The harvest of Thailand’s main (monsoon) rice was completely in early January, while the second season rice was ready for harvest in April. Monsoon crops (Maize and rice) are in their very early stages.

According to Agroclimatic indicators, Thailand experienced dry and warm weather compared with average. The rainfall from January to April was below average by 12%, while temperature and radiation were up by 0.6 °C and 6%, which led to a decrease of biomass production potential (BIOMSS) by 10%. As shown in the development of NDVI graph, crop condition was below the 5YA. At the beginning of the monitoring period, crop condition was close to average in January but the difference between current and average condition widened after February. According to the NDVI departure profile cluster map, crop condition was above average in some patches in Nakhon Sawan, Lopburi and Phitsanulok accounting, 11.4% of total arable land. Crop condition in 37.0% of the arable land was close to average, mostly in the south and center of Thailand, which is confirmed by the maximum VCIx map. 40.0% of total arable land was slightly below average, while remaining areas (accounting for 11.6% of total arable land) were significantly below average.

To sum up, the crop condition was "close to average" (between -0.1 and 0.1 from average) in just under 90% of crop land (88.6%), average in 37% of areas. Considering that VCIx reached 0.83 on average and that CALF decreased by just 3% the recently harvested crops are best qualified as "average or below" based mainly on the poor performance of rainfall.  The outcome of the current monsoon maize and rice is still open.

Regional analysis

The regional analysis below focuses on some of the already mentioned agro-ecological zones of Thailand, of which some are mostly defined by the rice cultivation typology. Agro-ecological zones include Central double and triple-cropped rice lowlands (115), South-eastern horticulture area (116), Western and southern hill areas (117) and the Single-cropped rice north-eastern region (118). The numbers correspond to the labels in the VCIx and NDVI profile maps. 

Indicators for the Central double and triple-cropped rice lowlands follow the same patterns as those for the country as a whole: temperature (TEMP +0.6C) and radiation (RADPAR +5%) were above average, and accumulated rainfall was significantly below (RAIN -20%), resulting in a biomass production potential decrease (BIOMSS, -9%). According to the NDVI development graph, crop condition was first close to average but deteriorate to below average at the end of the monitoring period. Overall, the situation was below average despite the VCIx value of 0.89 was fair and the fraction of cropped arable land (CALF) slightly increased by 3%.

The rainfall of the South-eastern horticulture area suffered a significant decrease of 22%, while temperature (TEMP +0.3°C) and radiation (RADPAR +4%) experienced the same changes as the whole country. The VCIx map, NDVI development graph, and BIOMSS indicators (BIOMSS ,-11%) all lead to the conclusion that crop condition was unfavorable.

Crop condition in the Western and southern hill areas was disappointing according to the Agroclimatic indicators (TEMP +0.3°C, RADPAR +6%, and BIOMSS -17%) when compared to their respective averages due to the deficit of rainfall (-11%). According to the NDVI development graph, crop condition was below average. 

Finally, the situation in the Single-cropped rice north-eastern region was also less than satisfactory. According to CropWatch indicators rainfall (RAIN -7%) was below average, temperature (TEMP +1.2°C) and radiation (RADPAR +7%) were above average.  BIOMSS was just average. NDVI development graph, however, shows that crop condition was below average, which is confirmed by an unfavorable VCIx value of 0.73.

Figure 3.28a. Thailand phenology of major crops

Figure 3.28b. Time series temperature profile in Thailand

Figure 3.28c. Time series rainfall profile in Thailand

Figure 3.28d. Thailand national level crop condition development graph based on NDVI, comparing the January-April 2019 period to the previous season and the five-year average (5YA) and maximum

Figure 3.28e. Thailand maximum VCI for January-April 2019 by pixel

Figure 3.28f. Thailand spatial NDVI patterns up to April 2019 according to local cropping patterns and compared tothe 5YA (left) and (e) associated NDVI profiles (right)

Figure 3.28g Central double and triple-cropped rice lowlands (Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure 3.28h.Western and southern hill areas(Thailand)crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure 3.28i. South-eastern horticulture area(Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure 3.28j. Single-cropped rice north-eastern region (Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Table 70. January-April 2019agro-climatic indicators by agro-ecological region, current season values and departure from 15YA

 Table 71. January-April 2019 agronomic indicators by agro-ecological region, current season values and departure from 15YA/5YA