Soil clay content, rainfall, and toposequence positions determining spatial variation in field water availability as estimated by a water balance model for rainfed lowland rice
T. Inthavong A B D , M. Tsubo C and S. Fukai A DA School of Agriculture and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia.
B National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry, Vientiane, Lao People’s Democratic Republic.
C Arid Land Research Center, Tottori University, 1390 Hamasaka, Tottori 680-0001, Japan.
D Corresponding author. Emails: ithavone@yahoo.com.au; s.fukai@uq.edu.au
Crop and Pasture Science 63(6) 529-538 https://doi.org/10.1071/CP12108
Submitted: 21 March 2012 Accepted: 20 July 2012 Published: 18 September 2012
Abstract
Drought is a major limiting factor for the production of rainfed rice in the Mekong Region. Thus, estimation of the length of growing period (LGP) based on estimation of the development of water deficit is essential for sound planning of agricultural development. A recently developed soil-water balance model was used to quantify the availability of water for rice crops and yield reduction due to water deficit. Field water availability is known to be largely affected by soil type and rainfall pattern, and their separate effects were investigated in this study of a spatial analysis of LGP, using inputs for rainfed lowland rice in Savannakhet province in central Laos. The analysis showed that the start of growing period (SGP) and end of growing period (EGP) were affected largely by geographical variations in rainfall and soil clay content, respectively. Also, the areas having relatively short LGP were generally associated with large yield reduction because of low water availability associated with coarse-textured soils. At local scale, field water availability varied from upper to lower positions of a sloping land (toposequence) in the rainfed lowland ecosystem of the Mekong region, causing variation in yield within the toposequence. Using the level of field water determined around flowering time at different toposequence positions in 45 farms, estimated yield reduction was compared in seven main rice-growing districts of the province. Variability of yield loss, associated with variation in water availability, was larger across the toposequence positions than across districts, showing the importance of local variability in determining yield in rainfed lowland rice. The present approach of a combination of simulation model and GIS is adopted for characterisation of the water environment for rainfed lowland rice in other parts of Laos, as well as in neighbouring Thailand and Cambodia.
Additional keywords: agro-ecological zone, drought, GIS, growing period, Oryza sativa.
References
Allen RG, Pereira LS, Raes D, Smith M (1998) ‘Crop evapotranspiration.’ FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56. (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations: Rome)Boling AA, Tuong TP, Suganda H, Konboon Y, Harnpichivitaya D, Bouman BAM, Franco DT (2008) The effect of toposequence position on soil properties, hydrology, and yield of rainfed lowland rice in Southeast Asia. Field Crops Research 106, 22–33.
| The effect of toposequence position on soil properties, hydrology, and yield of rainfed lowland rice in Southeast Asia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Bouman BAM, Kroff MJ, Tuong TP, Wopereis MCS, ten Berge HFM, van Laar HH (2001) ‘ORYZA 2000: Modeling lowland rice.’ (International Rice Research Institute: Los Baños, Philippines)
Chapman KR (2001) Mission Report on Review of Industrial Cash Crops Technical Assistance Needs for Lao PDR. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific, Bangkok.
Chen SK, Liu CW, Huang HC (2002) Analysis of water movement in paddy rice fields (II). Simulation studies. Journal of Hydrology 268, 259–271.
| Analysis of water movement in paddy rice fields (II). Simulation studies.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
FAO (1996) ‘Agro-ecological zoning guidelines, concepts and definitions.’ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Soils Bulletin No. 73. (FAO: Rome)
Fukai S, Cooper M (1995) Development of drought-resistant cultivars using physio-morphological traits in rice. Field Crops Research 40, 67–86.
| Development of drought-resistant cultivars using physio-morphological traits in rice.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Fukai S, Pantuwan G, Jongdee B, Cooper M (1999) Screening for drought resistance in rainfed lowland rice. Field Crops Research 64, 61–74.
| Screening for drought resistance in rainfed lowland rice.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Goovaerts P (1997) ‘Geostatistics for natural resources evaluation.’ (Oxford University Press: New York)
Homma K, Horie T, Shiraiwa T, Supapoj N, Matsumoto N, Kabaki N (2003) Toposequential variation in soil fertility and rice productivity of rainfed lowland paddy fields in mini-watershed (Nong) in northern Thailand. Plant Production Science 6, 147–153.
| Toposequential variation in soil fertility and rice productivity of rainfed lowland paddy fields in mini-watershed (Nong) in northern Thailand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Inthapanya P, Sipaseuth, Sihathep V, Chanphengsay M, Fukai S (1996) Drought problems and genotype requirements for rainfed lowland rice in Lao PDR. In ‘Breeding Strategies for Rainfed Lowland Rice in Drought-prone Environments.’ ACIAR Proceedings No. 77. (Eds S Fukai, M Cooper, J Salisbury) pp. 74–81. (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra)
Inthavong T (2009) Spatial variation in water availability, soil nutrient and water constraints for rainfed lowland rice production in Savannakhet Province, Southern Lao PDR. PhD Thesis, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.
