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ច"កភពែខ(រ រំដួល.ស

KhmerRumduolMeasNo.2,October2017

NewsletterfortheACIARProjectCSE/2015/044:Sustainableintensificationanddiversificationinthe

lowlandricesysteminNorthwestCambodia

Contents

Contents.............................................................................1

Usingdigitaldatasoftwaretobenchmarksocio-economicandproductioncharacteristicsinourtargetvillages.......1

CamSIDbaselinesurveyresultssofar...............................4

CamSIDfrontlineteam:RathaRien...................................7

WeedresearchchallengesandsolutionsforCambodia..7

Surveyofweedseedcontaminationinricepaddy...........8

Effectofestablishmentmethodsonyieldofrice.............9

WeedIDApp.....................................................................10

CamSIDpublications........................................................11

References.......................................................................12

Contacts...........................................................................12

Usingdigitaldatasoftwaretobenchmarksocio-economicandproductioncharacteristicsinourtargetvillages

Our project conducted a baseline survey inMayofthisyearinfourtargetvillagesandonenon-target village (control) in each of ourprovinces, Banteay Meanchey andBattambang.Todothisweembarkeduponajourney of methodological innovation andadoptedadigital data collectionprogram foruseinthefield.

In February of this year, one of the project’spost-docs,RebeccaCross from theUniversityof Sydney, attended an ACIAR RAID (youngresearchersnetwork)workshopentitled‘MAD’–MobileAcquirementofData.Commcare,anonlinesoftwareprogramdevelopedbyDimagiforbuildingandexecutingsurveysinthefield,was introduced at this workshop. It is arevolutionary data collection and trackingprogramdesignedtobeuseable inaremote,

developing world context. It was firstdeveloped for health and nutrition research,but is increasingly being used in agriculturalresearch,specificallyviaACIARprojects.

Theabilityofthissoftwaretostreamlinedatacollection including capturing pictures, GPSlocations and ethics consent, to negate theneedfordatainputanddealingwithtonnesofpaper, and to track participants over timemeantthatitwasanidealtoolforourproject.

However,ajourneyitwas!Learningtobuildsurveys,repletewithquestionlogic,validationsandhiddencalculations,wasajourneyinitselfwhichturnedouttobeanongoingprocessbothbeforeandduringthesurveyperiod.Asecondpost-doc,VanTouch,wasinstrumentalintheuploadingofmassesoftranslationsbeforeandthroughoutthesurveyprocess,andsomehowmanagedtopickuptheartofCommcaresurveybuildingatthesametime!Thediagrambelowwaspresentedattheaforementionedworkshop…howtruethisturnedouttobe.

Figure1.SlidepresentedbyJessHall,AgImpactattheACIARRAIDMADworkshop,Melbourne,February2017.(Credit:ACIARRAID).

KhmerRumduolMeas,October2017

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Purchasing and transporting all the tablets,charging them and ensuring their boosterchargers were also charged was a mission,especially as all required Australian socketplugsandCambodianhotelsarenotknownfortheir great number of electricity sockets (orelectricityforthatmatter).

Figure2.Allourequipmentcharginginthehotelroom(Credit:RebeccaCross)

Whilewehadpreparedwell,we thenhad tocontend with training our 60 studentenumerators in twodays;30 fromMeancheyUniversity (MCU), led by Dr Yorn Try, KongVannak and KhimNheb (many ofwhom hadalso been interviewers/translators during theParticipatory Rural Appraisal conducted inNovember 2016) and 30 students from theUniversityofBattambang(UBB),organisedbyDrPaoSrean. Bothorganisationsareprojectpartners and the baseline survey had a two-prongedaim,tofirstbenchmarkpracticesandsocio-economics in our target regions andsecond,toincreasethecapacityofstudentsatthese universities by training them inenumerationanddatacollection.

The training was led by our Baseline Surveyteamleader,DrClemensGrünbühelalongwithhis research assistants Soe Soe Htway andSandarPhyo,whodetailedthewhatwhyandhowofeachquestionbeforeVanandRebeccaintroduced the Commcare program andtechnologytothestudents.Thestudentswereamazinglyreceptivetothetechnology,albeitafewmajorandminor technical glitchesalongtheway! They showeddedicationandmanypracticed each night after the day’s training.

