The objective of this research was to investigate the effect of different rates of organic fertilizers with or without mungbean crop residues incorporated into the soil after harvesting, on growth and yield of transplanted rice as well as economic return of mungbean as pre-rice crop. An experiment was conducted in a farmer’s field in Muang Yai Village, Khon Kaen Province, Thailand, in 2011. A split-plot arrangement of treatments in a RCBD (randomized completed block design) was used, with pre-rice mungbean or fallow with weeds incorporated into the soil in main plots, and cattle manure at four rates (0; 3,125; 6,250; 9,375 kg/ha) as subplots. Incorporation of mungbean residue into the soil provided 3.2 t of dry matter per ha containing 50.2 kg N, 9.8 kg P and 166.2 kg K per ha. Incorporation of weeds in the fallow treatment provided 1.7 t of dry matter per ha containing 11.3 kg N, 2.8 kg P and 90 kg K per ha. Mungbean residues incorporated into the soil significantly increased plant height and tiller number per hill but had no significant effect on top dry weight per hill of the succeeding rice crop at panicle initiation stage (PI). At harvest, pre-rice mungbean significantly increased top dry weight per hill of rice. Application of different rates of cattle manure significantly affected plant height at PI and harvest. Cattle manure applied at the highest rate (9,375 kg/ha) had the highest plant height. Grain yield of rice was not significantly affected by pre-rice management. However, incorporation of mungbean residues produced an increase in rice grain yield over fallow treatment of 416 kg/ha (or 17%). Incorporation of mungbean significantly increased panicle number per hill. Incorporation of mungbean residue and application of cattle manure at 6,250 kg/ha produced the maximum panicle number per hill. Cattle manure application at the rate of 9,375 kg/ha resulted in the maximum rice grain yield (2,920 kg/ha). No significant interaction between pre-rice residue management and cattle manure application was found on rice grain yield. Growing mungbean before rice provides the advantage of marketable grain of mungbean to 1.6 t/ha. The net economic return was found highest in growing mungbean alone with transplanted rice later (2,855US $/ha) or three times higher than the fallow treatment.

Corn (Zea mays L.) is one of the three most important cereals in the world. Peru is one of the centers of biodiversity of corn in the world and has 35 ecotypes. In this study we compared the allelopathic activity of Peruvian native varieties of corn using the plant box method to evaluate the activity by root exudate and sandwich method to evaluate the activity by leaf leachate for sustainable weed managements. An experiment using native varieties of 6 Peruvian corn races (Cuzco, Amarillo ancashino, Morado, Piscorunto, Chullpy, Terciopelo) was conducted at National Agrarian University La Molina, Peru. Cuzco race (known as Giant corn) was the strongest with more than 75% of lettuce radicle inhibition. Besides, these samples were evaluated by sandwich method using 10 and 50 mg of dry leaves (24 hours at 60 °C). Another experiment to compare Peruvian and Japanese varieties was conducted at National Institute for Agro-Environmental Science, Japan. A total of 85 varieties (3 Peruvian varieties and 82 Japanese varieties) and 3 types of teosinte Euchlaena mexicana were evaluated by plant box method. From this evaluation, Peruvian varieties of Morado (known as Purple corn) and Maiz cancha, both varieties of soft corn type, showed a strong inhibitory activity. Kuromochikibi and other Japanese varieties of waxy corn type showed also strong inhibition of lettuce radicle growth. As a conclusion, we found that Peruvian native purple corn and varieties of soft corn and waxy corn types have potent allelopathic activity and promising crop for weed control at sustainable agriculture.

This paper illustrates the viewpoints of the government, farmers’ organizations, namely Agricultural Production Cooperatives (APCs), and individual farmers in relation to the introduction and adoption of a System of Rice Intensification (SRI) in Vietnam. It also identifies factors that can promote or impede the social shift towards fewer agricultural inputs through the SRI method. The qualitative analysis is based on field studies in three communes in the Red River Delta as well as interviews with relevant actors in Vietnam in order to describe each actor’s viewpoints and the realities of farmers’ behaviors towards agricultural inputs. We demonstrated that farmers could correct their overuse of pesticides and herbicides by SRI adoption through training opportunities provided by a Farmer Field School (FFS), inducing farmers to recognize the positive effects of SRI on pest damage and plant protection. However, we also found that the attitude and mental barriers of some governmental bodies and APCs narrowed the opportunities of SRI introduction at a community level. In addition, farmers often faced initial mental barriers and managerial difficulties in adopting the full elements of SRI even if they were trained in the SRI method, leading them to adopt a "modified" SRI in order to meet their personal needs. Nevertheless, the rapid extension of SRI in Northern Vietnam can be explained by: (i) the government’s acknowledgement of SRI, together with an administrative focus on the integrated pest management with the extension tool of the FFS, (ii) the role of APCs in coordinating farmers to lower the entry barriers for them to adopt new techniques, and (iii) communities’ involvement in SRI adoption in order to manage agricultural production collectively without pesticides and herbicides as well as increasing the product’s value, suggesting possible approaches for small-scale farmers to improve their livelihoods while saving agricultural input costs.

