Thailand: Drip irrigation ups potato growers’ profits

Drip irrigation helps Chiang Rai’s potato farmers achieve nearly 23% higher output and nearly 81% higher net profit while also helping to strengthen Thailand’s food stability, the director of the Regional Office of Agriculture Economics 1 (Chiang Mai), Thawatchai Dechachet said on Sunday. Currently, 1,828 rai of potato plantations in the northern province have adopted the drip irrigation technique to water the crops, Thawatchai added. The technique uses a surface pipe network with 5-15 metres of pressure to water the potatoes’ root system directly at the rate of 1-8 litres per hour, he said, adding that solvable plant nutrients, fertilisers, and hormones can also be given via this method. “Drip irrigation allows farmers to precisely control the amount of water and nutrients given to the crops, preventing flooding from overwatering, which is the main obstruction to the potatoes’ sprouting,” he said. The drip irrigation system can be powered by solar panels to save electricity ...