Clemens, Try, Van, Sandar and Soe Soewerealso instrumental with smoothing overproblemswe faced and perseveringwith thetechnology.

Figure3.DrVanTouchaidingstudentsduringtrainingconductedatMCU(Credit:ClemensGrünbühel)

Figure4.TwoMCUstudentspractisingthesurveyusingCommcare(Credit:RebeccaCross)

Figure5.TwostudentsconductingasurveyinTrapaengThmorvillage(Credit:RebeccaCross)

Posttraining,wetooktothefield.TheMCUstudentsjoinedisinbothprovinces,whileUBBstudentsjoinedusfortheBattambangleg.SeymaNgann(projectofficer)ensured

CSE/2015/044“SustainableintensificationanddiversificationinthelowlandricesysteminNorthwestCambodia”

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thelogisticsofthewholetripranlikeclockwork,notaneasyfeatwhentransporting,feedingandaccommodatingthatmanypeople!

Figure6.StudentsconductingsurveysinTaAamvillage(Credit:RebeccaCross)

While we were busy making changes to thesurveythroughouttheprocess,nightandday(to make it more user-friendly and avoidtechnologyoverloads),theendresultwas524surveys automatically entered into theprogramafteranintense11daysofnon-stopsurveying(becauseofissueswiththeprogram,thestudentshadtosurveyonevillagetwice).The students and staff made it happen andpatiently adapted to the daily changes andrequests. Their involvement made theexperience particularly enriching and weenjoyedmanymealsandgoodtimestogetherasateam.

Figure7.RebeccaCrossmakingchangestothesurveyinthefield(Credit:DanielTan)

InBattambang,wewerealsojoinedbyDrBobMartin,Assoc/ProfDanielTanandRathaRien(Project Officer) for some of the village

surveys.Wewerealsojoinedbyanumberofstudents from Sydney University who werethere to collectdata for theirprojects: JamieLoveday, Business student focused onunderstanding entrepreneurship; Yi Ling,Agribusiness student focussed on the ricevaluechain;BhaktiHaldankar,EnvironmentalSystemsstudentfocusedonlanduseandthefloodedforest;andBintuMoseray,MastersofAgriculture student focussed on fertiliserapplication.

Figure 8. Some of the 60 students enjoying a well-deserved team dinner at the end of the surveying(Credit:RebeccaCross)

Figure9.JamieLoveday,SoeSoeHtway,SandarPhyo,ClemensGrünbühel,YornTryandVanTouchhavingalunchcookedbya smallholderusingonlyhomegrownproduce(Credit:RebeccaCross)

Our first foray into Commcare was both afrustrating and rewarding experience,however its value as a data collection tool isundeniable. We look forward to sharpeningour Commcare skills and realising the fullpotentialof trackingsmallholder farmersandother project participants’ progressthroughouttheproject’slifebyemployingtheprogram in our monitoring and evaluationstrategy.

Author:RebeccaCross


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CamSIDbaselinesurveyresultssofar

TheCamSIDbaselinesurveywasimplementedbystudentsfromMeancheyUniversity(MCU)andtheUniversityofBattambang(UBB)intheprojecttargetvillagesinMay2017.

Theobjectiveswereto:

• Assess the socio-cultural context, identifylocal needs and opportunities and buildcohesion and a shared vision for projectstaff and stakeholders, who are primarilysmall-scalefarminghouseholds;

• Quantify system components and likelyimpactsofinterventionsinfullconsultationwithcommunitygroups;

• Assessmarket opportunities in the futureincluding value chain network analyses incloseconsultationwithcommunitygroups;

• Refinepriorityagronomicand institutionalresearch priorities, interactions andinterventions in partnership with leadingfarmers, respecting their place as equalresearchcolleaguesontheR4Dteam.

Figure10.Farmerinterviews(Credit:VanTouch)

Methods

Thirty students from MCU and UBB weretrainedtoenumeratethebaselinesurveyusingpaperandelectronicdatacollectionusingtheCommCare mobile acquired data system. Aone-daypilottestwasconductedinonevillagetomakesurethatthestudents(enumerators)understoodthequestionsandhadexperienceusing the digital data collection method. Atotal of 524 household representatives wereinterviewed from 10 villages from BanteayMeancheyandBattambangprovinces.