Currently in Greater Phnom Penh of Cambodia, the majority of famers apply agricultural chemicals such as chemical fertilizers or pesticide to maintain high levels of crop yield. However, agricultural chemicals released from farmlands are causing severe problems, such as the health damage of famers or the degradation of soil and water environment. So, an attention has been paid to approach sustainable rural development as regional challenges in the Education for Sustainable Development, ESD. This research dealt with the evaluation of the effects of eri-culture on promoting environmental awareness of local farmers, especially regarding the reduction of chemical pesticide applied. As eri silkworm is sensitive to agricultural chemicals, research interests have been focused on how eri-culture affects the environmental awareness of local farmers who rear eri silkworm. Eri silkworm, a kind of wild silkworms that inhabit south Asia, has been introduced to local villages in Kampong Cham province since October 2010 for a part of the activities of Regional Centre of Expertise in Greater Phnom Penh. The workshops have been organized 2 times for local farmers including the demonstration of eri-culture in November and December 2010. Also, the training on eri-culture was conducted to each local farmer who has started rearing eri silkworms. After 6 months from introducing eri-culture in Kampong Cham province, the questionnaire survey was conducted in March 2011 to evaluate the effects of eri-culture on promoting environmental awareness of local farmers. The results showed that rearing farmers wanted to reduce 92.5% of chemical pesticide compared to the conventional way. While local farmers who just participated or who have never participated in the workshops showed only 72.3% or 66.9% of chemical pesticide to be reduced. So, there was a tendency the expected percentage of chemical pesticide to be reduced for rearing farmers was remarkably higher than that for local farmers who just participated in the workshop or who have never participated in the workshops. Accordingly, it was considered that eri-culture has educational function for local farmers regarding the reduction of chemical pesticide application. However, other trainings such as sustainable farming practices may be indispensable to reduce the amounts of chemical pesticide applied with minimizing the insect damage to agricultural products.

Large amount of crop residues are produced every year in China. Although crop residues are rich in organic matter, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium and magnesium, local farmers tend to burn residues in the fields in order to simplify preparation for following cultivations and to enhance the development of economic conditions. Thus, attention has been paid to the effects of crop residues burning on soil environment. The objectives of this study are to observe changes in burning density and to evaluate changes in soil quality caused by burning practices in Wenshui, Shanxi of China. Burning density was analyzed based on the Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS). In addition, onsite experiment on residue burning was conducted in Wenshui and soil samples were collected for evaluating the change of soil quality and soil fauna. It was observed that the burning density in Wenshui of Shanxi in 2009 was much larger at 0.0467 events/km²/year than that in 2001 at 0.00141 events/km²/year. Also, the results of onsite experiment on residue burning conducted in Wenshui indicated that soil surface temperature rose to 415 degrees Celsius resulting in the sudden decrease of microorganism population. In addition, values of electrical conductivity (EC) and pH increased to 219 mS/m and 9.04, respectively. However, there was a slight decrease in soil permeability. Burning crop residues on farmland may accelerate nitrogen loss. Besides, concentration of phosphorous in soil tended to increase with the burning process. Therefore, it was concluded that the burning of residues significantly affects soil ecosystem and its quality.

Cardamom mountain of Cambodia was classified as Burma’s hotspot of biodiversity by UNESCO in 2006. It includes watershed, air filtering and many other natural resources such as timber and non-timber forest products (NTFPs), food, medicine and construction materials. Forest has been severely degraded by chronic war and over exploitation of wood by concession companies. Conservation International (CI) has collaborated with Royal Government of Cambodia (RGC) to reform forestry laws and establish the Central Cardamom Protected Forest. Payment for Environmental Services (PES), which is an effective concept for biodiversity conservation. The win-win approach of PES mechanism provides benefit to all villagers in return for sustainable conservation. For this reason, an overall goal of the research is to compare Conservation Agreement (CA) features and mechanisms of CI to those of PES. This research intends to describe CA mechanism through PES periscope, analyze institutional design and explain institutional arrangement as well as to indicate factors inducing changes in resident behaviour. This study was conducted inside and around the protected zone of Central Cardamom Protected Forest (CCPF) and it covers three communes of the district. Interviews were conducted on site with the participation of 59 people, including farmers, authorities and NGOs in the study area. Besides, states and NGO officers involved in this research were informally interviewed. The results of this study showed that CA as a mechanism is similar to PES, but it is not just PES due to its features. Although there are many features similar to PES mechanism, it is totally a not voluntary transaction because villagers live in state forests, so they don’t have a legal land title. They don’t have a right to manage the state forests which are controlled by forestry laws. On the other hand, CA design lacks institutional interaction between involved institutions so it is not legally recognized. All changes in local behaviours may be caused by the restriction imposed by the forestry laws and aids for community development that stop land encroachment. Conservation Agreement enhances the community development and alleviates poverty of local settlers inside and around CCPF by providing development training and incentives such as establishing microcredit, NTFPs processing and providing agriculture instruments. Overall Conservation Agreement is not pure PES but has affected participatory conservation and poverty alleviation.

The objective of this study was to reveal the causes of damages by diarrhea in India. In particular, this study focused on the safety of drinking water sources and people’s preference for it in rural India because spread of toilets is difficult there at the moment. Two villages in Andhra Pradesh, India were selected as survey sites of this study. Concentrations were measured for coliforms, general bacteria and iron in all water sources and surface waters. Interviews and questionnaire surveys were conducted at a public school in the village. People in one village used wells and hand pumps while people in another village used a pond for drinking purpose. It was revealed that pump was the safest water source according to the results of measuring concentration of coliforms. Pond water, which is a surface water source, and well water, which is drawn from unconfined aquifers, were all contaminated by excreta. On the other hand, pump water, which is pumped up from confined aquifers and can be defined as safe water, was not contaminated considerably. However, people did not have proper risk perceptions and tended to hesitate to drink pump water because of its metallic taste and smell. Actually, concentration of iron of pump water was higher than those of the others. The pond and wells represented a high risk of diarrhea and it was difficult to improve them because hygiene education was not enough at schools; thus wide spread of toilets seemed difficult. In order to encourage people to use pumps, they should be made of materials which do not erode and affect the taste and smell of water. It is also important that people have proper risk perceptions about each water source.

