MOET and LCC; Technology Behind Nutrient Management

MOET and LCC; Technology Behind Nutrient Management

Nyle A. Pardillo, MS-Crop Science

            PalayCheck is a dynamic rice crop management system that presents the best key technology and management practices as keychecks, compares farmer practices with the best practices and learns through farmer’s discussion group to sustain improvement in productivity, profitability and environment safety. Palaycheck is simply learning, checking and sharing for best farming practice. One of the keychecks in PalayCheck system is keycheck 5. Keycheck 5 talks about sufficient nutrients from tillering to early panicle initiation and flowering stages. To manage this keycheck, MOET (Minus One Element Technique) and LCC (Leaf Color Chart) are the two technologies that could help in attaining a check mark in this keycheck.

         

     MOET or the minus one element technique is fast and reliable technique in testing the nutrient deficiency of the soil. It is not expensive and results will be known immediately. This can be done under field conditions. Soils will be collected in the field, cleaned and mixed before putting on the container. The soil will be watered simulating rice field conditions and then fertilizers in the MOET kit will be mixed in the designated container. One type of fertilizer will be put in every container. Rice seedlings will be planted after fertilizers are mixed in the soil. Put the container in an area where it is exposed directly to sunlight and cannot be harmed by animals. After one month of observation, if the rice plant under a specific minus element container is not growing well, then there is a deficiency of that nutrient in soil. Fertilizer recommendations will be based on the notes found in the MOET kit.

       

        On the other hand, LCC or leaf color chart is a tool used in determining the nitrogen content of the rice plants by comparing the color of the instrument to the color of the leaf. It is cheap, handy, fast and reliable in determining the nitrogen deficiency of the plant. Just select ten random leaf samples and matched the color of the leaf with the color of the leaf color chart. There are levels of color from yellowish green (No. 2) that represents nitrogen deficient and dark green (No. 5) which represents high or enough content of nitrogen. Just select ten random samples of leaves in the rice field and match the color. If more than half of the sample leaves have reading No. 2, then  it is nitrogen deficient and fertilizer containing nitrogen will be applied. If more than half of the sample leaves have reading No 3, 4 or 5, then no need to apply nitrogen containing fertilizers. Recommendations will be found at the back of the LCC tool.

         MOET and LCC are important in managing the nutrients of the rice plants. MOET helps to determine the right kind of fertilizer that the rice plants need based on the reaction of the plants to the MOET set-up. LCC helps to determine the right timing of nitrogen fertilizer application to the rice plants as nitrogen is highly mobile and most consume nutrients by rice plants. By using these technologies, farmers can save money as well as they can help the environment by reducing the application of inorganic fertilizers that causes global warming.

Plants really need nutrients in order for them to grow healthy. Nutrient should be managed well to protect the plants from pests attacked. If the rice plants have too much nutrients, then it is prone to diseases and insect pests. However, if the rice plants have enough nutrients to take and sustain throughout its development, then it will grow healthy resulting to higher yield.

Evolution of Snail Mail

Evolution of Snail Mail

Nyle A. Pardillo, MS-Crop Science

            What is a snail mail? According to Merriam Webster dictionary, snail mail is an ordinary mail that is delivered by a postal system. It is named after a snail with its low speed or after the snail trail, the one that is used to glue an envelope. In nonprofessional term, snail mail is a process where the letters delivered takes a long time before it can reach to a receiver.

      Writing letter is a form of communication. People wrote letter when they wanted to inform their love ones about their situation and their lives. People even wrote letter to express their feelings to the person they like in another towns, province or regions. These letters when delivered in the postal office are in different types depending on the kind of letter you have made. There are special, regular and ordinary. These can be known based on the stamps that glued in the envelope of your letter.

     As I remembered before, my mother wrote a letter to my aunt who lived far away from our hometown. My mother wrote in a five pages yellow paper and all the things she wants to inform and let my aunt know, she wrote it there. She would send it to a post office in an ordinary mail. We would wait a month to get a reply from my aunt. Despite the long time of waiting the reply, the message of the letter answered the excitement and questions that my mother wanted to read and know. However, we could not erase the fact that sometimes, the message that was delivered was not timely.

   The evolution of communication came. The telephone invented. However, telephone needs line in order for it to function and most of the telephones are located only in the heart of the town. Telephone is not handy and it is good for voice messaging. Telephone evolves into cellular phones. Cellular phones are handy and people keep buying on it despite the cost. Cellular phones could perform text and voice messaging with other features on games, camera and others. Then computer and internet made available and it made it more accessible to people and improve the communication better.

            Despite the evolution of communication, people still writing letters and used postal delivery services. Most of the companies used this type of system to their customers because it is cheap. It also gives excitement and surprise to the receiver unknowingly what is in the inside of the envelope.

Technology: Advantage or Disadvantage?

Technology: Advantage or Disadvantage?

Nyle A. Pardillo, MS-Crop Science

Technology is a body of knowledge used to create tools, develop skills and extract or collect materials. It is the application of science to meet an objective or solve a problem, (National Institute of Health 2005). The term technology conjures up visions of things such as computers, cellular phones, spaceships, digital video players, computer games, advanced military equipment and other highly sophisticated machines, (Blackhurst 2001).

We all know that technology is very past paced. Ideas are revolving and improving. It started from hunting technology where they used arrows and bows to an agricultural technology where they used plows and ending to a modern technology where they used computer operated devices and high end features of tools or products.

Modern technology really helps the people lives. One of the main purposes of technology revolution is to make people lives easier and faster. That is why there are many inventions coming out. Air conditioner wants to give comfort to people. Airplanes and high-end cars want to give a faster transportation to people. Cellular phones want for faster communication to your love ones. Internet wants to provide information in such one click of your mouse to your computer. Technology also aims to improve and prolong one’s lives. Stem cell therapy is very popular nowadays and it claims to cure diseases such as cancer and even gives you a youthful look. There are numerous tablets and capsules available in the market that claim to give longevity of life. The improvement of health technologies detects the illness of the person.  Doctor’s finding always accompanied by the results made through the equipment that detects the problems of a certain person. They used x-rays, CT scan and other method of illness detection. Technology wants us to appreciate science and the creation of God. Spaceships and space orbital allow us to know that there are heavenly bodies outside from the world we live in. We appreciate moons and starts through telescope. Technology indeed is amazing and wonderful.

However, advancement of technology gives fear and anxiety to people.The fear of creating nuclear weapons, atomic bombs and biological weapons that feared to be detrimental one’s lives. If these weapons are used in a wrong way, it gives destruction to people, buildings and even the life of the innocent animals. The creation of these weapons gives courage to terrorists to do more terror attacks and threats to human kind. Advancement of technology destroys relationship towards family. Computer games separate the social life of a person. Instead of making friends and playing basketball outside, the person focuses on computer games. Cellular phones if not use wisely makes a person to commit infidelity towards his spouse. Indeed, technology is a monster.

The inventors of different inventions want to help people when they create those technologies. Technology created for good intentions. However, the evilness and greediness of a person made the technology invented fearful. Let us just remember that using it too much and in a wrong way made that technology destructive. When using the technology, just ask in yourself, how am I going to use this? Is it for good or for destruction?