Cultivating flowers on rice field edges in Vietnam: the new method in bio-controling rice insect pests

Cultivating flowers on rice yield edges in Vietnam

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is an ecosystem approach to crop production and protection that combines different management strategies and practices to grow healthy crops and minimize the use of pesticides.

In the last half decade 1990s and the fisrt half decade 2000s Vietnam had realized the FAO IPM programs with many succeses in controling rice insect pests. When the FAO IPM programs ending,Vietnam has continued to broaden with own National IPM programme.

IPM programs have a significant impact on minimizing the adverse effects of insecticides, and in increasing the profitability of rice production. It has been estimated that the cost savings from research leading to increased insect pest management efficiency on rice in Vietnam with many millions USD in insecticide saving every years in 2000s.

The rice ecosystem, especially in the tropics, is a usually richly endowed with a great diversity of generalist predators and parasitoids, which tend to be more species specific. As the rice habitat is an ephemeral habitat, most pest species that can cause significant damages and yield losses are generally immigrants. 

Many of these pest species are also specific rice feeders, monophagous or oligophagous (limited host range). Such specialization may be constrained by local host availability. But the more successful pest species overcome this by migrating, remaining in the rice habitat for only two or three generations, possessing high genetic diversity to overcome changes in the host plants through adaptation and evolution and reproductive capacities. 

The rice planthoppers are such pests. Under normal undisturbed situations, the high reproductive capacities are kept in check by the huge biodiversity in the natural enemy community. Smart and sustainable pest management strategies would thus focus on maximizing these natural enemy services. Herbivores should thus not be treated as pests unless “proven guilty” that they are indeed causing economic losses (Way and Heong 1994). Prophylactic spraying is thus not smart and not sustainable and should be completely avoided as they do more harm.

K.L.Heong, International Rice Research Institute, Los Baños, Philippinesand Geoff Gurr, Charles Sturt University, Orange, Australia suggested The three planks for ecological engineering to enhance natural biodiversity as the following:

Plank 1: Moderated insecticide use – especially early in the season

Early season insecticide applications in the first 40 days after sowing are known to have little or no effects on yields. They are generally applied as a prophylactic or to control leaf folders and pyrethroids and insecticides that have high toxicities to hymenopterans are typically used. Such sprays do more harm than good, by destroying natural enemies and the aquatic detritivore prey fauna. It has been shown that early sprays significantly decrease food chain lengths and disorganize predator-prey relationships (Heong and Schoenly 1998). The campaigns in Vietnam to motivate farmers to reduce early spraying contributed significantly to the successes in managing planthopper outbreaks in the Mekong Delta.

Plank 2: Enhancement of generalist natural enemies -predator build up on detritivore prey.

Chinese scientists call the abundance of arthropod species that live in the paddy water “neutral insects”. Settle et al (1996) first suggested the idea that these insects are in fact not neutrals, as they can be alternative prey for predators and many of them predators themselves. Thus at the early crop stages, these neutrals are vitally important and need to be conserved. Insecticide spays at this period of the crop however are detrimental to the aquatic neutrals. In addition most sprayers farmers use do not have adequate spray droplet control and thus most of the active ingredients converge into the paddy water. In IRRI farm when insecticide use decreased by 95%, the aquatic detritivore specuies diversity increased 5 folds (Heong et al 2007).

Plank 3: Enhancement of specialist natural enemies by habitat manipulation – nectar plants on bunds

The third plank targets at providing resources, shelter and food, for natural enemies, especially the specialists. This may be achieved by populating bund and non rice habitats with nectar rich flowering plants. In China when nectar-rich sesame plants are grown on bunds, parasitoid abundance increased.

Parasitoid searching efficiency was enhanced by sesame flowers. In Vietnamflowers on the bunds increased egg parasitism of planthopper eggs. InThailand parasitoid species richness increased when fields were surrounded by flowering plants. The use of herbicides on the bunds to ensure clean cultivation practices may be counter productive. In Hainan, fields with clean bunds had lower spider biodiversity.

