SE Asia

Fast acting paraquat means more maize

Farmers in the mountains of Vietnam can plant maize crops more than two weeks early by using paraquat in a conservation tillage system. Timely operations are essential in growing all crops and paraquat’s unprecedented speed of action is often a huge help to farmers up against the weather or looking for earlier harvests to get the best prices.
Results of research conducted by The Northern Mountainous Agriculture and Forestry Science Institute (NOMAFSI) show that using paraquat for weed control increased maize yields by more than 50%1. Early planting was crucial to good yields – land preparation with slow acting glyphosate herbicide resulted in much lower yields.

As Vietnam has developed, agriculture has had to intensify to increase food production and to compensate for reductions in labor availability due to the movement of people to cities. Much of the agricultural land in Vietnam is on steep slopes. High rainfall means that the potential for soil erosion is very high. Soil has been recorded as being lost at rates approaching 200 tonnes per hectare in a single year2. Bare soil without any plant cover is most susceptible. Pressure to grow more food has resulted in excessive soil cultivation which soon damages soil structure by reducing levels of organic matter. Poor soil structure leads to erosion and low fertility.

First case of glufosinate resistance recorded

The first weed species to develop resistance to the non-selective herbicide glufosinate has been recorded by researchers in Malaysia.
Preliminary experiments have confirmed concerns that an aggressive grass weed is developing populations which are no longer controlled by glufosinate, sold as brands such as Basta and Liberty. Glufosinate is a foliar herbicide, slower acting than paraquat, but faster than glyphosate. It is the herbicide used in LibertyLink GM cropping systems.
Weed scientists from the University of Malaya have been investigating reports of weed control problems in an oil palm nursery in the state of Pahang. The weed in question is goosegrass (Eleusine indica), a globally important weed of many warm climate crops.
In Malaysia it is a particularly serious problem in oil palm and rubber plantations, and on smallholdings growing fruit and vegetables.
Goosegrass has already developed resistance to several herbicide modes of action (MOA) in a number of countries around the world. It was the second weed species to be recorded as becoming resistant to glyphosate, also in Malaysia1. To keep weed resistance at bay, and avert the threat it poses to food production, it is vital to use integrated weed management practices. These involve using herbicides with different MOA. Like paraquat and glyphosate, glufosinate has a very distinctive MOA.

Paraquat for rice

In Asia alone, more than two billion people obtain over 60% of their calories from rice. It is the most rapidly growing source of food in Africa and is critical to food security. Long grain rices are typically of the indica race and include the fragrant Jasmine rice from Thailand and Basmati rice from India. Short grain rice, typically japonica, is usually more sticky than long grain and is favoured in Japan. Saki rice is grown in Japan to make rice wine, and in Indonesia there are red and black grained varieties. About 80% of the world's rice is grown by smallholders in these places. In Asia, women are often responsible for rice farming as men have moved to work in the cities.
Efficient and productive rice-based production systems are essential for economic development and for improved quality of life for much of the world's population. Plant breeding, crop protection, water management and fertilization have increased productivity and reduced the costs of production.
Weeds can reduce the yield and quality of rice by competing with the crop for light, nutrients and space; and their seeds can contaminate the harvested grain. Some of the most widespread and aggressive weeds are the Echinochloa species (barnyardgrass). Infestations of only ten of these weeds per square metre have been recorded to reduce yields by 25%.

Paraquat sales in Thailand approved to continue

In September 2008, after an evaluation by the Thai Toxicology Evaluation Committee, paraquat was approved for continued sale in Thailand and scheduled to enter the new re-registration process.
As of May 2009, the final approval of the re-registration procedure by the Ministry of Agriculture and Cooperatives is still pending, but paraquat has been included in the first stage of the review program which is expected to start in July 2009.  The current registration will expire in August 2011.
Following a major revision of the regulatory system for crop protection products, the Ministry is working through nearly 27,000 dossiers for re-registration.  CropLife International, the global federation representing the plant science industry, has been working with Thai regulatory officials to strengthen the country’s regulation of herbicides, fungicides, insecticides and other crop protection products used on its 18 million hectares of crops.
 

Farming Facts about Thailand

1st - Thailand's position as a rice exporter 
10 million ha of rice grown
11% of Thailand's GDP comes from farming
43% of Thai workforce engaged in agriculture

Thai farmers grow crops including 10 million hectares (ha) of rice, nearly 2 million ha of rubber, and around one million ha each of cassava, sugarcane and maize.

Vegetable cropping

Vegetables are essential to a healthy diet. In many countries, eating at least five portions a day is recommeneded for health.
Although the term ‘vegetable’ implies coming from the vegetative parts of plants, such as leaves, stems and roots, a few fruit, notably tomatoes, are also commonly called vegetables. Therefore, the classification is a culinary one. Arguments over whether tomatoes are fruit or vegetables have even been aired in court. In 1893, the US Supreme Court ruled that tomatoes are vegetables for legal purposes, in particular, relating to trade tariffs in force at the time.
Vegetables also straddle agriculture and horticulture. Some are grown on a field scale like, say, wheat or maize, many are grown in sophisticated glasshouses, while all are grown by smallholders and in domestic gardens. Peas and other legume vegetables have bacteria associated with their roots which convert nitrogen from the air into forms which can be used by plants as nutrients and these remain in the soil to fertilize following crops.