Looking to daily activities in Tonle Sap Great Lake and fish markets, the topic "Fish Trade on Fishing Products in Tonle Sap Great Lake" has been conducted to where fish products in Tonle Sap are exported, as well as of the way of fish processing. The study aims to (1) Identify the distribution of fish yields for domestic markets and fish species for processing; (2) Identify the distribution of fish yields for processing and different types of processing to domestic markets; (3) Evaluate the supply of the fresh fish yields in Tonle Sap to satisfy the demand of people in Cambodia; (4) Study market channels and values added by each transaction on fresh and processed fish products into domestic markets. Informally purposive sampling is selected for the research. The analysis shows the fish yields vary from each year in which the data has been recorded by the Fisheries Administration. However, during 2010, Tonle Sap Authority data shows the fish yield is about 537,000 tons, nearly triple of that of the Fisheries Administration of about 173,450 tons and equal to about 50% of Cambodian fish consumption. There are many fish species involved in the trade both domestic and international market such as bronze featherback, chevron snakehead, boeseman croaker, asian bonytongue, clown featherback, silver barb, giant snakehead, reddish sheatfish, frecklefin eel, blackspotted catfish, sickle fin barb, giant barb, peacock eel. The main actors of the supply chain of fisheries products are the fishing lot owners, fishers, fish collectors, wholesalers, trader-middleperson, and retailers. So, the fish market channel is from the first fishers until the final consumers. Fish market transaction is added from a transaction to another about 30% to over 80%, and the fish prices among domestic markets are not quite different from each other, just below 1,000 riel.

Native beef cattle raising by small-scale farmers in the rural areas of Thailand is vulnerable to ecological, institutional and technological changes. Decrease of vulnerability can be achieved by increasing resilience. The study of the resilience of rice field and mountain based native beef cattle raising in Nakhon Panom province, Thailand was therefore conducted as a case study to assess the resiliency level of the system. A focus-group workshop and survey were used in this study. Animals were raised in harvested rice-fields and shifted to a free-grazing area in a forest-mountain area over the wet season. The results indicated that the system was resilient. For this reason, it is felt that native-beef cattle raising in these two ecologies are sustainable. The resilience of the system can be manifested into eight elements: 1) good governance among rural communities and national parks in terms of policy and cooperation; 2) socio-economic enhancement and a sound and sustainable livelihood; 3) well integrated natural food resources in the forest with abundant crop residues and natural grasses in the rice field; 4) adaptation of land-use and the less significant need to support the basic infrastructure; 5) sound orientation and awareness of risks in the system (therefore, risk reduction stems from the integration between indigenous technical knowledge (ITK) and proper technology for herd management); 6) farmers’ awareness of early warning signs of identified risks that alert them to prepare, protect and prevent the loss of animals; 7) well preparedness and undertaking of procedures established for animal protection such as diseases outbreak, heavy rain and supporting networks; and 8) in-place plans of action for the recovery of food resources and a herd management plan. Improvement needed, farmers focus on value adding within integration to husbandry practices and increasing an adaptation capacity for changes in the future.

Dietary intake of significant amounts of residues can lead to adverse health effects and the development of antimicrobial resistance in the population. This study was conducted to determine dietary intake of antibiotic drug residues in pork consumed in the Philippines. The specific aim was to estimate maximum daily intake of streptomycin residue (EMDI_STC) by age and gender groups. Parameters such as maximum residue limits (MRL), 90^th percentile food consumption, body weight, age and gender groups were gathered from local and international institutions. A mathematical equation was used to calculate EMDI_STC from MRL multiplied by the 90^th percentile food consumption and adjusted by body weight. In the present study, the EMDI_STC for infants from birth to less than 12 months of age had the highest intake ratio of streptomycin residue followed by children, adolescents and adults where males were significantly higher than females (p<0.05). Based on the findings of the present study, it is concluded that streptomycin detected in pork affects infants from birth to less than 12 months that are more likely to consume it and more vulnerable due to physical activity. This is the first attempt to estimate dietary intake of antibiotic residues in the Philippines. Improvement of mathematical models used in this study is proposed to prioritize better models for veterinary drug residues to ensure the safety of food produced from farm to table.

Diversity and community structure of terrestrial invertebrates in rice ecosystems were studied in rice fields under irrigated condition from January to April 2011. The research revealed that terrestrial invertebrate fauna comprised 84 species of insects in 72 families and 10 orders. Arachnids are the most abundant with 18 species in 10 families, amounting to a total of 102 terrestrial invertebrate species from irrigated rice ecosystem in Khon Kaen. The majority of insects belonged to Order Hymenoptera (29 species) followed by Homoptera (15 species), Coleoptera (11 species) and Diptera (9 species). The community structure of terrestrial invertebrates consisted of natural enemies (70 species) followed by insect pest (26 species), insect visitor (5 species) and scavenger (2 species).

Since 1993, more than 21 improved rice varieties have been released to Lao farmers. However, there is no study conducted yet on farmer’s satisfaction on the use of improved rice varieties. Hence, the purposes of this study were to 1) evaluate the level of farmer’s satisfaction on using improved rice varieties; and 2) farmer’s preferences on rice characteristics. Purposive and simple random samplings were used to select the samples. Intervals mean score was used to measure the level of farmer’s satisfaction. The target population was farmers who have grown rice under irrigated and rainfed conditions in the lowland areas. A total of 118 farming households in the rice producing areas of Savannakhet and Champasak provinces were surveyed through structured questionnaires from March to April 2011. The study found that all rice grown under irrigation were improved varieties. In rain-fed condition, about 96% were improved varieties and about 4% were traditional varieties. The average rice yield in irrigated areas was higher than in rainfed conditions. Popular improved rice varieties grown in the study areas were Phonengam 3 (PNG3), followed by Thasano 3 (TSN3) and Thadokkham 1 (TDK1). The level of farmer’s satisfaction on using improved rice varieties ranged from high to highest level. However, the aroma characteristic was at a medium level. High yielding characteristic was the most preferred by farmers, followed by the grain size, early maturity, tolerance to drought, and resistance to pest and diseases.