Figure 11. Location of target villages (Credit: RebeccaCross)

Intensificationanddiversification

The on-going construction and restoration ofirrigation schemes has seen an increase indoublecroppingofriceinthewetseason.Forexample, in 2009, 17% of households inKampongChhnang,KampongThomandPursatdouble cropped rice (Tong et al., 2011)compared to 33% in our survey in BanteayMeancheyandBattambangin2017.

Table1.MaincropsgrownCrops growncommercially

Percentageoffarmersgrowing

Rice 97.5Vegetable 9.2Legume 8.0Maize 3.1

Figure12.Ricecroppingintensity

Farmersquicklyswitch fromasinglecroppedlong-duration rice variety to two double


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cropped short-duration varieties when theygain access to wet season irrigation. Thetransition to double cropping happensimmediatelywhenthewaterarrives.

Table2.On-farmareaofirrigatedandrainfedrice Mean MedianCroppedarea(ha) 4.0 2.8IrrigatedRice(ha) 1.7(43%) 0.5RainfedRice(ha) 2.3(57%) 1.0

Farmers with small land holdings and largerfamilies weremore likely tomigrate to earnextraincomeratherthanattempttointensifyrice production compared to farmers withlarger land holdings. Further study might berequiredtodeterminetheimportanceoflandsize in choice of enterprise at the householdlevel. Themean household number for bothprovinces was five persons but householdscouldincludeupto10persons.

Riceproduction

Thetotalyieldofricepaddyperfarmwas8.33t/year and the amount soldwas 6.84 t/year,paddy kept for consumptionwas 0.97 t/yearandkeptforsowing,0.54t/year.

Figure13.Averagericeyield(t/ha)

Morethan40varietiesofricearegrowninNWCambodia.However, SenKraOubwasby farthe most popular. Sen Kra Oub is a shortduration non-photoperiod sensitive jasminevarietyandcanbeusedasanindicatoroftheextent of double cropped rice in the region.NotethatPhkaRumduolistheonlyvarietyin

thetopfivethatisanofficialexportricevarietyforCambodia.

Figure14.Ricevarietiesgrown

Landpreparation

Figure15.Intensityoflandpreparation

The cost per pass with the disc plough is$30/ha for the 4-wheel tractor and this istypically done by contractors. However, 2-wheeltractorsarestillcommonlyusedforlandpreparation,especially inBanteayMeanchey.Researchquestionsinclude:

• Whatarethebenefitsoftwoormoretimesoflandpreparation?

• Can farmers grow rice with no soildisturbance?

• Willyieldsdecreasewithreducedtillage?• Seventy % of farmers prepare the land

twicebeforeplanting, can thisnumberbereduced?

BMC BTB0

1

2

3

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Yield(t/ha)

2.71(t/ha)


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Riceseedingmethod

Ninety-seven % of farmers are handbroadcastingrice.Themainreasonsgivenforhand-broadcastingwerelowcost($10/ha)andbecause it is quick and easy. Problems citedwere high seeding rates (150-250 kg/ha);uneven plant densities; and more weeds. Itshould be noted that the cost of farm-keptseed(around$50/ha)wasnotincludedinthefarmer’s costing of direct-seeding. Farm-keptseed is also heavily contaminatedwithweedseeds,thereforeincreasingseedingratemightincreasetheweedproblemratherthanreduceit(Martinetal.,2017).

The few farmers that transplant rice aregenerallyseedproducerswhouselowseedingrates of around 50 kg/ha. Transplantingenablesgoodplantpopulationdistributionandeasierweedmanagement.Transplantingcosts$120/ha and including removing seedlingsfrom the nursery ($44/ha), the totaltransplantingcostis$164/ha.Therefore,seedproducersarelookingforcheaperalternativessuch as transplanting machines, drum or Eliseeders.

Figure16.Mechaniseddrumseeder(Credit:VanTouch)

SeedandgrainstorageTable3.Seedandgrainstorageofrice(%) Store NotstoreRiceseed 46 54Ricegrain 21 79

Farmers complain about lower price atharvesting time but the majority of farmers(79%) sell rice grain right after the harvest.Possiblereasonsarethatloansmustberepaidandlackofstoragefacilities.However,furtherenquiries could be made on the reasons forlack of storage and the problems/risks ofkeeping seed for thenext season’s crop.Willfarmersmakemore profit from storing theirgrain?

