ON-FARM EVALUATION OF FERTILIZER BRIQUETTES AND LOW-COST DRIP IRRIGATION FOR SMALLHOLDER VEGETABLE PRODUCTION IN CAMBODIA

The performance of low cost drip irrigation (LCDI) compared to hand watering (HW), as well as NPK fertilizer briquette deep placement (FBDP) compared to conventional compound fertilizer (CCF), for vegetable production was evaluated. Yield and water use efficiency (WUE) increased significantly with LCDI compared to HW on cucumber (13 and 41%), sponge gourd (85 and 129%), eggplant (38 and 113%), bitter gourd (121 and 35%) and long bean (5 and 27%) respectively. Yield and WUE of cucumber (22 and 25%) and long bean (9% and 12%) increased with FBDP compared to CCF. Net income due to FBDP was greater by 24 and 14% for cucumber and long bean, respectively, compared to CCF. The number of man-days employed for irrigation increased six times in HW compared to LCDI. Net return with LCDI was greater by 52% compared to HW and varied from 4 to 121% between the crops. Combined over two trials, yield and WUE increased by 37% (5.589 vs 4.065 Mg ha⁻¹) and 123% (4.28 vs 1.916 Mg ML⁻¹) respectively, with less applied water in LCDI compared to HW (1.687 vs 2.78 ML ha⁻¹). LCDI and FBDP can significantly improve yield, WUE and profitability of the small-scale vegetable growers in Cambodia. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.