Most parasitoids are hymenopterans and thus insecticide toxic to bees and hymenoptera in general will need to be avoided. These will include the neonicotinoids and pyrethroids. Scientists have recently established direct links between neonicotinoids, bees and pollination services. Similar effects on biological control services provided by the parasitoids are to be expected.

The three planks elucidated in the chapter are based on an amalgam of sound ecology, successes in other crop systems and most importantly empirical evidences available from research. Reducing the unnecessary insecticide uses, promoting natural biological control ecosystem services through enhancing organic matter and enriching bunds and other surrounding areas with nectar rich plants can significantly prevent planthopper outbreaks. Such practices that focus on biodiversity conservation, enhancing ecosystem services and avoiding pollution will build resilience in production systems.

Original Article Here

Blue Geranium

I'm a big fan of spreading, bushy geraniums, and this blue one is my favourite. I've long since lost the exact species, as it has travelled with me from house to house, and does well in lots of situations. The flowers are large and showy, though it only blooms once.


The small patch of garden which came with my house has several problems; thin, poor soil; limited ability to build up the soil due to its proximity to the road (soil can wash off downhill); and its dryness in the summer - under trees and in full sun (when we get it!) for several hours a day. The soil bakes in the sun and then it's hard to get water in, contributing to the soil washing off. So although I do add compost and soil where I can, a bit of lateral thinking was called for.
I decided to ensure there is a constant covering of plants across the whole bed and this consists of woodruff and geraniums mostly. This stops the soil getting baked and helps retain moisture in the soil under the leaves. This blue geranium covers the roots of the old (shrub) rose, which suffers in the heat - you can just see it behind the plant here. The rose has really benefitted and now, though I have to water in dry spells, at least it doesn't run straight off like it used to. This old rose is covered in flower buds, and I'm looking forward to it flowering soon - will post a picture then. While the bed is lacking in colour during July and August, in reality little would survive the conditions so I satisfy myself with the green and varied foliage the plants provide.

Original Article Here

Flower Structure

Frozen flowers

Primula Gold-laced Group (Polyanthus Gold Lace)

Biocontrols and Good Breeding Highlight Flower Trials

By Anne Harnish Food and Family Features Editor

LANDISVILLE, Pa. — Biocontrols were the “young, exciting science” on display along with showy petunias, tall begonias and succulent portulacas at the horticulture trial gardens field day last Thursday, July 26, at Penn State’s Southeast Agriculture Research and Extension Center in Manheim, Pa. The flower trials are one of the largest university-led horticultural evaluations in the region.

While whorls of brightly colored blooms were freshened up by an early morning thunderstorm, field day participants learned how the plant industry is developing and using biocontrols in the plant industry.

Biocontrols, or “biological controls,” are part of an integrated pest management (IPM) strategy, in which pests, diseases and weeds are controlled via biological methods instead of chemical sprays. Using biocontrols may mean doing things like introducing a fungus to the greenhouse to decimate unwanted weeds or releasing an insect disease to attack a plant pest such as aphids.

“Ten years ago, these methods weren’t available,” said Penn State Extension educator Steve Bogash at the flower trials. He said that biocontrols use novel forms of action and can persist for long periods.

As new biocontrol products are coming on the market, some are being developed as “colonizers” and can provide control of “truly challenging” pathogens where there was little control available before, such as with verticillium, fusarium and phytophthora, Bogash said.

He said biological fungicides and bactericides have amazing potential to supplement and sometimes replace chemical sprays. Many biocontrols are labeled with a low REI (restricted-entry interval) number, allowing workers to re-enter a greenhouse soon after application, rather than having a long waiting period. He and his interns at the Penn State research farm have graduated to biocontrols and organic procedures because he said they can’t afford to stay out of the greenhouses for 4-5 days for re-entry as other chemical labels require. During harvest time, a high REI interferes with their work.

“We’re going to these softer programs,” Bogash said. “They do more than just coat the plant like with chemicals.”

Many biocontrols are less expensive than chemicals, he said, and work in a more complex way. He explained that with plant growth happening in just a few days, a chemical coating applied to the plant quickly can become ineffective on the new growth.

Bogash described using two biocontrols, Stimplex and Regalia, and described how they provide a complex series of actions to protect the plants.

