A Comparative Study on Upland Rice Yield in Different Shifting Cultivation Areas at Mae Tuen Sub-district, Omkoi District, Chiang Mai Province

Abstract

     This study aimed to investigate general traits of upland rice shifting cultivation and compare topographic data as well as upland rice yield at different range of altitude above sea level. This was done by mean of remote sensing with satellite images from Google earth pro. Photos were recorded in January 2021 and open-ended questionnaire on yield was used for data collection. Obtained data were analyzed in terms of variance by using Kruskal-Wallis test. The results showed that Pakakeryor (Karen) ethnic group at Mae Tuen Sub-district, Omkoi district, Chiang Mai province did upland rice shifting cultivation in the form of slash and burn for one year. After left an area for 4-5 years of the follow period, they returned to the same area. Each household had 6±3 members and 4.22±1.06 rai of cultivation area. And also, use of rice varieties as “Bue Ther Mae” (Bo Po Lo) was grown there. According to the comparison based on elevation stratification was found that the rice yields with the highest at level more than 800 meters and higher yield than the others with a significant 99% (354.8 kg/rai/year). Moreover, there was not difference in all height ranges by the same direction of slope (Southeast to southwest). Furthermore, results of the study could be applied to a future study on factors affecting upland rice yield.