Fruit trees in a ricefield

Intercropping fruit trees in a rice field.












Think, Believe, Dream and Dare

Think, Believe, Dream and Dare


An eight-year-old boy approached an old man in front of a wishing well, looked up into his eyes, and asked: "I understand you're a very wise man. I'd like to know the secret of life."

The old man looked down at the youngster and replied: "I've thought a lot in my lifetime, and the secret can be summed up in four words.

The first is think. Think about the values you wish to live your life by.

The second is believe. Believe in yourself based on the thinking you've done about the values you're going to live your life by.

The third is dream. Dream about the things that can be, based on your belief in yourself and the values you're going to live by.

The last is dare. Dare to make your dreams become reality, based on your belief in yourself and your values."

And with that, Walter E. Disney said to the little boy, "Think, Believe, Dream, and Dare."

~ Author Unknown ~



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from: Harmony Chain Central Secretariat 

BEANS


Beans and mongo are suited in the ricefield when the irrigation water supply 
closes during dry season.













A Farmer's view


 Calamansi (Calamondin) - planted in my farm


        This calamansi tree is grafted from a mother tree and is planted on 
the rice paddy in my farm through a mound of earth so that its roots will 
not be submerged in water for the area is an irrigated riceland where rice 
is also grown.
      



Calamondin (Citrofortunella microcarpa or Citrofortunella mitis) is an important 
citrofortunella, meaning that it is an intergenetic hybrid between a member of the 
genus Citrus (in this case probably the mandarin orange) and the kumquat, formerly 
considered as belonging to a separate genus Fortunella. Calamondin is used mainly 
as an ornamental tree, rather than for food, although the fruit is edible.

Calamondin is called by many names, including: calamonding, calamondin orange,  calamansi, calamandarin, goldenlime, kalamunding, kalamansi, Philippine lime,  
Panama orange, Chinese orange, musk orange and acid orange.


Calamondin is widely cultivated in the Philippines, where it is called kalamansi by 
the Tagalogs, kalamunding or calamansi by the Kapampangans, and limonsito  or 
simuyaw, by the Visayans.  In Malaysia it is known as limau kasturi. Calamondin also 
grows in the northern parts of Indonesia and southern China. It is available all 
year-round in the Philippines and is usually seen in its unripened green state. When 
left to ripen it turns a tangerine orange. Calamondin is usually used in its not-so-ripe 
stage as sour seasoning for many Southeast Asian food such as the shomai. The fruits 
are sour and are often used for preserves or cooking.


In Asian cuisines, the juice is used to season fish, fowl, and pork. It is very commonly 
used as a condiment in Filipino cuisine like pancit or lugaw, or in the basic sawsawan 
(dip) of calamansi juice and soy sauce/fish sauce, for fish, spring rolls, dumplings and 
various meats.

The fruit is used in local recipes in northern Indonesia, especially around the North 
Sulawesi region. Fish are spritzed with the juice prior to cooking to eliminate the "fishy" 
smell. Kuah asam ("sour soup") is a regional clear fish broth made with calamondin juice.


     
     Calamansi fruits

     Ripened calamansi fruits



DURIAN - planted in my farm
           This durian tree is grafted from a mother tree and is planted on the 
rice paddy in my farm through a mound of earth so that its roots will not 
be submerged in water for the area is an irrigated riceland where rice is 
also grown. The tree does not grow very tall and fruits can just be hand 
picked while standing on the ground.




Durian
The durian is the fruit of several tree species belonging to the genus Durio. There 
are 30  recognised Durio species, at least nine of which produce edible fruit, and 
over 300 named varieties in Thailand and 100 in Malaysia. Durio zibethinus is the 
only species available in the international market: other species are sold in their local 
regions.

Regarded by many people in southeast Asia as the notorious "king of fruits", the durian 
is distinctive for its large size, strong odor, and formidable thorn-covered rind. The fruit 
can grow as large as 30 centimetres long and 15 centimetres in diameter, and it typically 
weighs one to three kilograms. Its shape ranges from oblong to round, the colour of its 
husk green to brown, and its flesh pale yellow to red, depending on the species.