“I want my growers to stay ahead of problems; not be reactive to them,” he said.

According to “buglady” Suzanne Wainwright-Evans, who consults on pest management for commercial growers throughout the U.S., biocontrols work, but they are used differently from what many growers are used to.

“Don’t give up if it doesn’t seem to work,” she said. She explained that there may be many reasons why a biocontrol might not seem to do well, such as pesticide residues on cuttings or if a problem in the greenhouse is misidentified in the first place. In her work, she gives growers detailed instructions for how to use biocontrols.

“Proper identification (of a pest) is so very important,” she said. “And, starting clean’ is critical.”

According to research, said Wainwright-Evans, many thrips and whiteflies arrive at an operation on new cuttings. Instead of waiting for a problem to develop, she said, “Some people will now wash cuttings with (horticultural) soaps and oils first. The problem will only get worse down the road if cuttings aren’t clean.”

During her lecture, Wainwright-Evans played a series of graphic videos showing how predator bugs parasitize or attack greenhouse pests.

Bogash’s recent preference for biocontrols was influenced by a recent Penn State study of 1,500 home gardeners he said.

“(In the survey) 97 percent said they would prefer to buy horticulture crops organically grown,” Bogash said. The same people were surveyed about what they would do if they thought they might lose a crop, and 40 percent said they would still avoid using chemicals.

“These are your customers,” Bogash said to the nursery growers in attendance. “The market is headed to organic. People don’t want chemicals.”

The Blooming Trials

For the flower trials, 21 plant breeders from around the world enter many of their newly bred and existing plant varieties to the trials to be evaluated by Penn State Extension research staff throughout the growing season. Each plant is treated exactly the same during the season and is evaluated regularly, with the collected data published in the fall on a CD and online for use by nursery owners, plant breeders, landscapers and others.

The flower trials team this year included horticulture professor Rob Berghage, Alyssa Collins, Anne Hawk, Carol Lee Shirk, Steve Bogash, John Stepanchak, Jim Bollinger and Thong Le. An army of master gardeners from surrounding counties assists with the work of potting and daily maintenance of the plants.

“It’s been a team effort, and it’s gone very smoothly,” Berghage said of his first year taking over as director since former director Alan Michael retired in December.

“The trials are self-supporting with the seed companies paying for their entries,” he said. “We try to keep the burden off the (research) farm.”

Berghage said that overall, plant genetics are improving greatly over recent years, especially with certain plants like verbenas, calibrachoas and petunias.

“There is less difference between good and bad ones than in the past. In general, they are all good now,” he said, though he acknowledged that the spreading petunias are getting better each year. He said the calibrachoa “double” blooms were introduced 5-8 years ago, but this year there is more of a “doubling” effect within the flower than before.

“The angelonias were spectacular this year,” Berghage said. “And, the begonias are becoming huge and tall, with tremendous flowers and big leaves.”

There are so many varieties of sweet potato vines coming on the market, Berghage said, that there are now a huge range in leaf shapes, colors and sizes.

Vinca has more trailing types than before, and the pennisetum (grasses) have looked great this year, according to Berghage.

As for geraniums, he said people still like them and probably always will. “It’s a stable crop,” he said.

With the category of hanging baskets, Berghage said that over the last 4-5 years there have been more pre-mixed pots, which are looking better and better each year, as the breeders figure out which ones to grow together based on their habits and colors and watering needs.

“Ten to 12 years ago, growers had to mix their plants themselves,” Berghage said. “Whatever you had leftover, you threw together in a pot. Nurseries don’t have to worry about that anymore.”

Though the overcast day of the trials meant that they were slow to open their flowers, a calibrachoa variety that performed well at the 2010 and 2011 flower trials, Minifamous Igeneration Light Pink Eye, was well on its way to being a top performer this year, according to the evaluations for the year so far.

Supertunia Lavendar Skies, a profusely budded single petunia followed suit, with excellent performances for the last two years and on course for a great showing this year.

Kate Chernich, with the landscape department at Masonic Village, said she and her colleagues were at the trials to evaluate and compare the flowers to their own plantings at the large, landscaped retirement community.

