Evaluation of Soil Water Management Difference in Mango Orchards between Thailand and Japan

Kozue Yuge, Eriko Yasunaga, Shinji Fukuda, Wolfram Spreer, Vicha Sardsud, Wanwarang Pattanopo

Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Institute for Sustainable Agro-Ecosystem Services, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan.
Postharvest Technology Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.
School of Agro-Industry, Mae Fah Luang University, Chiang Rai, Thailand.
Science and Technology Research Institute, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand.

DOI: 10.4236/ajps.2013.41024                

Abstract

The objective of this study is to evaluate the difference of the soil water management in mango orchards between the varieties of “Irwin” in Japanand “Nam Dok Mai” inThailand. Field observations were conducted in mango orchards in Okinawa, Japan and Phrao, Thailand to clarify the water management practices. Measurement of the hourly soil water content in Phrao indicated that the irrigation was scarce and the volumetric water content in the soil was maintained almost constant. in the flowering season. This can be the farmers’ practice for flower induction. After the flowering season, irrigation was frequent in order to produce the large fruit. In the harvest season, the soil water content was relatively high because of frequent irrigation and rainfall. In Okinawa, the volumetric water content was maintained at the same level in a relatively deep layer. The result at the5 cmdepth indicated that the farmer carefully controlled the soil water content. In the flowering season, the soil water content was relatively low. While the orchard was managed empirically, the volumetric water content near the soil surface was maintained over 25% during the harvest season. This result indicates that the farmer performed the good soil water management to enhance mango fruit quality even without technical measurement. A numerical model describing the soil water and heat transfers was introduced to predict the farmer’s empirical soil water management in Okinawa. Using the meteorological data in March 2010, the irrigation regime was predicted using the simulated soil water content. In the flowering season, the farmer irrigated when the soil surface water content reached 14%. Based on this criterion for the empirical soil water management, the simulation result indicated that the farmer irrigated four times in this period. The numerical model presented here can be useful for evaluating the differences in water management practices of local farmers.

Keywords

Irrigation Regime; Soil Water and Heat Transfer; Numerical Model; Yield and Quality of Mango Fruit

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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