Rice cropping

The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation declared 2004 as the International Year of Rice. The purpose was to:
“ ... promote improved production and access to this vital food crop, which feeds more than half the world's population while providing income for millions of rice producers, processors and traders. Development of sustainable rice-based systems will reduce hunger and poverty, and contribute to environmental conservation and a better life for present and future generations.”
There were nine themes running through the activities in the International Year of Rice: culture, nutrition, agro-biodiversity, environment, livelihood, post-harvest processing, gender, science and economics.
Rice is a lynch pin in the culture of many countries. For thousands of years, cultivating rice has meant that people have had to work together, and the need for standing water in rice farming has shaped the landscape. Festivals are dedicated to rice and the crop was considered divine by many ancient Asian emperors and kings. Even today, the Japanese refer to rice as their ‘mother’ and regard rice farmers as the guardians of their culture and countryside.
More fundamentally, rice is the staple food for more than half the world. In Asia alone, more than two billion people obtain over 60% of their calories from rice.

Maize cropping

Maize, or corn as it is always called in North America, along with wheat and rice is one of the world’s top crops. As the current craze for ‘maize mazes’ suggests, it is truly an ‘amazing’ crop.
Maize is often seen as a highly advanced crop grown for breakfast cereals, sweet corn and popcorn - fast-foods of western society. However, maize also provides more basic staple foods for much of the world’s population in developing countries where it is used to make porridge, bread and tortillas. All around the world, maize grain is a basic livestock feed, and the crop can be cut while still green to make silage as a winter feed.
In a world increasingly aware of its dependence on oil and the climate change issues arising from its use, there is growing interest in the production of bioethanol from the starch in maize as an alternative fuel.
Maize, perhaps more than any other crop, reaches both high and low extremes of sophistication, mechanisation and technology in crop production. But, all farmers need to maximise the yield and quality of their produce, while saving the costs, time and labour needed to grow it.
Protecting maize from weeds, pests and diseases is essential to avoiding heavy losses in yields and quality of grain. Weed control is usually most important.

Vietnam: Reducing soil erosion

Paraquat and no-till methods are minimizing soil erosion and increasing productivity for corn farmers in Northern Vietnam. Corn (maize) is an important crop for the Vietnamese - especially for those living in the hilly northwest region.  180,000 hectares (ha) of corn are grown on hillside fields during the rainy season.
Traditional but time-consuming “slash and burn” farming practices limit crops to one per year and often result in low yields and high soil erosion.
Paraquat applied pre-planting and inter-row reduced soil erosion by 34% and shortened growing time by more than 20 days per season*. This represents a savings of VND **750,000 per ha in manpower costs compared to manual hand-weeding methods.
Erosion is influenced by several factors including gradient, rainfall, surface residue, soil texture, and tillage method. Using traditional tillage methods, the exposed soil surface becomes compacted, increasing rainfall run-off and reducing corn rooting depth.  No-till systems were developed to prevent soil erosion, improve soil fertility, and reduce labor and fuel costs.

Indonesia: Tidal rice

Paraquat allows rice planting in currently non-productive land and reduces the time between rice crop cycles in Indonesia.
The population of Indonesia is increasing at 2% per year and its government is desperately trying to achieve self-sufficiency in rice to feed this population. They hope to achieve this by bringing currently non-productive land like the tidal areas of Kalimantan into cropping and by increasing the number of rice crops grown each year.
There are currently 1 million hectares of tidal rice, mainly in Kalimantan, but the potential is close to 10 million hectares. Approximately 60% of this area is influenced by tides. Inundation is caused when the incoming tide forms a barrier to rivers flowing into the sea, which then flood areas with fresh, but somewhat brackish water. Much of the area has an underlying layer of iron pyrites, and while rice can be grown on these soils there is a danger of soil erosion.
The manual preparation of rice paddy fields is not only very arduous, but it also a major cause of soil erosion. In contrast, the development of no-till systems has minimized this erosion.
Paraquat is a key component of the developing tidal rice growing system because it is the only herbicide that can provide fast weed control, even when the land is flooded twice a day.

Paraquat for vegetables

Paraquat has an important role to play in vegetable cropping because its unique characteristics are particularly suited to the challenges posed by controlling weeds in these diverse crops. Growing vegetables also helps with growing other crops in a sustainable way. Legume vegetables have bacteria associated with their roots which convert nitrogen from the air into forms which can be used by plants as nutrients and these remain in the soil to fertilize following crops. A vegetable break crop, such as peas or potatoes, prevents the build-up of pests and diseases in cereal rotations and provides an opportunity to control weeds by alternative approaches.
Using paraquat for weed control helps to address many of the challenges to vegetable production including soil erosion, leaching of agrochemicals, early harvests for best prices. Paraquat is used to prepare the land for sowing or transplanting and is safe to use for inter-row weed control in growing crops by careful application with knapsack sprayers or from tractor mounted sprayers with shielded spray nozzles.