The harvesting period of summer/autumn rice has been completed, while the 10th month rice was still growing in mid-October. The crop condition from July to October was generally comparable to the situation in 2012-2013 but below average in October. For the period under consideration, the CropWatch agroclimatic and agronomic indicators all show an increase over the average: RADPAR (+1%), TEMP (1.1°C), BIOMSS (+2%), and RAIN (+1%). Spatial NDVI profiles show that the crop condition in Tuyen Quang, Bac Kan, and Thai Nguyenprovinces sharply decreased to below average values from July to August,followed by a rapid increase in September due to the precipitation that fell inthe wake of typhoon Kalmaegi. The other record above average NDVI values,especially in the south, are probably due to favorable weather conditions. NDVI profiles show that crop condition was below average in 16.2% of the major rice plantation area, mainly the Red River delta from September to October. Crop condition was average in the Mekong River delta region, with VCIx ranging between 0.5 and 0.8. Based on CropWatch indicators, the crop situation in Vietnam is considered to be close to average.

Figure3.33. Vietnam crop condition,July-October 2014

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI    (b)Maximum VCI

(c)Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA   d)NDVI profiles