Archive for the “Other-Agri” Category

When Gerry Baron returned to the Philippines for good after 17 years in North America, our country was not in dire straits, nor was anyone able to predict that the price of crude oil would exceed $60 a barrel.

Baron, an agriculturist at heart, decided to move his family straight from the province of Tarlac where his parents and siblings have various agro ventures. Since their business of layer farms is running well, the La Salle-trained engineer — who had worked on GE locomotives while in Canada — decided to get into other agricultural ventures.

Although he was not sure which one, Baron wanted to work on something that would not involve importing raw materials that would be environmentally sustainable and would be a foreign currency earner. Read the rest of this entry »

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Honey has a long and distinguished history in the human diet. For thousands of years honey hunters have plundered the hives of wild bees for their precious honey and beeswax — a practice still common today.

Beekeeping (or apiculture, from Latin apis, a bee) is the practice of intentional maintenance of honeybee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper (or apiarist) may keep bees in order to collect honey and beeswax, or for the purpose of pollinating crops, or to produce bees for sale to other beekeepers. Read the rest of this entry »

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The growing popularity of vermicomposting has cast the lowly earthworm in a new light.

Vermicomposting refers to the process of using earthworms to turn organic waste into vermicompost — also known as vermicast, worm compost, worm castings, worm humus or worm manure — a high quality natural fertilizer and soil conditioner.

In a nutshell, worm composting is a process for recycling food waste into a rich, dark, earth-smelling soil conditioner. Read the rest of this entry »

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The damage inflicted by the Cecid fly on mango fruits, more popularly known as ‘Kurikong,’ is becoming an important concern of mango growers in many parts of the country.

Affected fruits are usually unmarketable because of the circular black or brown scabby lesions on the skin of the fruits. Both small and big fruits are affected. If the infestation is early, the affected young fruits usually drop from the tree.
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Q. What is hydroponics?

A. Hydroponics is the science of growing plants without soil. The plants thrive on the nutrient solution alone. The medium merely acts as support for the plants and their root systems, and perhaps to hold moisture around the roots. The growing medium, if any, is totally inert.

Q. What are the advantages of hydroponics versus soil grown plants?
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