Agriculture

Bonsai Pointers: 2. How Does a Bonsai Tree Differ From Dwarf or Potted Trees?

A bonsai tree is an artistic replica of a natural tree in miniature form.

It exists in a pot or container which is either naturally or artificially made.

It may also be growing out of a crevice of or clasping a rock or stone, or clinging to its side.

Above all, it should portray an illusion of a natural scene or the active interplay of the elements of nature.

The actual age of the tree or trees is not so important, it is the illusion of age that matters.

There are, therefore, four essential requisites of a bonsai tree, namely:

(1) there is a dwarf tree or trees which appear to be a miniaturized reproduction of a real and old tree or trees;

(2) such tree or trees are growing in a pot or container or attached to some rock or other support;

(3) the trees are aesthetically appealing either singly or as an overall effect in grouping trees;

and (4) the ultimate effect is that the presentation reminds the viewer of natural scenery. 

Yes, having a dwarf tree is not enough. Not even if it is potted in a beautiful container.

Without the other requisites, such a tree will just be a dwarf tree or miniature or a potted tree. 

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Growing Calamondin or Calamansi: 1. Crop Info and Plant Propagation

The calamondin tree ( x Citrofortunella microcarpa, syn. Citrus microcarpa, Citrus mitis and x Citrofortunella mitis), is also known as China orange and golden lime; calamansi, kalamansi, kalamonding and limonsito in the Philippines; jeruk peres, jeruk kasturi, and jeruk potong in Indonesia; limau kesturi and limau chuit in Malaysia; and sommapit, somchit and manao-wan in Thailand.

This fruit crop probably originated in China as a result of the natural crossing between mandarin and kumquat.

It is now widely grown in India and all over South and Southeast Asia, and almost everywhere. In some countries, it is a popular house plant.

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World Supply and Sources of Water: Review

The sources of water in the world may appear limitless, what with the vast and deep seas, the many lakes and rivers that keep flowing, and the seemingly unlimited supply of water from underground reservoirs and from the atmosphere.

But it is not so.

The April 2010 special issue of National Geographic presents the following data on the world sources and volume of water:

The total volume of water on Earth is about 366 million trillion gallons (MTG) or, using the convertion equivalent 1 gallon = 3.78541 liters = 3.78541178 × 10-12 cubic kilometers (km3), about 1,385 million trillion liters or 1.385 billion km3.

Of this total volume, about 97.5% is saltwater including around 1% thereof as brackish groundwater.

Only around 2.5% (~9.25 MTG or 35 million km3) is freshwater.

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Defoliate to Synchronize Maturity of Mango Leaves, Synchronize Chemical Floral Induction Too

Mature mango leaves are essential for a successful chemical floral induction particularly in the Mangifera indica (commonly known as Philippine Carabao Mango).

By “mature” it means most leaves should have a dark-green to bronze-green color.

When crushed by hand there’s that crispy or crunchy sound like that when eating toasted bread as if the leaf blades have become brittle.

Leaves of mango must be mature before floral induction
Leaves of mango must be mature before floral induction

The maturity of mango leaves does not always occur at the same time from tree to tree and even within the same tree.

One tree may have both mature and immature leaves.

Likewise, trees in an orchard will have leaves in varying developmental stages.

To an orchard owner and to the mango contractor who induces for profit, it’s annoying that not all trees could be sprayed at one time.

Back when we were active in mango contracting, I and my working partner used to tag first the sprayable trees before the actual spraying.

This caused delay and additional costs, especially so because these trees are difficult to identify with mathematical precision.

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Farmers’ Practices in Fertilizing Corn Under No-till Farming

4. Fertilizing Corn – Except in no-till farming, the growing of corn generally involves soil cultivation and the making of linear furrows.  It is in the furrow that basal fertilizers are applied and seeds of corn are sown.

Application of nutrient supplements to corn, termed fertilization, usually starts just before sowing of seeds (called basal application) and another application, called sidedressing, at 28-32 days after planting (DAP).

Called two split applications, the common practice in fertilizing corn is to apply one-half of the recommended nitrogen and all of the phosphorus and potassium as basal while the remaining one-half nitrogen is applied as sidedress.

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Bare-root Transplanting Also Applies to Adult Mango Trees and Other Crops

Bare-root transplanting is also applicable in large and adult plants including mango trees.

Transplanting is the process of moving a plant from one area where it is growing to another area while bareroots are plants that are devoid of soil or any growing medium enclosing the roots.

In a way, the roots are “bare” or “naked,” as in seedlings that are uprooted by hand from a seedbed.

Bareroot transplanting is most common in backyard gardens, vegetable gardening, and landscaping.

Most vegetable seeds are sown first on seedbeds and several days later the seedlings are lifted and transplanted into plots or pots.

It is also common in plant nurseries where seeds of certain crops, like mango, should preferably be sown in seedbeds before potting or because there are no available pots, or where there is a program to mass-produce potted seedlings using wildlings.

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Contribution to the History of Photosynthesis: De Saussure, Pelletier, Caventou and Dutrochet

Nicolas Thiodore de Saussure (1767-1845) was of French descent but born in and has since lived in Geneva.

He conducted experiments on carbon assimilation in which he disregarded the Phlogiston Theory.

In his Recherches Chimiques sur la Végétation which was published in 1804, he showed that the green parts of plants take up and decompose carbon dioxide from the air and at the same time assimilate water.

He also found that the process of carbon dioxide decomposition was essential to plant growth and development (Hart 2005).

He identified that water was the source of hydrogen and carbon dioxide was the source of plant carbon (Myers 2007).

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What Are the Factors to Consider in Location and Farm Site Selection?

Analysis of the various factors to consider in site selection should be the first step to be undertaken before deciding finally to go into actual farming.

This also applies where the crop to be grown has already been decided and what remains is the finding of a suitable land where it is to be grown.

It also includes the selection of the right geographical location.

This is so with corporate investors and enterprising individuals with sufficient capital.

They would have realized that engaging in the commercial production of certain crops is a sound business venture.

The farm may be located within the country or region of their residence or elsewhere.

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10 Grafting Techniques Used in Plant Propagation

There are many grafting techniques or methods.

The choice of one depends on many factors such as the skill and preference of the grafter, percentage grafting success desired, the time required to achieve complete graft union, the portion, and size of the plant to be grafted, and the purpose of grafting.

Familiarity with the different methods is important in plant propagation and other uses. But grafting is not easy.

It needs plenty of practice and experience to become one who can be considered an expert.

It is not easy either to gauge how fast the grafting operation can be done.

But for mango, there are some who are capable of producing 400-500 grafts in one day by manual cleft grafting with over 80% successful union.

It took them plenty of sweat – and wounded fingers too –  to become as fast.

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