FARMS AND FARMING

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

RC 222 rice variety - planted in my farm

Golden rice

IRRI – International Rice Research Institute in Los Baños, 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).