This article presents the preliminary social and environmental assessment of Zulfikarabad Mega City Project that is underway in the coastal region of Sindh Province in Pakistan. Four parameters comprising the existing land use, hazard profile at the site, occupational structure of the local communities and existing land property rights are examined. Data sources included remote sensing imagery, questionnaire survey, rapid appraisals, literature survey and official records. Findings of the land use analysis reveal that most parts of the City would be built by clearing the mangrove areas which have been declared protected forests since 1950s. Besides, the location is prone to the modest frequency of earthquakes and cyclones which in some cases were not only devastating for the lives and properties of local people but also had brought significant economic losses to the regional economy. Numerous villages of varying sizes are located on the proposed site where the majority of the population ekes out their living from agricultural and fishing activities. There is a clear indication that the Government’s prime attraction towards this location is the ’availability’ of so-called ’wastelands’. This standpoint is contested in the light of land use analysis. Considering that the City is still in its planning stage, the finding of this study will serve as a useful guide for more in-depth studies on some of the emerging concerns over the megacity project.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether hydrogen peroxide content as well as peroxidase enzyme activity in the leaves of the cultivars can be used asindicators of the adaptability of plants to salinity stress conditions. For this purpose, leaves of 6 cultivated plant species: Cassaia siamea, Acacia auriculiformis, Acacia magium, Pithecellobium dulce, Combretum quadrangulare and Albizia lebbeck were collected from previously high salinity areas where the salinity of soil have been improved by plant cultivation, and the relationships between soil characteristics, plant species and the content of hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase enzyme activity were examined. The results show that C. quadrangulare has low hydrogen peroxide content and high peroxidase enzyme activity compared to other plants at the same electrical conductivity (0.16 dS m^-1), suggesting that this plant has less stress than the others. In other words, C. quadrangulare can adapt to high salinity stress conditions better than the others. A.magium and A.auriculiformi are the second best. Based on the present results, C. quadrangulare is the best promising species for growing on high salinity areas.

Agriculture is one of the main sectors for Cambodian economy since 85% of citizens live in the countryside, and among which 75% are farmers. They use the same soil every year for farming, which causes the soil to become infertile. To solve this problem, adding organic fertilizer is the best method to improve the stability of soil fertility. Compost is one type of organic fertilizers which can be applied to improve soil properties such as the soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties. Because of these reasons, an experiment on suitable timing of compost application and its effectiveness on mung bean was conducted. The experiment aimed to determine which kind of organic fertilizers is appropriate for mung bean growth and yield, and to identify the suitable timing of compost application for the mung bean crop. There were 4 kinds of compost for conducting the experiment: conventional compost, pellet compost, neem conventional compost and neem pellet compost, and two different timings of compost application (one week before seeding and during seeding of mung bean). Plots were designed as randomized complete blocks design (RCBD) with three blocks. In each block there were nine treatments including the control. As a result, there was no significant difference between different timings of compost application (one week before seeding, and while seeding). We had the highest yield by application of neem compost one week before seeding, which was 2.056 t/ha. The next was neem compost during seeding=1.850 t/ha, and the lowest yield was found in the control treatment=1.341 t/ha. According to the results above, application of neem compost one week before seeding is suitable to get higher yield of mung bean though there was not a significant difference between timings of compost application.

Pellet compost contributes to sustainable agriculture systems in Cambodia. It also inspires Cambodian farmers to use organic fertilizers instead of chemical fertilizers in agricultural practices. According to the sustainable agriculture program for environment conservation of the Institute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation (ERECON), one topic for study concerns machine and mixing techniques with suitable moisture for making pellet compost. The purposes of the experiment are to study about the process of making pellet compost with two kinds of machines (diskpelleters and mincing machines), and to identify appropriate moisture for practical use of each machine. There are some parameters for studying the process of making pellet compost of those machines, such as potential of each machine, percentage of good pellet compost, length of the granule, and characteristics of the granule. In identifying moisture, five treatments and three replications were selected, each of which was added with different amounts of water: T1= 750 ml, T2= 900 ml, T3= 1050 ml, T4= 1200 ml, and T5= 1350 ml into 5.505 kg of compost mixture compound with 23.36% of water content, which consists of conventional compost, termite-mound soil and palm sugar with a ratio of 5:0.5:0.005. As a result, for the diskpelleter machine experiment, we got the best result for treatment T2 which was added with 900 ml of water and had 45.42% of water content. The producing capacity of this machine was 139.75 kg/h in dry mass. For mincing machine, treatment T3, added with 1050 ml of water and having 48.69% of water content, got the best result, with a producing capacity of 64.39 kg/h in dry mass. Therefore, 45.42% of water content in compost mixture was the best moisture for making pellet compost with the diskpelleter machine and 48.69% of water content in compost mixture was the best moisture for making pellet compost with the mincing machine.

This paper highlights the aging farmer population and food security in agriculture, an issue for both Thailand and Japan. The increase of elderly population in both countries is particularly marked in the agricultural labor force as the number of agriculture labor force has continually decreased due to the exodus of young farmers from agriculture. This has significantly impacted food security. The 152 Thai and 10 Japanese respondents, consisting of farmers aged over 55 years were sampled using a purposive sampling technique that was based on the interviewing survey carried out on August-December 2011. For techniques of data analysis, the descriptive statistics and cohort method were used. The results present an increasing trend of aged farming population and aging farmers mainly engaged in farming aging 65 and over in both countries. In case of the increase in Japan, it can be explained by the number of post-retirement farmers. It is interesting to note that the aging trend increases in number partly due to a slower rate of exiting from farming. The disadvantage is that older farmers would be much less efficient in agriculture, especially rice cultivation. However, the role of maintaining a farm land can be entrusted to the aging famers. From the survey, it was found that food insecurity is a risk due to a reduction of the farm labor force and the aging society. Yet, most farmers in both countries believed that a shortage of farm labor force has probably not given rise to a problem of food insecurity because in modern agriculture less labour is needed and the use of machinery is increasing. Thus, the government should improve access to modern technology and machinery to increase efficiency for coping with the above situations.