Some people regard the durian as having a pleasantly sweet fragrance, whereas others 
find the aroma overpowering with an unpleasant odour. The smell evokes reactions from 
deep appreciation to intense disgust, and has been described variously as rotten onions, 
turpentine, and raw sewage. The persistence of its odour, which may linger for several 
days, has led to the fruit's banishment from certain hotels and public transportation in 
Southeast Asia. By contrast, the nineteenth-century British naturalist Alfred Russel 
Wallace, described its flesh as "a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds". The 
flesh can be consumed at various stages of ripeness, and it is used to flavour a wide 
variety of savoury and sweet desserts in Southeast Asian cuisines. The seeds can also 
be eaten when cooked.

             Durian Flower



             Durian flower
   

            Durian fruit
                
                                                           

      Durian fruit
    






           RC 222 rice variety - planted in my farm
 




Golden rice

IRRI – International Rice Research Institute in Los BaƱos, Laguna, Philippines 
is pursuing the development of "golden rice". Geneticists inserted a gene into 
the rice plant that allows it to produce beta carotene, which makes its grains 
yellow. Because the human body converts beta carotene to vitamin A, golden 
rice has the potential to dramatically improve the lives of millions of people 
around the world, particularly in Africa and Southeast Asia, where vitamin 
A-deficiency is an especially common malady that can cause blindness and 
increases the risk of death from disease. Children are particularly vulnerable; 
according to the World Health Organization (WHO), "An estimated 250,000 
to 500,000 vitamin A-deficient children become blind every year, half of 
them dying within 12 months of losing their sight". In August 2013, 
anti-genetically modified organism protestors broke into IRRI's research facilities 
and destroyed field trials of golden rice. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation 
supports IRRI in its development of golden rice.

IRRI's headquarters in the Philippines is located on a 252 hectares (620 acres) 
experimental farm with modern laboratories and glasshouses, and a training 
center. The land is owned by the University of the Philippines and is leased 
to the Institute. It also houses the International Rice Genebank and 
Riceworld Museum. The International Rice Genebank holds more than 127,000 
rice accessions and wild relatives and is the biggest collection of rice genetic 
diversity in the world.




COCONUTS - planted in my farm




Coconut
Coconut trees are grown in tropical countries mainly for the high oil content of the 
endosperm (copra), which is widely used in both food and non-food industries (e.g. 
margarine and soaps). Large production areas, in particular, are found along the coastal 
regions in the wet tropical areas of Asia in the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka 
and Malaysia. In these countries millions of people make a living from the coconut 
palm and its many products.

Coir fibres are extracted from the husks surrounding the coconut. In most areas coir 
is a by-product of copra production, and the husks are left on the fields as a mulch or 
used as fertilizer because of high potash content. India and Sri Lanka are the main 
countries where coir is extracted by traditional methods for the commercial production 
of a variety of products, including brushes and brooms, ropes and yarns for nets and 
bags and mats, and padding for mattresses. However, world wide only a small 
part of the fibres available are currently used for these purposes. The average fibre 
yield is dependent on geographical area and the variety of the coconut tree. In the 
south of India and Sri Lanka, for example, where the best quality fibres are 
produced the average yield is 80-90 g fibre per husk. Caribbean husks, by contrast, 
are relatively thick and may yield up to 150 g of fibre.




Charcoal
Coconuts shells, which comprises 12 per cent of the weight of the coconut, could be 
utilized more efficiently. Commercial production of charcoal from the coconut shell 
provides for an increasingly important export market for cocos producing areas. 
Carbonization of one tonne of coconut shells produces of the order 300 kg of charcoal, 
which can be converted into 120 kg of activated carbon. The combustion of waste 
gases can be utilized to enhance the efficiency of the processes and to generate power. 
The market for activated carbon in filter materials, absorbents and similar uses could 
be increased substantially if controlled processing and product certification were 
available. An alternative domestic application for charcoal could be as fuel for cooking 
or for drying agricultural products (for example, copra and/or coir).






    Mango ( Cebu )
                 These mangoes are also grafted from a mother tree and are planted on a mound 
           of earth along the rice paddies of a ricefield. These mango variety is from Cebu. The 
           mango trees are intercrop with coconuts in the ricefield.  


     Mango (Cebu )






Fruit trees in a ricefield

Intercropping fruit trees in a rice field.