LAND UTILIZATION

GOOD morning all, how was your week, fruitful! Hope. I heard and amusing story last week, the parents asked the pastor to talk to their two naughty little boys. So, he sat them down, he wanted them to think about God. So he started the conversation by asking, “Where is God, the boys did not respond, so he asked again in a sterner tone, again no answer, in fact the tow boys bolted from the room and ran home, in their bedroom, the elder one said were in trouble now,” God is missing and they think we did not”.

Sounds a bit like Adam and Eve, who were filled with guilt and tried to hide from God. How do we respond when we have sinned, do we hide and hope God won't see, the wisest choice is to confess our sins and have out fellowship restored. Lets pause for a moment: Heavenly Father, forgive me for trying to hide from you, I confess my sins and ask for your forgiveness, help me own up to my wrongs and not let anything come between you and me. Amen. Sin brings fear, Confession brings freedom.

Our topic: What do I mean by land utilization. Well, lets look at various aspects and local practices rice growers for example, they grow one crop a year on average, the remainder of the year the land is idle, now to reduce expenditure would it not be wise to use the land for other crops such as vegetables or legumes, peas, beans, peanut. This would not only benefit the fertility of the soil but would be an additional income for the farmer and his family. Not to mention the fact that it might reduce the importation of other crops from other islands, this has always been something I cant understand.

The land is here, the technology is here, the ability is here. So why import? Bohol can, and must be self supporting if its is going to survive in the future, we have a great governor, and one who understands the plight of the farming community. Gov. Aumentado is prepared to listen help in any way he can, I know this for and fact, by the meetings we had with him. Getting back to our topic, the mango growers can help also. Many areas called mango plantations are totally wasted, growers complaining of low yields late flowering, fruits below quality level. Why? Well, instead of looking at the tree from the top to the bottom, reverse it. If we look at the bottom to the top we can solve the problems. What are the problems, low yields, pests and diseases, fungi, poor fruit quality and many more, so what's the answer you ask. The answer is tend to the soil.

If soil fertility is low then these problems will always be there. Like a tree, if our bodies are under nourished, and we suffer from malnutrition we have many problems. I hope you understand, this is the answer. Feed and eat properly. One of the biggest problems with the soil structure in Bohol is the potash level, I've said this many times in the past. Potash deficiency occurs in more areas than the other two major nutrients, many crops such as yams, sweet potato, cassava have a high potash requirement. As potassium is very mobile in plants, deficiency symptoms appear first on the older leaves initially as chlorotic spots near the leaf tip and margin developing into a necrosis between the leaf veins.

Fruit crops in particular respond well to potash, including mango, coconuts, bananas. It would help mango growers enormously if they intercropped their areas with other crops, such as legumes, vegetables, bananas, etc., and the other idea is to cover the whole area with rice mill to a depth of at least 25 cm., this idea has many advantages, it protects the soil structure and maintains soil moisture, and fertility. One of the worst things that happens to mango growers is for their trees to be attacked by fungi, this then becomes a major problem. Where does it come from? Well, its linked to soil fertility.

Protect the soil, then pests and disease's take a back seat. Fungicides have been used for many years, and are usually materials containing metals such as copper, manganese or zinc. Although toxic to fungal spores, they have a very low level of toxicity to animal life, so the small amounts applied present no hazard. If growers see that they have a fungi problem then they must start at once removing the infected branches by pruning their tree's, in some case's they must be ruthless, all material removed and rubbish in the vicinity must be burnt the same day.

The wind can carry fungi spores from tree to tree. So observation and persistence are the key factors to success. It is also important to remember that once pruning of a tree is complete, then the areas of removal must be painted with a protective solution, the cheapest and most effective one is home made, two parts old engine oil and one part kerosene. Paint or spray this on all cut marks. Other areas to clean are the crevices between branch where there are signs of termite infection. Cut these out and apply the mixture. Well folks, I hope this has been of some value. Take care see you next week.