Mango (Mangifera indica L. cv. Nam Dokmai) production in Northern Thailand—Costs and returns under extreme weather conditions and different irrigation treatments

The manual irrigation of mangos by the use of water hoses is a common management practice in northern Thailand. However, this method is water-inefficient and labor intensive. Farmers in northern Thailand are increasingly confronted with weather anomalies, such as extended droughts and excessive rainfall in consecutive years. The objective of this paper is to investigate the water-saving potential and monetary benefit of farmers of different irrigation methods under conditions of more frequent weather abnormalities. This paper is concluded with a discussion of the possible impact of water pricing on a farmerʹs water consumption. To date, no comparative field test has been conducted between traditional irrigation and micro sprinkler irrigation, which highlights the water-saving potential on one hand and shows a farmerʹs monetary benefit on the other hand.