“I always like coming here. It’s exciting to see the plants and compare them to ours,” Chernich said. “I’ve noticed with this year’s weather — early warmth, high heat (which stressed the plants), then high rains, many plants are splitting out.’ ”

Another new nursery owner, in his second year of business in Manheim, Pa., was at the trials to look for plants his consumers would enjoy. He likes to get 10 percent new material each year. If it sells, he gets more.

Original Article Here

Garden wisdom earned, and shared

Jerry Apps, author of several books on gardening, at The Morton Arboretum… (Nuccio DiNuzzo, Tribune…)

A well-seasoned gardener spills the beans on growing vegetables and, OK, even a few flowers

By Nina Koziol, Special to Tribune Newspapers

When you've been gardening for six decades, you're apt to discover a few things in between all the planting, weeding and watering — like the enchanting sound of bird song on a cool summer morning, a hawk gliding overhead in search of a midday meal, or the scent of freshly turned soil, which Jerry Apps describes as a pungent, powerful smell full of history and promise.

A professor emeritus in the department of agriculture and life sciences at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, storyteller, rural historian and author of dozens of books, his newest book is "Garden Wisdom: Lessons Learned From 60 Years of Gardening" (Wisconsin Historical Society Press), and it covers the joys of growing vegetables.

The book contains hard-earned advice along with insights on how tending a garden can lead to a deeper understanding of nature. The project was a family affair, with recipes supplied by Ruth, his wife of 51 years, and photos taken by son Steve Apps at Roshara, the family farm and garden in northwest Waushara County, Wis., 100 miles north of Madison.

We met up with Apps at a recent lecture and book signing at The Morton Arboretum, to unearth his secrets to successful gardening.

Q: You began gardening during the Depression. How do you keep the fourth generation of Apps interested?

A: Gardening is the easiest way to introduce children to nature and to the soil and to help them understand where food comes from. Kids have a terrible time understanding that carrots come out of the ground. And carrots don't grow all the same size — you don't know what you're going to find when you harvest them. That's the mystery and mystique of gardening.

Q: You grow your vegetables in rows. Have you tried other methods?

A: I have a lot of room so I plant in rows, but there are all kinds of ways to do a garden. Square foot gardening (planting in blocks) is a wonderful idea, as is gardening in raised beds.

Q: Do you have a favorite tool?

A: My hoe. I have three hoes and my favorite is one with a 2-inch wide rectangular blade. Hoeing is an integral part of gardening. (He devotes an entire chapter to the art of hoeing.)

Q: Are you surprised at the resurgence in vegetable gardening?

A: In the '60s, the students on the Madison campus decided to grow gardens as part of the back-to-the-land movement. They had no idea of what a hoe was or how to use it. What they didn't understand was that the vegetables grow but so do the weeds, so it wasn't such a romantic idea, but it's come back as a roaring movement.

Q: What's your favorite vegetable?

A: Potatoes, followed by tomatoes. That's because I grew up eating potatoes three times a day during the Depression: fried, baked and in soup. They're nutritious. I went to a one-room country school and in October we had a two-week potato vacation because all the kids picked potatoes. I also grow a Three Sisters Garden: corn in the center, pole beans in a circle around the corn and squash around the outside of the beans. The Indians believed that corn, squash and beans were inseparable sisters that grew and thrived together.

Q: How do you deal with bugs?

A: I avoid all pesticide use. When potato bugs come out, I pick them off and throw them in a bucket of water. Keep an eye out for insects; you'll take care of 70 percent like that.

Q: Your growing season is just 100 days. What's key to harvesting the most vegetables?

A: I plant in stages. To keep track of everything, I use a planting list on a pad of legal paper. I start tomatoes in March indoors for planting outdoors in May. One of the earliest things we do is plant potatoes outdoors. Each potato is cut into sections so it has an "eye" (bud). Buy them from a garden center — don't use supermarket potatoes because they've been treated and the eyes won't grow. Next, radishes and carrots are planted together (outdoors). The radishes come up first and I harvest them, which makes room for the carrots. We love onions and we grow them from sets (dried bulbs). Peppers, eggplant, tomatoes, squash and pumpkins go in next.

