Para:

No problem. I have some write up on this, but I've kept all my notes in my library in Sepang. Tell me if you need some info, and I will see how I can access the information later this month.

which area are you in? how big scale are you running? depends on the type and season, the worms cost from rm70 to 150 per kg..try surfing alibaba. but it's better if you can buy and collect from the farm itself..there's a lot of scam on vermicompost here.

pm-ed you this reply too

This post has been edited by chinyen: Sep 21 2011, 11:40 AM

Pros of agarwood is of course potential for very high value wood. But no returns for at least 6 years. Inoculation may cost up to 1000 per tree.

So do you collect in cubic meters or tonnage? What is the current market price? I think the cost of inoculation, as well as the plant-lets had gone down. We have people here selling at $4.00 each.

Banana can grow practically next to water, but never below the water table.

Wild bananas which we are trying to clear.

Mr farmer, we use neither! agarwood is one of the only wood varieties which are commonly traded in kgs. End users, usually buy In grams. Kynam, the most valuable of agarwood which hails from Vietnam, goes for as much as USD$1000 per GRAM. But that's for natural not inoculated so I can't tell you much abt inoculated variety.

So how much are you currently paying for normal grade (collection price), not inoculated. I'm just trying to decide if I should go ahead to plant the 200 plant-lets that I have. Kindly PM me if it's inconvenient to reveal you price here?

Depends mr farmer. I've paid as low as 100 per kg to as high as 100k per kilo. But I see no harm in planting your trees bro low maintenance cost.

Disease or nutrient deficiency?

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Added on September 26, 2011, 11:31 pm
N deficiency?
Trying with SOA (N21%)

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Added on September 26, 2011, 11:50 pm
K deficiency? Try with multi-K
All of these are in the same farm.


Hmmh, no idea

Lady's finger

This post has been edited by MrFarmer: Sep 26 2011, 11:50 PM

The soil looks rather barren

Oh yes, the land owner was playing with him mini tractor "toy", trying to level the land to a lower gradient. The top soil had been pushed to the creek in the middle of the land. Also the land had been exhausted by the previous planter planting tobacco.

Mr Farmer:

Oh shit bro.... Did you check why the previous operator abondoned tobacco planting? Was there a disease outbreak? Don't want to scare you, but it could be Tobacco Mosaic Virus infecting your chili peppers and okra. Even cigarette butts containing some infected tobacco leaves pieces can lead to widescale infection. But to rule it out, first check for aphids or red spider mites. Aphids are easy to see, usually black or green little bugs, wont move much and about the side of a (*). Red spider mites would appear reddish black, and normally found on the underside of the leaves. If you are able to verify that there was no previous outbreak of TMV, and there are a lot of aphids/spider mites, then your crops might be safe.

As for the ginger, you've likely got a nutrient problem, caused by deficiency in potassium (K), and possibly magnesium. Apply the usual potassium fertilizer, but also include some Kieserite (MgO). Just want to verify, which pineapple variety are you using? Because I saw some look like Josapine, some like N36. Not very familiar with pineapple, but the slight yellowing appears to be due to nitrogen deficiency and heavy exposure to sunlight.

You might find the following document useful for pineapple.

https://www.ippc.int/file_uploaded/11152816...t_pineapple.pdf

Hope this helps.

The abandoning of tobacco was due to the closure of all the buying agent. Heard that our government was no longer promoting it ans some incentives were removed. Those outfits moved to Indonesia.
Shall check on the mites, but we had just made a spraying of Decis (deltamethrin), so not sure if I'll find any.

Red spider mites?
Ginger I think could be due to us adding the not fully compost rice husk too much & close to the stem. I think it's kind of "hot" and burn out the ginger, sweet potatoes. It is useful for green leafs vegetables (in small amount).
Pineapples, not sure of the varieties. It was given to us by different people. Heavy exposure? Pineapples should be able to grow well in full sun light.

Mr. Farmer:

Please do check for spider mites. Can't view the image right now, but once I am to access pictures, I will tell you.

Erm... you do know deltamethrin is a neurotoxin right? And it is normally used to kill insects; although it has been indicated as being useful to control arachnids and arthropods, for control of mites, maybe you should consider Mitac (amitraz) instead. It is less hazardous to human health too.

