOT VIABLE

I have been a professional farmer all my life, spent more than 20 out of last 30 years based in Thailand, where I pioneered turkey farming.

Believe me, wheat is not viable here, because it is a temperate crop, requiring long summer days to grow well. Apart from this, the high temperature and humidity also cause severe disease and insect problems, as someone already mentioned. A further drawback is high night temperatures and long nights, causing the crop to metabolise most of the carbohydrate produced during the day, resticting growth and yield.

The wheat grown in Chieng Mai / Chieng Rai produces very small yields.....cheaper to import.

Maize is a viable alternative to rice, and is a staple food in much of Africa, where it is coarsely ground and made into a thick porrige (Ugali). This is so thick it is eaten by hand just like sticky rice (Khao Neow). I have personaly eaten it in Tanzania, and it was much better than I expected. It would fit in well with Esarn food.

[kickstart]

Sounds like an excellent idea but would take a LOT of convincing the local farmers.

Think many of them would rather go broke than admit they followed the advice of a Ferang.ii

I would say most of us Farangs have seen the Thai TV at 8 pm the royal news,then after that is a 2 minute piece about HM King ,and the good work he has done for the Thai people,some of his projects have been discussed on TV before.

I have often thought ,where did he get the ideas from then one night,they said the FAO.some of the FAO, projects are far from sustainable,but His Majesty has brought some of their good ideas to Thailand ,and it has improved the lot for a lot of people.

They was one Thai who took the advice from a frang organization and it worked.