Q: What's new in your garden this year?

A: Every year we plant something a little exotic. I like broom corn because the seed heads make great bird seeds. One of the reasons for gardening is the aesthetics of just doing it. Sometimes you plant something just so you can look at it. For example, gourds are really fun. There are little bitty ones and big ones that can be used as birdhouses.

Q: And flowers?

A: I'm really a vegetable gardener, but sunflowers — oh, my gosh — what is more beautiful than to go out in your garden on a sunny day and be welcomed by a sunflower?

Q: What's the most important lesson you've learned?

A: Gardening is a way to connect to nature and the land in one of the most meaningful ways. We're not making any more soil. Through gardening, we learn to be a part of — not apart from — nature. It's also taught me patience. Be surprised and enjoy it. You have to realize that there's more to gardening than putting seeds in the ground and pulling weeds.

sunday@tribune.com

Original Article Here

Urban agriculture idea brings farms to high-rises

By: Radheshyam Jadhav,

PUNE: Multi-storied buildings, apart from providing residential and commercial space, can also take care of the city's basic food needs.

Pune has grown to encompass large tracts of agricultural land in its backyard which provided supplies of vegetables and fruits. Now, it gets them from the corners of Pune district and far-off places in South Maharashtra.

This is why experts are keen on vertical urban agriculture where, as the city grows height-wise, multi-storied buildings with vertical farms can take care of these needs.

The city is set to have more high rises as the steering committee on urbanisation has backed several measures including higher Floor Space Index (FSI) for high-density growth. This would directly impact food needs as more agriculture land will be converted into residential zones.

Pune has its share of terrace kitchen gardens, hot houses inside flats, use of empty parking space and vertical gardens. But, the future is in vertical urban agriculture where high-rises provide a temperature-controlled environment to grow fruits, vegetables, and flowers.

They can be grown hydroponically (nutrient-enriched water) or aeroponically (nutrient-enriched air), without the need for soil or compost. Experts said some floors can be dedicated to growing rice and others to growing fruits.

Vertical farms on the periphery of the city can process their own garbage and use gray water, acting as a water-purification method for the surrounding city and providing clean drinking water, experts said.

Tillable land in the city's fringes is shrinking. Moreover, 20 fringe villages are set for a merger with the Pune Municipal Corporation, throwing open thousands of acres of farmland for development. A consensus-building exercise urging corporators to approve the merger proposal is currently underway.

A few years ago, 938 acres of agricultural land in Mundhwa was converted to residential use. Mundhwa, largely agrarian till the conversion of land use, grew sugarcane on vast tracts. The civic body also approved another proposal to convert agricultural tracts in Lohegaon, Pashan and Sangamwadi for residential use.

Pune is among five districts in the country with the 'most significantly degraded' land. A report, 'Impact of climate change on land degradation over India', compiled by researchers of the National Climate Centre (NCC) of the India Meteorological Department (IMD) last year stated that rapid urbanization and industrialization are among the factors responsible for the quality of land changing for the worse and if the degradation continued, large tracts could become useless for farming.

The Pune Experiment

The Pune Municipal Corporation had initiated a city farming project in 2008 where citizens were encouraged to grow vegetables and crops on allocated land. The civic body started the process of acquiring a three-acre plot in Salisbury Park and announced a plan to provide land, seeds, fertilisers and water free to interested persons and help them market the produce.

"The project was not a profit-making venture, but a step towards an eco-friendly initiative. It was to allow people to experience the joy of farming and provide quality produce. However, the top officials never showed any interest in the project and the garden department was not encouraged enough to go ahead with it. No political party supported the experiment. As the result, the idea died," a former PMC official, who part of the team that initiated the project, said.

Some groups like Abhinav Farmers' Club have introduced a 'kitchen garden' concept to over 350 flat owners in the city and are working with another 300 orders.