Householdincomeandexpenditure

Figure17.Compositionofhouseholdincome

Theaveragetotalhouseholdincomeis$3,650per annum, however the average totalhousehold expenditure per annum is $4,000perannum.Off-farmincomeaccountsfor52%of total household income. Furtherinformationmight be gained from looking atthefarmsize*incomesourceinteraction.

Thirty-seven % of households had currentloansaveraging$2,047withaninterestrateof2%permonth.Themajorityofloanswereforcrop production and household expenditure.Only 9% of households were members ofsavingsgroups.

Conclusions

Thebaselinesurveyhasrevealedsomeofthechallenges facing diversification andintensificationintherice-basedsystemsinNWCambodia.

Thereareopportunitiestointroducefieldcroplegume (mungbean) and watermelon inrotationwith rice in theactive floodplainbutsoil constraints might limit diversification inrice fields in the old alluvial terraces.Vegetables are not generally grown in ricefieldsbut inhome-basedgardenswheretheycan be grown year-round. Vegetables are adiversification option for household incomebutonseparateplots,notinricefields.

Forty-six% of farmer respondents keep theirown rice seed for re-sowing and the averagestored is 540 kg. What can be done to helpfarmers reduce the seed rate to below 80kg/ha?

Themajority of farmers (79%) sell rice grainrightaftertheharvest.Canfarmersmakemoreprofitfromstoringtheirgrain?

43%

5%

52%

from paddy

from LS

other sources


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Yield potential under farmer practices andconditions is greater than 6 t/ha, but theaverage yield and the yield receivedbymostfarmersarebelow3t/ha.

Figure18.TheMCU/UBBbaselinesurveyteam(Credit:VanTouch)

Authors: Rebecca Cross, Clemens Grünbühel,Try Yorn, Van Touch, BobMartin and DanielTan

CamSIDfrontlineteam:RathaRien

RathaRienusingalaboratorydehulleratUBBtoenabledetectionofweedyrice(red)seedsinseedforsowing(Credit:BobMartin)

The CamSID frontline team appointed in July2017includeMrKhimNheb,MsSeymaNganninBanteayMeancheyandMrRathaRien,MsSopheaYousinBattambang.

In this edition of KRM we introduce you toRathaRienwhosehomeland isPraeakNorintcommuneinAekPhnumdistrictwhereCamSIDhastwotargetvillages,RohalSoeungandSvayChhrum.RathacompletedhisbachelordegreeatUBBin2013,majoringinhorticultureintheFacultyofAgricultureandFoodProcessing.

Rathaiscurrentlydoinghismasterdegreewith“Implementingqualityofeducation&trainingof the Young UNIversities in rural areaof CAMbodia” (UNICAM,http://unicamedu.com/en/). Ratha’s masters

field research program is being aligned withCamSID priorities and he will focus ondetermining the production and economicbenefitsofrotatingmungbeanwithrice.

RathawasappointedtoCamSIDinJune2017.However,hehasbeenworkingwithBobsincelate2016.Firstly,onastudyofthepotentialofradio agricultural programs to assist small-scalefarmers intheadoptionofconservationandclimate-smartagriculturalpractices.

Secondly,Rathaplayedakeyroleinasurveyofweedy rice and weed seed contamination infreshpaddyandseedkeptforsowingearlierin2017.Thissurveyshowedthatalmost90%ofriceseedsownis farmer-keptandthatthis ishighlycontaminatedwithweedyriceandweedseeds. Seed producer seed is also highlycontaminated.Helping farmers improve theirseedqualityisnowapriorityforCamSIDasaresultofthiswork.

Author:BobMartin

WeedresearchchallengesandsolutionsforCambodia

BobMartinwasinvitedtopresentapaperon“Weed research issues, challenges, andopportunities inCambodia”atthe26thAsian-Pacific Weed Science Society Conference inKyoto, Japan, 19-22nd September 2017. ThefollowingistheabstractofthepaperpublishedintheCropProtectionjournal.

Figure19.Long-termcolleaguesinweedscienceDeirdreLemerle and BobMartin at the APWSS Conference inKyoto,Japan(Credit:BobMartin)

The area of cultivated agricultural land inCambodia is3.7millionhectareswith76%ofthisplantedtolowlandriceand24%plantedtouplandcropssuchascassava,maize,soybean,sugarcaneandvegetables.

