The President of Chulabhorn Research Institute realizes that villagers under Red Sapphire Project in the eastern and northeastern part of Thailand whose main occupation is agriculture are suffering from problems related to lacking of water and soil infertility. Most of the project sites are situated in area where rain is scarce. Moreover, the sandy soil does not absorb water and lacks minerals essential for growth of plants. Almost al of the villagers in the project have basic training in and are familiar with agriculture. When the basic factors are not favorable, the production is low, and so is the price of crops. Besides, in the dry season some of the villagers leave their homes and migrate to big cities to find jobs which causing social problems.

In order to solve the problems, apart from encouraging the villagers to grow crops suitable to the area with a high market demand, there must be a measure for efficient use of water, together with introducing an appropriate technology that easily to understand and have low cost.

Drip irrigation is a technology that has been recognized as suitable for solving problem of growing crops in critical area, since the amount of water used and the nutrients that plants need can be efficiently controlled. In Thailand, although the drip irrigation technology has been introduced for a long time, it is not widely used, since it is costly and most of the farmers still lack knowledge about the technology.

The study and development of drip irrigation technology that requires low capital and suitable to the climate of Thailand will be a solution to the problem. It must be a basic technology that farmers can put into practice so that they can utilize the land in full capacity all year round with higher crop yields, which would result in higher income and better living condition.

Chulabhorn Research Institute has chosen Red Sapphire 03 Village, Amphoe Ta Phraya, Sa Kaeo Province, Red Sapphire 06 Village, Amphoe KhuKhan, and Red Sapphire 07 Village, Amphoe Khun Han, Si Sa Ket Province – areas that lack water for agriculture, especially in the dry season to set up experimental plots with the objective to study and develop drip irrigation technique for agriculture. An emphasis is put on a basic practice that farmers can easily apply while the cost of which is not high. A study on the adequate amount of water needed by different plant species is also conducted, with an emphasis on annual crops in demand in local market. The result of the study will be imparted to farmers in the villages and expanded to nearby areas so that they can utilize their land efficiently all year round, thereby decreasing migration of work force form the region.

An experiment was conducted at the demonstration plots, different amount of water was given to plants each day in a comparison to study the need of water by various species of plants. The data received were used to calculate water that the plants lost through daily transpiration in order to give back the appropriate amount of water. In the experiment, water was given to the plants at 60% and 80% of daily transpiration rate to compare the amount of water needed by each species. It is revealed that all the plants performed a similar growth rate at both levels of watering. This means that giving water to plants at 60% of daily transpiration rate is sufficient for their growth, which can reduce amount of water used and enable a worthwhile utilization of water for the maximum benefit.

In addition, an experiment was also conducted to compare different methods of fertilization by using fertigation and by using drip irrigation in conjunction with adding fertilizer to the soil, to compare their growth and production. It was thus concluded that the amount of fertilizer the plants receive from fertigation is sufficient. The result of the experiment could help farmers economize on their time and production cost.

Since the Red Sapphire 03 Village is situated far from other community and industrial areas, it is free from toxic contamination. So organic cantaloupes are grown during period after the villagers have harvested their seasonal crops of rice. The production are of geed quality and can be promoted to members who have joined the project to grow it commercially. Moreover, Project members have formed group to grow pak wan ban (Sauropus albicans) and sell the product to cooperative stores, earning for themselves uninterrupted income all year round.

As for Red Sapphire 06 Village, Amphoe Khukhan, and Red Sapphire Village 07, Amphoe Khum Han, Si Sa Ket Province, villagers are encouraged to form up group to grow asparagus by using drip irrigation in conjunction with a sprinkler system to sell their product to markets in Si Sa Ket and Ubon Ratchathani Province, where there is a grate demand for asparagus.