"We offer help at a price to those who want to grow brinjal, cauliflower, garlic or other vegetables at home. The customer gets a set of pots with vegetable plants, a chart of instructions for watering and harvesting of the produce, a pair of scissors, a pesticide spray pump and a box with earthworm cultured soil which can convert kitchen waste into fertilizer. If the person spends 15 minutes daily for the kitchen garden, he can get two kg vegetables every week," Dnyaneshwar Bodke, founder and chairman of the club, said.

But the concept is not growing as fast as expected. "People pay attention to plans till we provide the service for a year. They then begin to neglect it," he said. Urban agriculture is the only way to sustain flow of agri products to growing population, he said.

"Getting vacant plots for agriculture in the city is impossible. Peri-agriculture seems a distant dream with farmers inclined to develop their farmland for constructions which yields more money," said Ramchandra Gohad, former town planner and a member of the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority land acquisition committee.

FAO Concept

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has envisaged urban agriculture in small areas like vacant plots, gardens, verges, balconies and containers within the city to grow crops and raise small livestock or milk cows for self-consumption or sale in neighbourhood markets. Peri-urban agriculture refers to farm units close to cities which operate intensive semi-or fully commercial farms to grow vegetables and fruits, raise chickens and other livestock, and produce milk and eggs.

Urban and peri-urban agriculture occurs within and surrounding areas of cities and includes products from crop and livestock agriculture, fisheries and forestry. It also includes non-wood forest products, ecological services provided by agriculture, fisheries and forestry. Often multiple farming and gardening systems exist in and near a single city.

Growing Vertical

"We must look for more innovative urban agriculture than growing plants in balconies. Vertical farming includes technology to use city space for growing plants and vegetables in high-rises buildings. When we construct buildings in urban areas, the facade is developed as a greenhouse to grow vegetables," Hans Hassle, CEO of Stockholm-based Plantagon Company, said.

Systems and technologies for urban agriculture should be developed with minimal use of ground area for buildings, multiplying the building footprint vertically in several levels, he added. "It will also be important to integrate the building on site and adapt it to site specific light conditions since it will be placed within the existing urban fabric in cities. The verticality will be important in cites to optimize the production of food and the functionality of buildings." Hassle told TOI.

According to Plantagon, growing crops in a controlled environment has benefits -- no animals to transfer diseases to plants through untreated waste; no massive crop failures as a result of weather-related disasters; less likelihood of genetically modified "rogue" strains entering nature. And, without herbicides, pesticides, or fertilizers agricultural runoff is not a big a big problem.

Eating into agriculture land

In 1997, 36 villages were included in the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) limits. As a result, the PMC limits increased from 146 sq km to 450.69 sq.km. After a few villages were delinked, the PMC's area was reduced to 243.96 sq.km.

The state government's relaxation of restrictions on conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses has led to agricultural land in the fringes of the city like Hadapsar, Mundhwa and Kondhwa, Sinhagad Road and Wadgaon Dhayari becoming residential.

The government ordinance in 1994, which stated that permission for non-agricultural use of agricultural land is not required in areas where the Regional Town Planning Act, 1966 is in operation or a legally declared industrial zones exists or is finally accepted or proposed also boosted such growth.

Moreover, in November 1996, the government threw open hilltops, slopes and forest areas in the state for development as hill stations, tourist and holiday homes. This brought private players to the scene.

Plantagon cultivation system

The idea is to grow vegetables in pots put into trays transported around the growing helix where the cultivation takes place.

The trays are equipped with a light sealed nutrient solution reservoir, and the pots are irrigated about three times per day using an ebb-and-flow technique. A capillary mat at the bottom of each tray protects the individual plants from drought. Excess nutrient solution is collected and reused after disinfestation.

The different system designs have the same production flow and location of equipment. The machinery is located in the basement on one or two floors and the trays are transported to the top of the helix by a special tray elevator.

The crops grow during the slow transport down the helix and are ready for harvesting when they reach the end of the helix at the basement level. Food is harvested in batches using an automatic harvesting machine. After harvest, the trays and pots are disinfected, and the pots are separated and replanted with another seed for the next round in the cultivation loop.

After germination, the pots are recombined with the trays and elevated to the top of the growing helix to repeat the process.

(Source - Plantagon, Stockholm)