GOOD Morning to all you good people of Bohol, You are so kind and hospitable I say more, I think not. Those who know you Lord will trust-you, You do not abandon anyone who comes to you. Sing praises to the Lord who rules in Zion. God knows those who suffer, Amen.
The Battle
This is one of the greatest stories of bravery I've read.
A simple shepherd boy against a giant David was a shepherd away tending his sheep Saul sent his servant to fetch David He said play your harp softly my son So that I can be at peace and sleep The Philistines and the Israelites faced each other On the hills above the valley of élan below The warrior called Goliath came out of the Philistine camp He stood nine feet tall, he was an awesome sight to see The Israelites were scared, they wanted to run in freight Then this giant bellowed who of you will fight me Saul said to David, you cant fight this man He was a champion before you were born The boy said while tending the sheep I killed a lion and a bear His size will not bother me he must be stopped. We must be free David stepped into the light, I'm not afraid of you big man he said When I chop you down you will fall like a giant tree. Goliath was armed with a spear and a sword When he heard David's call, he said who's this little boy Then he roared with laughter it sounded like thunder You will need a great army, your slingshot is a mere toy David said come try me the Lord is on my side Goliath charged, then fell, killed by this young boy
- oOo - Our topic – I think I have covered all that we need know about climate change and global warning, I don't feel qualified enough to go any deeper. Therefore, I would like to go back to my real love, agriculture. In the past I have written a lot about water and rice growing many farmers seem to think that by bringing more water into their fields, they will be able to harvest more crops, how wrong they are. As I've stated many times in the past, rice is not an aquatic plant. It's the same as wheat, or barley or corn, it is a cereal crop. The problem is that farmers do not know that apart from the high cost of irrigation water, now listen carefully a continuous flooding also causes many other things. I have done a lot of study on this subject and find that the expert are of the same pinion as myself. And that is from land preparation to the last irrigation, one square meter of a rice filed that usually yields 0.5 to 0.75 kg of rice uses around 2250 liters or 10 drums of water, however, when the farmers continuously flood their fields, they will use 15 to 20 drums of water, this is not good.
The farmers must understand that continuous flooding and a water level in the field higher that 7cm results in too much percolation, seepage, and even run-off, it also causes delayed growth and reduced tillering because the reduced oxygen level in the root zone impedes root development. Continuous flooding also triggers some yield-reducing factors, like too much leaching, soil nutrient imbalance (zinc deficiency), lodging due to weak plant base and anchorage and global warming due to high methane gas emissions. These factors result in lesser and untimely water in the fields near the tail end, high water-use in gravity irrigation systems, and too much water cost in pump irrigation systems. In a technology bulletin produced by Philrice, its experts say that controlled irrigation offers the following benefits, reduces water use in rice production by 16 to 35 percent without decreasing grain yield, aids proper seed germination and seedling survival tillering and grain uniformity.
Increases the efficiency of the plants in using soil nutrients and applied fertilizers. Also helps in controlling weeds, minimizes golden kuhol attack with good water level control, significantly reduces irrigation costs in pump irrigated areas. Facilitates farm mechanization specially during harvesting and hauling of the crop, reduces farm inputs such as fuel and labor and provides form timely water needs of farms at the tail- end of an irrigation system. I must point out these benefits came from the expert at Philrice and not me. Two kind of farm would benefit from controlled irrigation. Farms with limited water supply or those with supplemental irrigation such as near tall-end of irrigation system and those using small water impounding system or small farms reservoir, communal irrigation system or pump irrigation systems (shallow tube or deep well). The other farms are the ones near main canals with the following characteristics, unstable plow layer or hard pan that causes difficulty in land preparation, harvesting and hauling, nutrient imbalances like zinc and sulfur Deficiences, and poor root growth due to the accumulation of excessive organic acids from decomposing materials as a result of insufficient soil aeration.
Well farmers, these are the benefits suggested by Philrice experts, I hope they will be of help to you. Take Care, See you next week.
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