Agriculture Business Week

Bamboo is known as the world’s tallest grass. But recently, it has received a new name, “the grass of hope.” More and more people around the world are now beginning to see bamboo in a different perspective. Although bamboo has been part of their art and culture, it was only recently that Chinese leaders took the plant seriously and are now building a massive bamboo industry.

The Philippines is following suit. “Bamboo has proven to be vital resources in terms of their contribution to the national economy and ecological stability of the country,” Environment Secretary Lito Atienza was quoted as saying.

A master plan for the development of bamboo as a renewable and sustainable resource showed that there are 39,000 hectares to 52,000 hectares of bamboo stands in forest lands, government plantation, privately-owned plantations, and natural stands all over the country. “I think during the 1930s, we have around 200,000 hectares of bamboo plantations,” revealed Romualdo Sta. Ana, president of the Philippine Bamboo Foundation.

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Talahib or kans grass(Saccharum spontanaem) is a common nuisance grass that thrives on dle lots and farms as well as on gardens, pots, terreza, roofs and gutters, fruit trees, and even on cracks of concrete surfaces.

It so irritating that one even has to allot a yearly budget to eliminate them on a regular basis. Otherwise, it overruns your plants, dirty up your patio and farm, and eats up soil nutrients that should be absorbed by the crop.

Like plants and animals, talahib has oil content or organic triglycerides that can be converted to a potent and environment friendly fuel called biodiesel.

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Keeping the farm free from unwanted weeds and grasses, having abundant pasture for animal grazing, and saving cash are what a teacher-farmer in Bohol enjoys.

That teacher-farmer is Susana Olaivar, 48. She is a public school teacher in Candijay and owner of a 5-hectare farm in Gabi, Ubay, Bohol. In her farm, which is about three-hour drive away from the provincial capital of Tagbilaran City, you’ll find rows of well-maintained, young and sturdy mango trees. Under the trees, cattle, buffalo and goats graze on Humidicola and Stylo pasture grasses. And the grasses are the reasons why she’s having a good profit. How come?

THE EARLY DAYS OF FARMING
“Susan,” as what friend calls her, knew nothing about farming when she started five years ago. But since she is eager to learn, she approached the technical men of the Department of Agriculture’s Bohol Experiment Station and the Ubay Stock Farm (USF) to guide her on crops and animal raising, respectively.

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“There are grasses around my area. I can get them from the roadsides, under coconut trees and even in our backyard” says Manong Doming, recipient of goat dispersal program of a government project.

Manong Doming was given five upgraded does. But after six months, he sold his breeding stock due to shortage of forage. “There was a drought,” he explained, adding that other recipients like him also got their forage from the same area where he used to harvest. When asked how much he received for the goats, he said, “I sold them half the original price. My goats were thin and no one would buy it if I sell them at the original price.”

Most backyard goat raisers often overlook the importance of nutrition as one of the leading factors in goat production. “Good nutrition gives good production and consequently higher income,” points out a livestock specialist. “This can be only achieved if you have good quality forage for your animals.” Although forage is the main source of nutrients that most goats need, forage isn’t enough to meet the nutrient requirement for production; concentrates are also needed.

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I have been meeting and talking with corn farmers for nearly 10 years in my profession as an agronomist, and I find it amazing to see how ordinary, corn farmers react to some of the latest technologies in corn production. When farmers thought that 3- or 4-tonner corn variety was good enough, they were surprised that hybrid technology could easily double that yield. Nowadays, we hear Gawad Saka awardees for corn hitting or even surpassing the 10 MT/ha level. What’s more, farmers are now offered more options to buy hybrids that protect themselves from one of the most serious pests of corn like the Asiatic corn borer (ACB). These hybrids give farmers efficiency, convenience, and most importantly, better control of things in the cornfield.

With such developments, solutions for weed problem should not be that far. While there are plenty of management options, almost all are characterized by limited window of application, crop damage (burn), highly manual, and expensive. Some could even be described as simply ineffective. Just as the ACB problem has been pestering our farmers, weeds are perennial headaches.

So, is there something new to combat weeds in your cornfield? Rather, the right question is: What is this new technology in corn that makes weed control so easy and effective?

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There are two species of lemongrass introduced for cultivation — the East Indian Lemongrass or Cymbopogon flexuosus (Steud.) Watss and the Wes Indian Lemongrass or C. citratus Stapf. The term lemongrass was given because of its strong lemon-like odor due to high citral content (75-90 percent) of the essential oil present in the leaves.

Lemongrass oil is one of the most important essential oils produced in the world. The oil is produced because of its high citral content, which is used as a basic raw material to synthesize Bionones which is used to synthesize a number of aromatic useful compounds and Vitamin A. Citral itself is used as a perfume for various grades of soaps and cosmetics.

AGROCLIMATIC REQUIREMENTS
Lemongrass requires a warm and humid climate with plenty of sunlight and rainfall, ranging from 250 cm to 300 cm, uniformly distributed over the year. The plant is hardy and resistant to drought.

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