It is widely recognized that saline transfer and distribution are important considerations in arid areas, where salinization is prevalent, not only for sustainable agricultural production but also for regional environmental conservation. This study discusses the saline balance of the irrigation area in the Tarim River basin of northwestern China. Water quality was investigated at irrigation and drainage channels from 2007 to 2011. The regional water balance was calculated using the water supply and drainage volume data owned by the Xayar Water Management Office and its branches. Comparing the quality of irrigation and drainage water, the concentration of cations (except K⁺) in drainage water was found to be 15 times more than that in irrigation water. Based on the estimation of water balance, it was confirmed that only approximately 5% of the irrigation water flowed out as drainage water. The remaining supplied water is used for evapotranspiration, and groundwater recharge was considered. In addition, the output load of K⁺, Ca²⁺, and Mg²⁺ was lower than the input load. However, the output load of Na⁺ increased by approximately 20% of the input load. This indicates that continuous irrigation does not necessarily promote saline transfer and that salinity is retained in groundwater or soil in this region. Finally, because of the substantial exhaustion of Na⁺, it is necessary to consider the influence of increased levels of Na⁺ in downstream drainage areas.

This research aims to restore saline soil areas using a diverse tree planting technique: a case study of Nongsim sub-district, Borabue, Mahasarakam, Thailand. The study focuses on community participation aspects in the restoration attempt, including community perspectives toward the research project, participation motivations and community’s use of saline soil areas. Diverse trees both native and introduced species were planted in an approximate 1.6 ha experimental plot adjacent to a village reservoir in 2008. Community surveys were conducted on a yearly basis since 2009 to examine villager perspectives toward the project, together with workshops to inform the community about research findings and get their feedbacks. In the 4-year period, 23 tree species, including eight fast-growing natives, four fast-growing introduced and 11 coastal habitat species, over 2,000 individuals were planted, but 20 species survived. Considering survival and growth rates, potential species for saline soil restoration are Combretum quadrangulare Kurz., Casuarina equisetifolia J. R.&G. Forst., Pandanus odoratissimus L.f. and Albizia lebbeck (L.) Benth. Community surveys, including group interviews of 11 village leaders and questionnaires of over 350 villagers from all villages in Nongsim sub-district, reveal that the community strongly agreed with the research project because they wanted crop yield improvement by restoring saline soil. Planting trees could also help increase community green areas. The majority of villagers were willing to plant trees in their farmlands, but limited land and amounts of seedlings hinder them from doing so. Furthermore, the majority of farmers (94.7%, n=76) encountering saline soil problems, used their farmland especially for rice cultivation, despite low yields because of limited amount of land. The economic value estimated in 2010 from use of saline soil paddies for rice growing is 45,577.12 Baht/household/year (n = 66) or 4,245.22 Baht/Rai (1 ha = 6.25 Rai).

An understanding of the effect of salinization on soil carbon (C) sequestration is important for environmental management. This study aimed to investigate the effect of salinity on soil organic carbon dynamics in salt-affected areas under a tree plantation, at Amphur Borabue, Mahasarakam province, Northeast Thailand. The study area has been established with tree plantation for three years and was divided into 3 zones based on the plant community found in each zone, correlated with the flooding situation and soil salinity. Soil samples were taken from three different zones and a fallow soil (control) at the same depth (0-20 cm) with three replications beginning from the rainy season of 2010 to the summer of 2011. The results from a three year old tree plantation showed decreasing EC_e and increasing soil organic carbon when compared with the fallow soil. Moreover, microbial activities were greater under the tree plantation soils when compared to the fallow soil. It could be concluded that soil organic carbon and biological properties were improved after establishment of a tree plantation in salt-affected soils. Therefore, it indicates that tree plantations are an effective strategy for carbon sequestration to reduce the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

There has been an increasing demand of chemical substances during this and the last century. The use of chemicals for a long time has been identified as a negative impact on the environment since it became apparent that residues could be transferred through the food chain; remain in soil or sediment as intractable substances. Chlorinated pesticides stand as a classic case of intractable substances and their residues remain dispersed throughout the world. Even though banned, their use continued because of their effectiveness as insecticides and availability. The effective use of DDT (dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane) for control against malaria was recognized following its removal but was reinstated for controlled situations. Arsenic is another classic case because its residues from the application of its compounds as insecticides for cattle dips remain as buried residues that are intractable. The soil from such repositories requires remediation. The recognition of problems associated with the lifetime of long persistence substances led to the need to use low persistent pesticides for insect control. The impact of increasing use of pesticides and herbicides is now offset by available data which shows that for many compounds, residues are undetectable in soil and groundwater. The USGS found no significant build-up of low persistence pesticides in groundwater over a 15 years period. Long-persistence or intractable compounds require specific techniques of soil remediation to deal with their effects on plants and animals. Examples of substances that may require soil remediation are arsenic, dioxins and DDT. A classic case of dioxin in soil was spotted at Bien Hoa, Vietnam, where 1 ppm TCDD (2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin) was found in soil. A remediation plan was put in place and the TCDD residues were excavated and disposed in a repository. While exceptions occur, it is important to recognise that degradable chemicals should be used wherever possible in order to avoid future remediation problems.

