King Bhumibol's interest in farming

King Bhumibol's interest in farming matters manifested itself soon after he assumed the throne as the night of the Chakri Dynasty in 1946. His early efforts were related to the annual Ploughing ceremony,an ancient ritual held near the old Grand Palace for the purpose of predicting the coming year's rice field. The king began to experiment with the different species of rice to be used in the ceremony,employing the ample grounds of his place for the purpose. This led the further experiments with natural and chemical fertilizers and with various soil conditions,the aim being to introduce new methods that could increase the farmer's output