The University of Sydney Page 16

Thank you

Baseline survey team (USYD, AIT, MCU & UBB) – May 2017


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Cambodia’saveragericepaddyyieldataround3t/haisaround50%oftheyieldpotentialandlossescausedbyweedcompetitionhavebeenshowntobeasignificantconstraint.Themostimportant issues currently affecting weedmanagementinCambodia'scroppingsystemsare(a)increasedclimatevariabilityandclimatechange,and (b)migrationof labour fromtherural workforce and consequent rapidmechanisationofagriculture.

Asaresultofclimatechange,thewetseasonin Cambodia now begins and endsapproximately one month later, and thebimodalrainfalldistributionhasstrengthened,resulting inmore extreme events of droughtandfloodduringthewetseason.

A decline in the availability of agriculturallabourhasresulted inrapidmechanisationoflandpreparation,broadcastseeding,herbicideuseandmachineharvestingofriceandthesechangeshavehadsignificantrepercussionsforweedmanagement.

Theresultantchallengesandopportunitiesforweed management are presented anddiscussed in the paper. The main weedmanagement challenges are associated withrice crop intensification, transition fromtransplanting to direct-seeded rice, changedplantingdatesandtillagepracticesinresponseto climate change, over-reliance on post-emergence herbicides, excessive inversiontillage, and lackof knowledgeabout the safeandefficacioususeofherbicides.

Opportunities for improved weedmanagementinCambodia'scroppingsystemsinclude the development of integratedweedmanagement for double crop intensive ricesystems,transitionfromhandbroadcastingtodrill-seeded rice, new seeding windows andminimum tillage, non-transgenic herbicideresistant cropsandeducationand trainingofinputsellersandfarmerstoimprovesafetyandefficacyofherbicideuse.

Author:BobMartin

Surveyofweedseedcontaminationinricepaddy

Figure20.RiceismostlyharvestedbycombinemachineinCambodia(Credit:BobMartin)

Toreducecosts,farmerskeeptheirownseedforsowingwiththeriskofgreaterweedseedcontaminationofthesowingseed.Asurveyofweed seed contamination in harvested ricepaddy was conducted in Battambang andTakeoprovincesattheendofthewetseasonin2016.

Farmerswere interviewedabout rice-seedingpractices, and a total of 110 farmers' freshpaddysampleswereinspectedforweedseedcontaminationfromthetwoprovinces.

Sowing seed samples collected from28 seedproducer lots and 71 samples of farmer-keptseed were also analysed for weed seedcontamination.Inbothprovinces,themajorityoffarmerskepttheirownseedorboughtseedfromaneighbour.

Farm-keptseedforsowingaccountedfor88%ofsownseedinBattambangand89%inTakeo.Seeds of 41 different weed species from 13plant families were found in the farmers'freshlyharvestedpaddysamples.

Overall, farmers managed to reduce thenumberofweedpropagulesby60%andseedproducers by 95%. There was no significantdifferencebetweenfarmer-keptseedandseedproducer/seed company seed for the totalnumberofweedseedspresent.Whenshownphotos, farmers' rankings of the 10 mostcommon weed species found in freshlyharvestedpaddydidnotcloselycorrespondtotheactualweedseedfrequencyinthepaddy.

When farmers were asked to rank thefrequencyofweedsintheirfieldswithouttheoptiontochoose froma list, theyrankedtheweedsdifferently.FarmersrankedIschaemumrugosum, Echinochloa spp. and Fimbristylis


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miliacea as the three most frequent weedspecies in their fields. The most frequentweeds inharvestedpaddy,apart fromweedyrice, were I. rugosum and Melochiacorchorifolia. Farmers did not rankM. corchorifolia as a frequently occurringweed, andmost farmers could not recogniseM.corchorifoliafromphotographs.

The priority for improved seed hygiene is toplace the emphasis on assisting farmers tofurther improve their seed purificationtechniques and to caution them to inspectseedbeforepurchasingfromneighbours,seedproducersandseedcompaniesintheabsenceof the implementation of seed certificationregulation.