Lake Yojoa is the only freshwater lake in Honduras. Its principal water sources are Yure and Varsovia Rivers and Cianuro Creek. There are three principal contaminants of the Lake Yojoa: agrochemical contaminants, microbiological pathogens and heavy metals. So, the main objective of this study is to evaluate and quantify the amounts of pollutants that each water source deposits in the Lake Yojoa. Based on the historical data of precipitation over the watersheds, water samples taken from each water source were analyzed for calculating specific load in each watershed. The specific load was calculated by multiplying the water flow with the concentration and then divided by the area of each watershed. In addition, statistical analysis was conducted employing "SPSS 15". As a result, there was no statistical difference in the amounts of monthly rainfalls among watersheds. The water flow, concentration as well as load and specific load differed among water sources. The results indicated that there was a tendency for Cianuro Creek to be the highest in specific load of organic matter and the only one in nitrogen as nitrite among water sources. The highest in specific load of potassium and chlorine was observed in Yure River. In addition, the quantity of pollutants discharged into the Lake Yojoa from water sources presents a threat of water degradation, especially eutrophication. A need of mitigating and reducing the amounts of pollutants is a reality. The high load of sulfate released by Cianuro Creek and Yure River present a threat not only for wild life, but also for humans that live near the lake. It was proposed that a filtering system should be prepared specifically to extract the pollutants carried by water sources that can be easily applied.

Changes on nitrogen concentration and load of river water during down flow were examined in five rivers flowing through agricultural watersheds in the Tokachi district of eastern Hokkaido, Japan. The upper reach of each watershed is intensively covered by cropland whereas the lower reach is covered by forest. The river form also differs between the upper reaches, which have been artificially straightened by meander cutoff, and the lower reaches, which remain in their natural meandering condition. The lower the reach measured was, the lower the nitrogen concentration was, and this decrease in concentration was even more pronounced in the natural meandering sections than in the straightened sections. The decrease of nitrogen load by natural purification in straightened sections and natural meandering sections was examined using L_self, which was introduced as an index of natural-purification-related nitrogen load decrease. In contrast to the changes in concentration, nitrogen load did not decrease in the natural meandering section.

The acceptance of farmers’ participation in promoting rubber trees cultivation for replacing garlic and longan growing has been studied. Interview schedule, in-depth interview and focus group discussion techniques were used to obtain required data from eighty participants, sixty-two non-participants of rubber cultivating project and three representatives from the Office of Rubber Replanting Aid Fund. The collected data were analyzed by descriptive statistics. It was found that more than one-third (38%) of farmers decided to participate in the project and the rest (71.98%) did not want to participate because the cultivation area was under drought. In 2003, there were 1,127 farmers in Chiang Mai participating in the project with a total cultivation area of 6,770 acres. Thirty participants (37.50%) changed longan orchard to rubber cultivation, 218 acres in area. This was equivalent to 422 farmers and 3,074 acres of cultivation area comparing to the total number of participants and rubber cultivation area in Chiang Mai. During 2003-2004, Chiang Mai had a total longan cultivation area of 94,925 acres. However, this project could help reduce longan cultivation area by only 3.23%. Meanwhile, few participants changed garlic cultivation area to rubber cultivation area. It indicated that only longan orchard area could be reduced but garlic cultivation area could not. Besides, some participants changed other crop growing areas to rubber cultivation area. These would have effects on long-term food security of Thailand. Moreover, during 2011-2012, participants begin to earn income from rubber latex. This might motivate some non-participants to take part in the project due to high prices of rubber latex. However, they should place importance on the appropriateness and cares of rubber cultivation areas. As a whole, the policy was not successful as it should be.

There are many factors involved in the availability of P through phosphatases efficiency such as the microbial fauna, soil temperature, bacteria communities, plant physiological state, type of rooting system, age of the plant and the location of ectomycorrhiza on the root. To assess the effects of different crop productions on the diversity and the efficiency of phosphate-solubilizing bacteria (PSB), this study isolated phosphate-solubilizing bacteria from paddy fields and eggplant fields before and after harvest in Kochi prefecture in Japan. The results showed that a total of 9 heterotrophic bacterial isolates present different degrees of mineral tri-calcium phosphate (Ca₃(PO₄)₂)-solubilizing activities. Klebsiella pneumonia in the paddy field with water and in the eggplant fields which solubilize Ca₃(PO₄)₂ better than FePO₄ and AlPO₄. Especially, Klebsiella pneumoniae strain M-AI-2 and Gluconacetobacter sp. isolate code Ek01 in the eggplant fields seem to have the capacity to solubilize insoluble forms of AlPO₄ and FePO₄ which are the main forms of insoluble phosphates in acid sandy soils.

Riverbank Filtration (RBF) is the influx of river water to the aquifer induced by a hydraulic gradient and it is a low-cost and efficient alternative water treatment for drinking-water applications. The objectives of the project are to study the feasibility of RBF technology, design the pilot system, evaluate the feasibility of the project on socio-economic and environmental impact and transfer the knowledge of RBF technology to the state enterprise organizations, local administrative authorities and other related parties. The project consists of 3 phases, fesibility study (11 months), design and construction (14 months) and operation and maintenance (12 months). Therefore, the specific objective of this paper is to review the basic concepts of the first phase and present some case studies such as Kompahangpet area for detailed study prior the design and construction phase. The target areas are initially focused along the main river courses in Thailand such as Mekong, Ping and Chaophraya Rivers. The study procedure consists of detailed investigations: hydrology, hydrogeology, water demand, suitable socio-economic conditions, and appropriate environments. Mathematical groundwater modeling will be employed to evaluate the suitability of the selected sites. Then we will design pilot system for large scale groundwater resources development to verify that the method could be successfully employed for water resources management and could be further expanded to other areas and extended to other interested parties or organizations in the future.