Inthavong TV, Kam SP, Hoanh CT, Vonghachack S (2001) Implementing the FAO methodology for agroecological zoning for crop suitability in Laos: A GIS approach. In ‘Increased Lowland Rice Production in the Mekong Region.’ ACIAR Proceedings No. 101. (Eds S Fukai, J Basnayake) pp. 292–302. (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra)
Inthavong T, Tsubo M, Fukai S (2011a) A water balance model for characterization of length of growing period and water stress development for rainfed lowland rice. Field Crops Research 121, 291–301.
| A water balance model for characterization of length of growing period and water stress development for rainfed lowland rice.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Inthavong T, Fukai S, Tsubo M (2011b) Spatial variations in water availability, soil fertility and grain yield in rainfed lowland rice: a case study from Savannakhet province, Lao PDR. Plant Production Science 14, 184–195.
| Spatial variations in water availability, soil fertility and grain yield in rainfed lowland rice: a case study from Savannakhet province, Lao PDR.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Jongdee B, Pantuwan G, Fukai S, Fischer K (2006) Improving drought tolerance in rainfed lowland rice: An example from Thailand. Agricultural Water Management 80, 225–240.
| Improving drought tolerance in rainfed lowland rice: An example from Thailand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Kam SP, Tuong TP, Bouman B, Fajardo S, Reyes JP (2000) ‘Water balance modeling to study regional drought risk and adapted crop management strategies for rainfed rice in Northeast Thailand.’ (International Rice Research Institute: Los Baños, Philippines)
Mackill DJ, Coffman WR, Garrity DP (1996) ‘Rainfed lowland rice improvement.’ (International Rice Research Institute: Los Baños, Philippines)
Manivong V, Douangsavanh L (2007) Baseline Rice Production Survey. Policy Research Centre, National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
NAFRI (2000) Soil Map of Lao PDR. Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry (MAF), National Agriculture and Forestry Research Institute (NAFRI), Soil Survey and Land Classification Center (SSLCC), Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Ouk M, Kang S, Thun V, Sakhan S, Then R, Pin C, Pruch P, Ith Y, Fukai S, Fischer KS, Basnayake J, Tsubo M (2006) Rainfed lowland rice (Oryza sativa L.) performance under contrasting water availabilities in Cambodia. Cambodian Journal of Agriculture 7, 1–11.
Ouk M, Basnayake J, Tsubo M, Fukai S, Fischer KS, Kang S, Men S, Thun V, Cooper M (2007) Genotype-by-environment interactions for grain yield associated with water availability at flowering in rainfed lowland rice. Field Crops Research 101, 145–154.
| Genotype-by-environment interactions for grain yield associated with water availability at flowering in rainfed lowland rice.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Özdemir N, Gülser C, Aşkin T (2000) Determination of relations between some soil properties and some soil moisture constants using path analysis. In ‘Proceedings of International Symposium on Desertification’. 13–17 June 2000, Konya, Turkey. pp. 289–292.
Phommachak T, Vonghachak S (1996) Soil Map of Savannakhet Province, Lao PDR. Soil Survey and Land Classification Center, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Samson BK, Ali A, Rashid MA, Mazid MA, Wade LJ (2004) Topographic position influences water availability in rainfed lowland rice in Rajshahi, Northwest Bangladesh. Plant Production Science 7, 101–103.
| Topographic position influences water availability in rainfed lowland rice in Rajshahi, Northwest Bangladesh.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Schiller JM, Linquist B, Douangsila K, Inthapanya P, Douang Boupha B, Inthavong S, Sengxua P (2001) Constraints to rice production systems in Laos. In ‘Increased Lowland Rice Production in the Mekong Region.’ ACIAR Proceedings No. 101. (Eds S Fukai, J Basnayake) pp. 3–19. (Australian Centre for International Agricultural Research: Canberra)
SSLCC (1996) Soil Physical and Chemical Properties Analysis for Soil of Lao PDR. Soil Survey and Land Classification Center, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Tsubo M, Basnayake J, Fukai S, Sihathep V, Siyavong P, Sipaseuth , Chanphengsay M (2006) Toposequential effects on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Southern Laos. Field Crops Research 97, 209–220.
| Toposequential effects on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Southern Laos.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tsubo M, Fukai S, Tuong TP, Ouk M (2007a) A water balance model for rainfed lowland rice fields emphasising lateral water movement within a toposequence. Ecological Modelling 204, 503–515.
| A water balance model for rainfed lowland rice fields emphasising lateral water movement within a toposequence.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tsubo M, Fukai S, Basnayake J, Tuong TP, Bouman B, Harnpichivitaya D (2007b) Effects of soil clay content on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Northern Thailand. Plant Production Science 10, 232–241.
| Effects of soil clay content on water balance and productivity in rainfed lowland rice ecosystem in Northern Thailand.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Tsubo M, Fukai S, Basnayake J, Ouk M (2009) Frequency of occurrence of various drought types and its impact on performance of photoperiod-sensitive and insensitive rice genotypes in rainfed lowland conditions in Cambodia. Field Crops Research 113, 287–296.
| Frequency of occurrence of various drought types and its impact on performance of photoperiod-sensitive and insensitive rice genotypes in rainfed lowland conditions in Cambodia.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
Wade LJ, Fukai S, Samson BK, Ali A, Mazid MA (1999) Rainfed lowland rice: physical environment and cultivar requirements. Field Crops Research 64, 3–12.
| Rainfed lowland rice: physical environment and cultivar requirements.Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |
