Science and technology is now taking a key role to increase the productivity and quality of agricultural products. Starting from seeds developed using biotechnology through to food packaging where material science has helped, many technologies have been developed to improve the country's agricultural system.

At the Science for Nature Exhibition at Royal Flora Ratchaphruek 2006 in Chiang Mai, various kinds of technologies were on show to demonstrate advancements in agriculture, which not only increase yields but also keep food products fresh much longer.

Held by the Science Ministry, the exhibition highlights a new era in agriculture.

As agriculture starts from seeds, biotechnology is key to plant development. Yields are a major concern for farmers, so the development of better quality seeds and plant breeds to increase productivity is required. The National Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology under the National Science and Technology Development Agency has improved jasmine rice breeds to offer higher yields with resistance to environmental difficulties and disease.

The exhibition demonstrated the success of the new Thai jasmine rice 105 breed that was improved to resist flooding, a major problem for rice farmers. According to field tests, the new breed can stay underwater for 15 to 21 days while offering a higher yield of 303 kilograms per rai, compared to the old breed that provides only 56 kilograms per rai in floods.

The new rice breed is in field tests in three provinces - Chiang Rai, Nong Khai and Yasothon - that are prone to sudden flooding.

In seed and plant development, seed coating and tissue culture are involved. Seed coating, which places a polymer coating on seeds to maintain their quality, helps farmers control the seeds' properties so when it comes to planting they will offer better productivity.

Tissue culture - the cloning of plants for breed expansion - offers farmers the mass production of quality plants and this increases yields.

To make plants grow well, fertiliser is a key element in the agricultural chain. A chemical engineering researcher from Chulalongkorn University has come up with a technique to produce a thin film to coat on fertiliser pills to make them release nutrition according to a predetermined time.

The idea was to adopt nanocomposite techniques to develop the thin film by combining nanoclay on a biodegradable methyl-cellulose solution. The thin film, once coated on the fertiliser, controls its soluble functions and this is makes the fertiliser release its nutrition for the crop at the best time.

The researchers have developed the thin film to be degradable over two to 10 weeks. This technology will reduce imports of this kind of fertiliser and bring the price down.

For some plants like vegetables, the use of housings are necessary as they give farmers better control of the environment. In the past, the plastic material used to build the housings had no ability to filter UV light, which harms the plants. The National Metal and Materials Technology Centre (Mtec) has demonstrated a new kind of plastic film to protect plants from UV light and the heat from infrared light.

A coating is placed on a normal transparent film, giving the film the ability to protect against sunlight. The coating is a combination of titanium dioxide, a chemical substance used for UV protection, with water and ethanol in appropriate proportions. The coated film offers 100-per-cent protection, so farmers can be sure that UV light will not harm their plants. It also offers 30-per-cent protection against heat.

To demonstrate new concepts in agriculture, the National Electronics and Computer Technology Centre (Nectec) has come out with a new system that allows farm owners to monitor the status of their plants as well as the overall environment automatically.

By integrating sensors, computers and networking systems, the new system monitors temperature, humidity, soil moisture, wind speed, light intensity as well as rainfall levels. The information is sent wirelessly to the centre's computer system so farmers can keep records on the overall environment to assist farm management.

The system is now being tested at a tea plantation at Mae Fah Luang University and a sugarcane farm at Kasetsart University's Kampangsan Campus.

After harvest, making agricultural products keep longer on the shelf is also the hope of all agriculturists, but this has long been a problem, especially when it comes to exports. Mtec has therefore worked with Kasetsart University to develop a new active packaging film to keep goods - especially fruits and vegetables - fresh two to five times longer. The technique is to integrate carbon dioxide, oxygen and water into the film so the film can adjust and control the environment inside the bag to inhibit the natural deterioration of fresh food products.

The active-packaging film has been approved for use with food products and now it's in practical use.