The amount of wastewater utilized by urban farmers worldwide is expected to increase due to the rising amount of wastewater generated from urban population. Despite the contribution of urban farmers to generate vast quantity of urban waste including solids and wastewater through agricultural practices, these activities are little recognized by municipal’s management authorities or looked down by the communities, resulting in informal, unplanned and spontaneous practices. Twenty nine farmers from two communities in peri-urban area of Hanoi were involved in the participatory investigation of individual managerial capacity on farming related to wastewater irrigation, i.e., personal characteristics and skills. GIS application and water sampling technique were employed to study the physical environment; questionnaires, in-depth interviews and participatory observation were used to investigate the social, economic and institutional environment that was hypothesized to influence farmers’ managerial capacity. From the assessment of water quality, it can be seen that wastewater irrigation has the potential to be reused for farmers in terms of nutrient recovery and income generation as well as brings high risk for human health relating to pathogens. The factors that influenced farmer’s capacities of wastewater irrigation governance can be categorized into: Internal factors: (1) age of farmers, (2) experience in wastewater irrigation, (3) knowledge and skill, (4) motivation in wastewater agriculture; External factors: (1) institutional environment including regulation on agricultural wastewater use, decentralized/centralized wastewater management, spatial separation on governance responsibilities of different department, state of participatory in local cooperatives; (2) physical environment such as climate change, diseases outbreak, constituent in wastewater; (3) social environment consists of social linkage and norms; (4) economic environment: consumer buying behavior and income from wastewater agriculture. This research concludes that the farmers’ managerial behavior were driven more by economical and physical factors, while institutional and social factors appeared to discourage farmers from high performance in wastewater farming.

In this study, growth experiments of Phragmites australis (Cav.) Trin., used as part of artificial floating islands for water purification, were conducted. The Lake Mizusawa, which is the study area, is located in Biei Town, Hokkaido. The area around this lake is hilly and mostly comprises farm fields . Due to the topography and land use, soil particles and fertilizer flow into the lake after heavy rains. This is the most important cause of lake eutrophication. One way to clear up this eutrophied lake is to place artificial floating islands using the Phragmites on the lake surface. The Phragmites used for the artificial floating islands absorb nitrogen, including the contained in lake’s water, to promote lateral buds sprouting. After that, grown lateral buds are cut and hence the pollution is carried away outside the system. However, this method has been little tested in cold regions such as Hokkaido. Thus, on July 2010, we put artificial floating islands in the biotope which was developed on a drained paddy close to the lake. The Phragmites grew steadily. There were about four hundreds lateral buds sprouting by October 2010, and the maximum plant length of lateral buds was 0.74 meters. Observed artificial floating islands were left in the biotope during winter. In 2011, the lateral buds sprouted and grew in a shorter period of time compared to 2010. Similarly, maximum plant length of lateral buds was 1.86 meters. Ear emergence was also observed, although it was not observed in 2010. Therefore, it is considered that there was no damage to the Phragmites due to the cold. From these results, it was found that the Phragmites used for the artificial floating island were able to grow in cold region. Thus, this method is a promising way to improve water quality of Lake Mizusawa.

The Forest Department of Bangladesh piloted collaborative management, also known as co-management, in five protected areas, through its Nishorgo Support Project from 2004 to 2009. This paper documents one of the pilot co-management sites, specifically for the Teknaf Wildlife Sanctuary comparing actual governance to the framework for good governance for protected areas. Through stakeholders and key informant interviews and observation of council and committee meetings, the research revealed that the co-management structure was an appendum in the forest department’s organizational structure. Unwillingness to share responsibilities and decision-making was the major obstacle to effective co-management in the protected area. The lack of legal recognition and limited functional arrangements to support co-management resulted in weak managerial performance and poor governance. Thus, extraction of resources from the reserve continued. Moreover, no quick solutions to deal with environmental threats of land encroachment inside the sanctuary were undertaken. For co-management to result in effective forest and wildlife conservation, more focus on good governance and provision of socio-economic opportunities is needed.

A study on the effects of applying a type of clay minerals on drought tolerance of rubber plant was carried out by incorporating bentonite at 0, 2, 4, and 8 percent w/w into loamy sand soil (Roi-et series). Factorial arrangement in CRD (complete randomized design) with 3 replications was performed in this research study. It was found that mixing bentonite 0-16 percent w/w with sugarcane bagasse, coconut fluff, peanut husk, black-burned rice husk, and fresh rice husk caused the water holding capacity to be in the ranges of 41.50-58.88, 44.3-105.0, 9.1-20.4, 128.6-154.2, and 3.1-21.3 percent, respectively. After 14 days of application for rubber varieties RRIM600 and RRIT251 grown on loamy sand, using bentonite 0, 2, 4, and 8 percent w/w caused the drought tolerance without irrigation to be 31-35 and 29-47 days, respectively. It was also found that small and medium sizes of rubber seedlings showed higher drought tolerance than those of big sizes because they still survived without irrigation 40-48, and 38-43 days, respectively. All sizes of RRIM600 seedling started wilting at moisture contents 4.9-5.9 percent and then showed permanent wilting at 3.30-3.39 percent w/w. Clay minerals used as basal application under field experiment significantly increased drought tolerance of young RRIM600 to be 158 days after planting whereas no application on the rubber tree could stand by the age of 92-135 days or averagely 111 days after planting. Increasing 15-15-15 concentration as basal fertilizer by the rates 100, 200, 400, and 600 g/plant significantly accelerated the termination of rubber tree. According to this, the rubber tree died at the age of 166, 149, 107, and 102 days after planting. Chemical fertilizer associated with clay mineral as basal application showed a trend of extending rubber age.

