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WHAT DETERMINE SMALLHOLDERS’ FERTILIZATION PRACTICES DURING THE MATURE PERIOD OF RUBBER PLANTATIONS IN THAILAND?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 July 2017

BÉNÉDICTE CHAMBON ,
XUAN LAI DAO ,
URAIWAN TONGKAEMKAEW  and
FRÉDÉRIC GAY
BÉNÉDICTE CHAMBON*
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UPR Systèmes de pérennes, F-34398 Montpellier, France CIRAD, UPR Systèmes de pérennes, HRPP, Kasetsart University, 10900 Bangkok, Thailand
XUAN LAI DAO
Affiliation:
Montpellier SupAgro Warm Region Institute (IRC), F-34398 Montpellier, France
URAIWAN TONGKAEMKAEW
Affiliation:
Faculty of Technology and Community Development, Thaksin University, 93110 Phatthalung, Thailand
FRÉDÉRIC GAY
Affiliation:
CIRAD, UMR ECO&SOLS, F-34398 Montpellier, France
*
‡‡Corresponding author. E-mail: benedicte.chambon@cirad.fr
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Summary

Fertilization 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.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 54 , Issue 6 , December 2018 , pp. 824 - 841
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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