WATER SCIENCE

• Catchments hydrology and drainage
• Strategic and tactical use of supplementary irrigation
• Irrigation water resource availability and quality
• Guidelines on water use

SOIL SCIENCE

LOWLAND AND UPLAND SOILS MANAGEMENT

• Nutrient balances and nutrient availability
• Soil acidity and salinity
• Soil biology, organic matter, and nitrogen fixation
• Soil-specific fertilizer recommendations
• Development of nutrient management technologies
• Plant nutrition research: nutrient omission trials and fertilizer responses for rice, fruit trees, vegetables and field crops

SOIL PHYSICS

• Soil water availability in relation to soil types and soil management
• Tillage – effects on crop establishment, soil structure and erosion

• Crop establishment – seedbed requirements and relationship to soil types, waterlogging, fertilizer requirements and placement and tillage.
• Soil physical characteristics- relationship of soil physical properties to tillage, crop establishment, erosion risk and drainage.

LAND RESOURCES

• GIS and Land Suitability
• Land use and soil types spatial datasets and mapping
• Update soil manual for rice plus upland crops
• Develop land suitability classifications
• Decision support systems for land use planning (crop suitability assessment and maps)
• Soil quality –indicators (physical, chemical and biological) of sustainable soil management practices.

ANALYTICAL LABORATORY

• Analytical services for soil, water and plant samples plus post-harvest products