414 — Practical Sustenance

To measure a farmer’s ability to produce “more crop per drop”, agricultural scientists now use the term “water productivity”. Farm water productivity can be as high as 20kg/cubic metre water with cereals, or about 10kg/cubic metre with oilseeds and legumes, but such high efficiencies are obtained only in the best managed crops. Almost any factor … Read more

The country is almost self-sufficient now in rice production because of the modernisation of the production system and the use of high yielding variety of seeds as well as chemical fertiliser. For Bangladesh this is all the more important because of the size of population and its rate of growth. During the last four decades … Read more

An Indian hobbyist has created a purely organic nutrient mixture for growing plants in water.Although it is still an evolving science, hydroponic agriculture (growing plants in water solution rather than soil) is spreading fast the world over.The nutritional requirement of the plants in this system of soilless farming is met by the nutrient mixtures, called … Read more

A Ground-breaking ceremony marked the beginning of a mushroom production initiative in Henties Bay, which is said to have a huge potential for lifting the coastal town and the entire Erongo Region out of poverty, providing employment and ensuring food security. Situated on a plot of land right next to the Tulongeni Garden project, the … Read more

Organic farms are better for wildlife than those run conventionally, according to a study covering 180 farms from Cornwall to Cumbria.The organic farms were found to contain 85% more plant species, 33% more bats, 17% more spiders and 5% more birds.Scientists – from Oxford University, the British Trust for Ornithology, and the Centre for Ecology … Read more

The key question, at least in the near term, is to determine whether increased vitamin C and photosynthesis will result in greater crop yields.The harmful effects of smog on people and animals—the stinging eyes and decreased lung capacity—are the stuff of well-researched fact. Now, the body of knowledge about air pollution’s effects on plants has … Read more

True costs of industrial food production system• 1 000 tonnes of water are consumed to produce one tonne of grain• 10 energy units are spent for every energy unit of food on our dinner table• Up to 1 000 energy units are used for every energy unit of processed food• 17% of the total energy … Read more