This experiment was aimed to investigate the potential of sunflower varieties (Helianthus annuus L.) grown under different levels of inputs. Sunflower varieties consisted of two hybrids (Pacific 77 and Olison 3) and two synthetic varieties (Suranaree (S) 471 and Suranaree (S) 473). Input levels were low, medium and high packages which were obtained from the combination of levels of weed control and fertilizer applications. The study was conducted in a strip-plot design in the dry season of 2010 and 2011 at Chaipattana-Mae Fah Luang Reforestation Project, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Thailand. The results showed that both synthetic varieties outyielded the two hybrids. S471 produced the highest yield of 2,269 kg ha^-1. However, the oil content of Pacific 77 was the highest, with 42 percent. The responses of sunflower varieties to levels of input were not significant almost for all characters except for oil content. Seed yields were 1,931, 2,025 and 2,375 kg ha^-1 for low, medium and high input packages, respectively. Seed size showed positive association with the levels of input. However, the oil content did not increase with the increase of input levels. The net income of all varieties grown under different levels of input were estimated by using the farm gate price. The highest net income of 21,500 baht ha^-1 was obtained from S471 grown under the lowest input level. For this study where the soil is quite fertile, the lowest input levels should be used for all varieties of sunflower.

Secondary metabolites produced by fluorescent Pseudomonas play key roles in the suppression of various soilborne plant pathogens. However, the performance of this biocontrol agent varies depending on the environment and host plant species. In this study, In vitro antagonistic activity against phytopathogens by Pseudomonas fluorescens R21, which was isolated from rice rhizosphere in Thailand, was investigated in comparison to Pseudomonas fluorescens F113, which was isolated from sugar beet rhizosphere in Ireland. The result of in vitro antagonistic activity showed that Pythium spp. was suppressed by strains R21 and F113. Then, strain R21 that has the ability to produce IAA and to control plant pathogen was investigated for in vivo antagonistic activity and also was screened for the production of secondary metabolites such as pyoluteorin, pyrrolnitrin, hydrogen cyanide and 2,4-diacetylphloroglucinol (DAPG). The result of in vivo antagonistic activity confirmed that Pythium spp. was suppressed by strains R21 and F113. In addition, the application of strain R21 to rice seeds significantly increased plant height, shoots dry weight and roots dry weight of rice while the application of strain F113 to rice seeds showed no significant difference when compared to control.

Ban Nong Na Phitsanulok Province, has been facing continuous groundwater level decreases, from 1-2 m below ground surface in the past 25 years to 7-8 m in the present due to overexploitation for irrigation. This area was selected as a pilot site to construct and conduct the recharge experiment. The objective of this research is to quantify groundwater mound resulting from the recharge experiment using MODFLOW2000. Two recharge ponds A and B, which have an area of 660 and 600 m², respectively, were constructed in the selected site of the study area. The experiment duration was July to November, 2010 using raw water with turbidity less than 100 NTU. The total recharge amount is 25,797 m³. The results showed that under the experiment conditions the designed recharge pond can provide a moderately good analysis of the recharge water. The mounding results of the simulations were compared with the field observation; both were found to be compatible. After 5 days of the fifth test, the maximum rise of the mound was 3.33 m and covers an area of approximately 6,000 m².

Rice is a staple food for Cambodians and it is also a main source of income for farmers’ livelihood in rural areas. However, rice yield is low so it is vitally important to increase rice yield through promoting new rice varieties and cultivation methods. To promote new knowledge for famers, an experiment regarding the effect of transplanting methods on rice yield of different varieties was conducted in experimental station. The experiment investigated the interaction of different transplanting methods on rice varieties and identified the best variety and transplanting methods for rice cultivation. The experimental design was based on Randomize Complete Block Design (RCBD) which had six treatments: Riang Chey variety with straight-row transplanting, Riang Chey variety with conventional transplanting, Phkar Rumduol variety with straight-row transplanting, Phkar Rumduol variety with conventional transplanting, IR66 variety with straight-row transplanting, IR66 variety with conventional transplanting and three replications. Hill spaces were 25 cm x 25 cm for straight-row transplanting method, and 15 cm to 25 cm for conventional transplanting method. The result of the experiment showed that yield component, panicle number per hill, percent of filled grains per panicle and total yield of three varieties transplanted straight-row transplanting method had significant difference with conventional transplanting method. However, the yield components, panicle length and 1000-grain weight of three varieties transplanted by using straight-row transplanting method had no significant difference from conventional transplanting. Also, the rice yield components had no interaction with the three varieties and the transplanting methods. IR 66 variety with straight-row transplanting method had the highest yield with 6.145 t/ha in average compared to conventional transplanting method with only 5.630 t/ha in average. In conclusion, among three varieties and two transplanting methods, the potential and highest yield was IR66 variety transplanted by using straight-row transplanting method.

Based on principles of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI) practices, farmers need to manage properly the water level in the paddy fields to get higher yields. It is only in the irrigated area where farmers can control the water level. However, the practice of SRI has been disseminated to farmers also in rain-fed areas in Cambodia. Therefore, the study aimed to compare the SRI results done so far by farmers in irrigated and rain-fed areas and explain the SRI practices in both areas. Irrigated and rain-fed areas in Kampong Speu Province of Cambodia were selected as study areas. In irrigated areas, five farmers from upstream and downstream were selected. In rain-fed areas, five SRI farmers were also chosen. In-depth interview was conducted with field observation. The results showed that farmers at upstream can grow rice twice (late ripening variety-LRV and early ripening variety-ERV) per year. Farmers at downstream and in rain-fed areas can grow rice only one time (ERV) per year. There is an irrigation system at downstream area, but farmers cannot grow rice twice due to the lack of irrigation facilities, poor water distribution, and geographic condition. In rain-fed area, drought occurs in some years; so water availability is a big concern. In both areas, LRV conventionally provides the yield from 2.31 to 2.36t/ha. SRI way can improve the yield up to 3.30t/ha to 3.70t/ha. Besides same provided yields, farmers have applied almost same SRI principles such as reducing seeds for sowing (up to 50%) and chemical fertilizers (20% to 40%), raising nursery bed, and transplanting with fewer seedlings. So, the study concludes that SRI practices in rain-fed areas are similar with ones in irrigated area. Although irrigation system is a big advantage, controlling water in paddy fields in both areas is still a problem since irrigated facilities are poor.