2022 Volume 66 Issue 2 Pages 64-72
Taro beetle damage has recently been reported on Gau Island, Fiji, causing economic loss for the taro business. This significantly reduced farmers’ incomes and the cultural value of taro. Swamp taro cultivation is expected to be a solution to taro beetle damage. Even though studies investigating the mitigation of taro beetle damage in paddy fields are not common, taro beetles do not have the ability to go beyond a certain depth in muddy condition. This study investigated suitable wetlands for taro cultivation by using the topographic wetness index (TWI). The calculation also considered protection forest zones and accessibility as analyzed by RapidEye satellite images, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), and buffer function. Results showed that 26.03% of the island’s mass has potential for the development of paddy fields. Although the result was larger than predicted, there are differences between potential areas for each village. However, these areas were more than double size of the existing farmland of each village. Estimated yields corresponding to the potential areas were also presented in the study; these indicated that more than half of villages might be able to yield more than 0.50 t of taro production.
