WHAT DETERMINE SMALLHOLDERS’ FERTILIZATION PRACTICES DURING THE MATURE PERIOD OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN THAILAND?
| Autor: | BÉNÉDICTE CHAMBON, XUAN LAI DAO, URAIWAN TONGKAEMKAEW, FRÉDÉRIC GAY |
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| Rok vydání: | 2017 |
| Předmět: |
Latex
Yield (finance) Plantations Engrais potassique Context (language use) engineering.material Fertilisation Petite exploitation agricole Productivité Human fertilization Natural rubber 0502 economics and business Location Engrais organique biology Engrais azoté Agroforestry 05 social sciences Maturité 04 agricultural and veterinary sciences biology.organism_classification K10 - Production forestière Rendement des cultures Geography Hévéa visual_art 040103 agronomy & agriculture engineering visual_art.visual_art_medium Period (geology) 0401 agriculture forestry and fisheries 050202 agricultural economics & policy Fertilizer Agronomy and Crop Science F04 - Fertilisation Hevea |
| Zdroj: | Experimental Agriculture |
| ISSN: | 1469-4441 0014-4797 |
| Popis: | SUMMARYFertilization of rubber plantations has been poorly documented despite the huge economic and ecological impact of this tropical perennial crop, especially in Southeast Asia. The main objective of this paper is to provide information on the fertilization practices of rubber smallholders in Thailand and to investigate the drivers of these practices. Data were sourced from individual interviews conducted with 414 rubber smallholders. The results showed that 99.4% of the mature rubber plantations were fertilized with either chemical or organic fertilizers, or both. The average dose of chemical fertilizers was 105/53/92 kg ha−1 of N/P/K that is consistent with the national recommendations. We estimated that almost two-thirds of the plantations had intensive or very intensive fertilization practices. Geographical location, especially the distinction between historical and new rubber-producing areas, appeared as a major factor explaining differences in fertilization practices. Several drivers commonly found in the literature did not affect the fertilization practices of the rubber farmers, highlighting some specificity of perennial crops and a context where access to fertilizer was not an issue. The high economic and environmental costs of intensive fertilization practices, while their benefit to the yield of rubber plantations continues to be debated, show the need to conduct research on sustainable fertilization practices in rubber smallholdings. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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