Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Figure 1.8. Weeding a rice paddy.
incapacity to control them. He says that the only pests that bother his rice farm are rats
and golden snails, locally called kuhol. He does not do anything against the rats because
he believes they will become nastier if attacked or killed. He just “pleads” with them
not to devour all his plants but leave something for his family's needs. Kuhol are
picked up and thrown into the road to be crushed by passing vehicles.
Kuhol was introduced in the country in the 1980s as a means of addressing protein
deficiency in farm communities, but it spread so fast that they have become pests.
While edible, most farmers do not eat them because of their odd smell. However, in
extreme cases, when they do not have food (viand ) farmers cook and eat the big kuhol.
Weeds are removed by the family by hand or using weeding machines, which
Donio rents (Fig. 1.8); Donio does not hire anyone to help them. They pull weeds by
hand or dig them using a guna (short bolo). Sometimes when there are excessive
weeds, they use Rogue, a herbicide, which costs about P300 ($5.70) a quart. Another
way weeds are controlled is by keeping the rice field filled with water to suppress
growth. According to Nelson, while this practice works, it also curbs the growth of
rice, and Donio's ability to control water is limited as noted above.
It is advised that soil analysis be done to determine what and how much plant nutri-
ents a farm needs. However, Donio does not have the money to do this. Plant nutrients
come from hay and stubble that are plowed into the soil as organic fertilizer, and Donio
applies a 50-kg bag of urea (1 kg ¼ 1000 g or approximately 2.2 lb), which he splits,
applying half before transplanting and the other half at panicle }
initiation. The
} The panicle is the seed-bearing part of the rice plant.
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