Ah... you used compost... It could be a contributing factor. It is usually due to hot methane gas (from fermentation of organic matter) scalding the leaves. As I understand, it takes quite a lot of the stuff to result in scalding of lower leaves. Had that problem before when planted oil palm on deep peat; we called it "lower frond dessication". However it does not fully explain the deficiency of chlorophyll in the mid-rib section of the ginger leaves, or the light striations along the leaf blades.

You are right, pineapple is grown under full sun. But that is in combination with sufficient nitrogen source for the chloroplasts (the organelles in plant cells that convert sunlight and nutrient into food for the plants) to function properly. If there is a deficiency, the plant's immediate response would be to "kill" the less productive cells or chloroplasts, and divert the resources to those which are more productive, usually those found in the younger leaves. It is just my assumption that the pineapple leaves were supposed to be green, although there are varieties with yellow-green leaves and red/purple fringes, mostly varieties that have the Gandol pineapple as one of its genetic parents.

ps: For the chili peppers, if you do not find spider mites or aphids, and you know there was no TMV outbreak previously, then there is not really too much worry. It could just be a case of growth imbalance. When I was developing my chili breed, I thought my entire breeding population kena TMV virus; turned out the crinkling was because the plant growth hormone affecting leaf expansion was working overtime, while the roots had not grown extensive enough to support the rapid growth. Once the roots were established enough to support leaf growth, the leaves stopped crinkling, and grew to about the size of a man's hand each.

As a general guide, you might like to read this article:

http://www.avrdc.org/LC/pepper/chipep.pdf

Thanks Micheal.




Don't seems to find any mites.

Oh yes, the deltamethrin, we use to control insects on our eggplant, okra and Vegetables. It's the only stuff we have at the moment, so we taroh oni. Anyway, had stopped seedling chillies, plant whatever that had germinated, until we sort this out.
Thanks for the link.

As for the pineapples and ginger, do you think it salvageable / reversible? Or should we plant again?

Mr. Farmer:

Bro, I have managed to look at the picture. I have to say, those are the largerst aphids I've ever seen. They are red aphids. The weaver ants sort of "farm" them for the sugar-loaded secretion they release from their asses.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/13084997@N03/2900753778/

Ok bro, you've no problem with you chili peppers. It could just be growth hormone imbalance. It should work its self out in a coupe of weeks.

As for your pineapple and ginger, sure, no problem salvaging. Just use the standard recommended fertilizer application to address potassium and nitrogen problem. Just take care not to over do it, and don't apply so close to the plant base, especially nitrogen-based fertilizers. The vapour release can also scorch lower leaves.

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Added on October 1, 2011, 9:03 pmps: For effective control of aphids (without use of chemical pesticides), you might choose biological control. Introduce seven-spot ladybugs to the farm. Those bugs will hunt aphids down very effectively.

This post has been edited by Michael J.: Oct 1 2011, 09:03 PM

this is quite interesting. can we get them from shops or something ?

This post has been edited by ParaOpticaL: Oct 2 2011, 01:10 PM

Para:

I'm not aware of any shops which you can get them from, but apparently there are certain people who do provide the bugs. Not very sure who they are, though they occassionally post their services on Mudah.my or ebay Malaysia. I caught mine myself. You don't really need a whole lot if your area is small. In my case, I only needed 3 breeding pairs to produce enough offspring (which are even more effective than the adults at munching aphids) to cover 50-60 plants.

I need to point out that if you do intend to implement biological control, it would be important to look into the well-being of the beneficial predators. This includes providing shelter, reducing pesticide applications (and herbicide), etc. Ladybugs for instance like sheltering under tree bark, or in places that are warm and damp. They really don't like rain, but are quite appreciative of translocation (i.e. they don't mind being moved from a saturated area to a less saturated area; a good trait, as not all beneficial predators can tolerate human handling). Food source is important, and aside from pests like scale insect, mites, aphids, ladybugs can and do consume some quantities of nectar and pollen. So, do plant some nectar rich flowering plants, like Tunera flowers (9 O'clock morning glory).

You can read more about them here:
http://www.gardeninsects.com/ladybugs.asp

thanks bro.

will be looking into it as i had BANNED the usage of pesticide & herbicide from the farms by NOT buying them...lolx
and screwing my workers if i find out.

hey guys,

do u know where can i find Hapa nets? i've been looking for this net to make a holding cages in my ponds. Seems hard to get in Malaysia...

I believe that there are some ladybugs in our farm, just not sure if it's seven-spotted.