Authors: Bob Martin, Floris Van Ogtrop, KielHenson, K Broeum, Ratha Rien, Pao Srean,DanielTan

Effectofestablishmentmethodsonyieldofrice

Figure21.RiceplantedwiththeKidseeddrillat80kg/ha(Credit:BobMartin)

In some ways CSE/2015/044 (CamSID) is afollow-on ACIAR project to CSE/2009/037“Improvedriceestablishmentandproductivityin Cambodia and Australia” which wasconducted between 2010 and 2014 insouthern Cambodia(http://aciar.gov.au/publication/fr2016-08).

CSE/2009/037 addressed rice productionissues in Cambodia such as the uptake ofdirect-seeding, a significant increase inirrigated wet season rice, and the uptake ofmechanisation to replace animal draught forland preparation. The project successfully

completedalargenumberoffieldexperimentsanddemonstrationsaswellassocio-economicsurveys and database development. Theseactivities have produced a large volume ofusefulnewinformationwhich,ifadopted,willimprovericecropestablishment,productivityandprofitabilityinCambodia.

ItisimperativethatreferencebemadetotheCSE/2009/037 Final Report to ensure thatCamSID trials and demonstrations aredesigned to build on, and not duplicate, thefindings of CSE/2009/0037. Here results arepresented and discussed on 20 experimentswithregardtotheeffectofweedcontrolandcropestablishmentmethodonriceyield.

Crop establishment method and seeding ratetreatments1. FP 180: Farmer direct seeding traditional

practiceat180kg/ha2. BC250:Directseeding(wetseedbroadcast)

at250kg/ha3. BC200:Directseeding(wetseedbroadcast)




at60kg/ha7. DS80:Drumseederat80kg/ha8. DS60:Drumseederat60kg/ha9. TP20:Transplant2-3seedling/hill (20day

oldseedlings)with20cmx20cmspacing10. TP25:Transplant1seedling/hill(10dayold

seedlings)with25cmx25cmspacingExperimentaldetailsandassumptionsTheexperimentswereconductedinKampongThom,KampongSpeu,Kampot,PreyVengandTakeo provinces. Twenty experiments: 10 inwet and 10 in dry season 2010-2011. Theestablishment treatments were with andwithoutweedcontrol.

Assumptions: cost of seed for sowing,$0.225/kg; labour, $8/person/day;transplanting20persondays/ha;drumseeder,4 person days/ha; broadcasting 3 persondays/ha;priceofpaddy,$225/t(currentpriceforSenKraOub).


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Results

Figure22.Effectofbroadcastseedingfateinriceyield,withandwithoutweeds

Figure23.Thenetbenefitcurveforriceseedingoptionsfor all treatments (above) and broadcast treatments(below)

Conclusions

• Transplanting rice forpaddyproduction inCambodia is now economically out of thequestionand98%offarmersnowplantricebybroadcastseeding.

• Theaveragefarmerbroadcastseedingrateof180kg/haisnotjustifiedwithregardtoeconomic returns. Farmers should beencouraged to progressively reducebroadcastseedingrates,atleastdownto90kg/haandeventuallyto60kg/ha.Thiswillrequirebetterseedqualityandbettercropmanagement,especiallyofweeds.

• Useofthedrumseederat60kg/hagaveaMarginal Rate of Return (MRR) of 409%overbroadcastingat60kg/ha.Drumseeder

at80kg/hagavea furtherMRRof1752%overdrumseederat60kg/ha.

• Increasingbroadcast seeding rate from60to 100 kg/ha gave a MRR of 315%.Increasingtherate from100to150kg/hagaveaMRRofonly55%andisnotlikelytobeattractivetofarmers.Thenetbenefitforthe150kg/haseedingratewithweedswas$125/ha less than for without weeds.Therefore, increasingseedingratealoneisnotaneconomicallyviableoptionforweedcontrol.

• Theseresultssuggestthat:

- The recommended seeding rate fordrum seeder should be retained at 80kg/ha.

- The recommended seeding rate forhandbroadcastingisnotmorethan100kg/ha.

- Further efforts should be made toconvince farmers to reduce broadcastseeding rates below 100 kg/ha incombinationwithimprovedseedqualityand improved crop and weedmanagementpractices.

Author:BobMartin

WeedIDApp

Figure24.WeedIDinstallpage

WeedID is an app developed by the CamSIDteam to assist Cambodian farmers inidentifying weeds in rice fields. It contains a"photodictionary"ofvariousweedspecies indifferentstagesofgrowth.

