Current status of paddy field agriculture and efficient water use in existing reservoirs for fish aquaculture in a semi-mountainous village in Vientiane Province, Laos

JIRCAS Working Report
ISSN 1341710X
NII recode ID (NCID) AA11159468
Rice is a staple food in Laos; its production has increased eightfold over the last fifty years. In hilly and mountainous areas, rainy season lowland rice is cultivated in a valley between mountains with undeveloped irrigation facilities. The area used for agricultural production is limited during the dry season due to water shortages, and most lowland fields are used as grazing land. We conducted a survey to examine the status of lowland rice production in a semimountainous village in Vientiane Province, then evaluated the feasibility of increasing rice yield and introducing dry season crop production using water stored in existing reservoirs for fish aquaculture. During the rainy season, low rice grain yield was observed in the fields where water shortages early in the season had delayed transplanting. In the dry season, supplemental irrigation is essential for soybean production. We determined the water requirements for preparatory irrigation for early transplanting in rainy season and for supplemental irrigation through the field experiments. An irrigation plan was formulated utilizing 8,700 m3 of water stored in six reservoirs in the surveyed area. The potential area of the preparatory irrigation for lowland rice in the rainy season and the supplemental irrigation for soybean cultivation in the dry season using reservoir water were 10.4-11.0 ha and 3.2-3.5 ha, respectively. By irrigating with water stored in existing reservoirs, the income of the entire surveyed area is expected to increase by 80 million kip.
Date of issued
Creator Hiroshi Ikeura Toshihiko Anzai Amphone Chomxaythong Khaykeo Keokhampui Salermphon Phonsangone Phetyasone Xaypanya Sengthong Pongchanmixay Somphone Inkhamseng Somnuck Soubat Haruyuki Fujimaki
Publisher Japan International Research Center for Agricultural Sciences
Type Technical Report
NII resource type vocabulary Technical Report
Volume 90
spage 39
epage 51
Language eng

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