Ongzi's Golden Rule #1 Watering

For toiling the earth since the dawn of the second millennium, I have learned an important lesson, a Golden Rule for a farmer, which I long to share. 

Be it a farmer, a gardener, an agriculturist, a horticulturist, a landscaper, or any other profession that involves tedious labor, the Golden Rule is surely applicable, especially in our scorching hot climate. 

The Rule is: water! Supply, sprinkle, moisten, and drench whatever plants are being cultivated with water. Don't wait until tomorrow what you can do today, and definitely never put watering on hold. After all, water is the essence of life! 

Regardless of darkened clouds or brewing storms, get the water truck filled for immediate watering, especially for turf. A smart farmer never expects free watering from the rain. 

Rain can be a blessing, but it certainly cannot be predicted or depended on. After all, man can only rely on his own toil and hard work. 

Rain can only be hoped for, never prayed for!  Man must not forget that rain is beyond man’s might. 

 

 

Knapsack Sprayer

 

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Striga asiatica - jarum emas

Name
Scientific name : Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze
Synonyms : Striga lutea Lour, Striga coccinea Benth, Buchnera asiatiaca L.
Common names : red witchweed, Asiatic witchweed, rumput jarum emas, rempah padang
 

Classification
Order : Lamiales (mint order)
Family : Orobanchaceae (broomrapes)
 
Many of the Orobanchaceae genera ( e.g. Pedicularis, Rhinanthus, Striga ) wer formerly include in the family Scrophulariaceae (figwort) sensu lato.
The Orobanchaceae are annual or perennial herbs/shrubs, and most are parasitic – either holoparasitic or hemiparasitic.
 

Distribution
S. asiatica is native to sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.  It has been introduced to other parts of the world including Australia and the United States.
 

Botanical Description
S. asiatica is a obligate & hemiparasite. 
Its seedlings are not visible above ground, but white succulent shoots can be found attached to host roots.
Mature plants have green foliage above ground, sparsely covered with coarse, short, white, bulbous-based hairs.
Mature plants are normally 15–30 cm tall, but have grown to 60 cm.
Leaves are nearly opposite, narrowly lanceolate, about 1–3 cm long, with successive leaf pairs perpendicular to one another.
Flowers, produced in summer and fall, are small (< 1.5 cm in diameter), sessile and axillary, with a two-lipped corolla, occurring on loose spikes. Flower colour varies regionally, from red, orange, or yellow in Africa to pink, white, yellow, or purple in Asia. The flowers give way to swollen seed pods, each containing thousands of dustlike seeds.
Underground stems are white, round with scale-like leaves, turning blue when exposed to air.
The roots (haustoria) are succulent, round, without root hairs, and found attached to a host species root system.
 

Economic Importance
 
Weed
Striga asiatica parasitise important agricultural crops such as corn, sorghum, sugar cane and rice. 
S. asiatica has been included in the Global Invasive Species Database (GISD 2006). It has been listed as a noxious weed in several Australian states.
 
Ethonography
The plant can be used for treating intestinal parasites.
In Malaya, it is used in post-natal care.

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