2.5

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Non-weedy Weedy

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Netb

enefit(US$/ha)

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TP20409%

1752%

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enefit($US

$/ha)

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FP180

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315%

55%11%


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Cambodianfarmersinmostareashaveshiftedtheir rice planting method towards directseeding.Yet,directseedingsystemsaremoreprone to weed infestation. Without propermanagement, weeds can cause seedcontaminationandyieldloss.

Asweedspecies inricefieldsarediverse,theeffectivecontrolstrategycanbedifferent foreachspecies;beingableto identifytheweedspeciesthatarepresentisthereforeessential.Amobileapplication(App)maybeaneffectivetooltoempowerfarmerswiththeinformationneededtoidentifyandcontrolweeds.

A survey regardingweedseedcontaminationinharvestedricepaddy in twoprovinceswasundertaken to determine common weedspecies of rice in Cambodia. A WeedIDprototype App with the ten most commonweeds was subsequently designed anddeveloped.

Figure25.WeedAPexample

Themobileapplicationwasevaluatedthrougha survey conducted in Northwest Cambodia.Moreover,moreweedspecieswereaddedtothe database tomake a total of 30 differentweeds. WeedID received interest fromenthused Cambodian farmers; it could be aneffective information tool to offer better

farming decision support and to improvepractices to control weeds in rice. You caninstallWeedIDappfromthelinksbelow:

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/weed-identifier/id1165963850?ls=1&mt=8

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.usyd.weedid&hl=en

Authors: Yehezkiel Henson, Bob Martin,RosanneQuinnell,FlorisVanOgtrop,YornTry,DanielTanandNicholasBarker

CamSIDpublications

HensonY,MartinRJ,QuinnellR,VanOgtropF,Yorn T, TanDKY. 2017. Development of aWeed Identifier Mobile Application forCambodian Rice Farmers. Proceedings ofthe 18th Australian Society of AgronomyConference, 24–28 September 2017,Ballarat, VIC, Australia © 2017.(http://www.agronomyaustraliaproceedings.org/).

Martin RJ. 2017. Weed research issues,challenges,andopportunitiesinCambodia,Crop Protection,http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2017.06.019

MartinRJ,VanOgtropF,HensonY,BroeumR,Rien,R,Srean,P,TanDKY.2017.Asurveyofweedseedcontaminationof ricepaddy inCambodia. Weed Research 57, 333–341:http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/wre.12265/full.

RienR, SreanP,MartinRJ. 2017.Weed seedandweedyricecontaminationofharvestedpaddyinCambodia.Proceedingsofthe7thInternational Graduate ResearchConference, Ubon Ratchathani University,Thailand,October2017.

Tan DKY,Martin R, Yorn T, Chea S, Touch V,MurrayC,GrünbühelC,LiL,AmptP,CrossR, Ormiston J, Nash T, RathmellW. 2016.The potential for conservation agriculturebased sustainable intensification inCambodia. 4th International AgronomyConference. 22-26 November 2016. TheIndian Society of Agronomy: New Delhihttp://www.isa-india.in/IAC2016/


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Tan DKY,Martin R, Yorn T, Chea S, Touch V,MurrayC,GrünbühelC,LiL,AmptP,CrossR,OrmistonJ,NashT,RathmellW(2017).Partnerships for the sustainableintensification of farming systems inlowland Cambodia. RDI Conference 2017,Partnering for Impact on SustainableDevelopment. 13-14 June 2017, TheUniversity of Sydney, Sydney, Australia.http://www.rdiconference2017.org.au/

A patent (record of invention) waslodged/submitted for the CambodianWeedID app (available both on iOS andAndroid)#CT19091

References

MartinRJ,VanOgtropF,HensonY,BroeumK,Rien,R,SreanP,TanDKY.2017.Asurveyofweedseedcontaminationof ricepaddy inCambodia.WeedResearch57,333–341.

Tong K, Hem S, Santos P. 2011.What LimitsAgricultural Intensification in Cambodia?The Role of Emigration, AgriculturalExtension Services and Credit Constraints.CDRIPolicyBriefNo.7.

Contacts

PleasebeactivecontributorsandsubmityourstoriestotheEditors:BobMartin([email protected]);VanTouch([email protected])orBecCross

([email protected]).

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