The harvest of the main rice crop in Thailand was completed, while the planting of the second rice crop started in early January. According to CropWatch indicators, radiation (RADPAR, -8%) was below average, TEMP was average (-0.4℃ departure) while rainfall (RAIN, +29%) was significantly above the seasonal norm, which shows favorable meteorological condition and an increase of BIOMSS by 16%. Nationwide, from October to December, crop condition was below the five-year average, while in January condition was close to average. As shown by the NDVI departure clustering, 37.7% of the crop areas in Thailand (areas located in the  patches around the whole country) experienced average condition. Other areas, accounting for 45.5% of the total agricultural land and located mostly in the Single-cropped rice north-eastern region, began with average condition, which subsequently deteriorated to below average in January. Before November, crop condition was close to average and dropped below average at the end of November  in about 3.1% of croplands, situated mostly in the west of Angthong and Ayutthaya and east of Suphanburi. In another 1.4% of crop area, located in the center of Central double and triple-cropped rice lowlands, crop condition was worse before January and  caught up with average in late January. Overall, crop condition during the monitoring period was close to five-year average. 

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), 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, -0.4℃ ) and radiation (RADPAR -8%) were below average, and accumulated rainfall was significantly above (RAIN +42%), resulting in the largest biomass production potential increase in Thailand (BIOMSS +27%). The NDVI development graph, however, shows that crop condition was below average before December and improved in January. This is confirmed by the VCIx map. Overall, the situation was close to average.

The temperature of the South-eastern horticulture area suffered a decrease of -0.8℃, while rainfall (RAIN, +35%) and radiation (RADPAR, -8%) experienced the same changes  as the whole country. The VCIx map, NDVI development graph, and BIOMSS indicators (39%) all lead to the conclusion that crop condition was close to but slightly above  average.

Crop condition in Western and southern hill areas was favorable and same as the nationwide pattern : RAIN +24%, TEMP -0.3°C, RADPAR -8%, and BIOMSS +10% when compared to their respective averages. According to the NDVI development graph, crop condition was below average, while the NDVI profiles show that most of this region was slightly above average. Overall, the situation was slightly above but close to average.

Finally, the situation in the Single-cropped rice north-eastern region was comparable to that of the country as a whole: rainfall was above average (RAIN +37%) with lower temperature (TEMP -0.5°C) and radiation (RADPAR -9%).  BIOMSS (+19%) shows above average values. The NDVI development graph shows that crop condition was below average, probably due to excess precipitation and reduced sunshine. According to the NDVI profiles, crop condition in most of this region was close to average.

At the national level, most arable land was cropped during the season and had favorable VCIx values around 0.88. CropWatch projections are that the production of rice will slightly down compared to average.

Figure 3.28a. Thailand phenology of major crops

Figure 3.28b. Thailand national level crop condition development graph based on NDVI, comparing the April-July 2017 period to the previous season and the five-year average (5YA) and maximum

Figure 3.28c. Thailand maximum VCI forApril-July 2017 by pixel

Figure 3.28d. Thailand spatial NDVIpatterns up to July 2017 according to local cropping patterns and compared tothe 5YA (left) and (e) associated NDVI profiles (right)

Figure 3.28f Central double and triple-cropped rice lowlands (Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVIFigure 3.28g.Western and southern hill areas(Thailand)crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure 3.28h. South-eastern horticulture area(Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVIFigure 3.28i. Single-cropped rice north-eastern region (Thailand) crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Table 70. April- July 2017 agro-climatic indicators by agro-ecological region, current season values and departure from 15YA

Table 71. April- July 2017 agronomic indicators by by agro-ecological region, current season values and departure from 5YA