Home Garden and Organic Farming

Hinoki Cypress Bonsai tree: In nature, hinoki cypress has a flame-shaped profile, but as a tree reaches maturity, it adopts a broad, almost domed appearance with clouds of foliage supported above branches. The scale-like leaves are edged with silvery blue and the shoots curls inward at the tips.  Hinoki Cypress Bonsai tree (Source: Bonsai Empire ) Where to keep hinoki cypress: Although tolerant of the hot sun in the wild, in containers hinoki cypress are happier in semi-shade during the hottest months. Hinoki can withstand frozen roots for considerable periods, provided the tree is not exposed to drying winds. The waxy coating provides some protection against wind, but not enough for containerized plants. It does, however, help the foliage to appear healthy long after the tree has died. Repotting: Every two to three years in mid-spring, older specimens every five years. Use standard soil mix. Akadama can be used if you can guarantee never to let it dry out. Pruning:

If we understand how trees function will greatly increase our enjoyment of bonsai and gives us much-needed confidence in caring for the bonsai trees. And it will be easy to carry out the watering, pruning, and shaping of bonsai trees. 1. Root:  Usually, when your bonsai begins to look sick, it is an indication of root disorders. Roots have three functions, First of all, they provide anchorage, holding the tree firm in the ground. Secondly, they absorb moisture and soluble nutrients from the soil. Thirdly, they store sugars during dormancy to provide energy for the first flush of growth in spring. Japanese Maple (Acer) Bonsai (  Bonsai Empire ) Anchorage:   To hold a tree firm in its pot, the roots must be distributed all around the trunk and must grow sideways rather than downwards. One-sided root systems are unstable and most likely also result in a one-sided structure. During repotting the bonsai trees, initially, the wire used to hold a tree firm, but it's only tempor

Weeds are ubiquitous. They grow everywhere, compete with crops for soil moisture, nutrients, solar radiation, and space, thus reducing the crop yields.  Weeds also act as alternative hosts that harbor insects, pests and diseases, and micro-organisms. Some weeds release into the soil inhibitors or poisonous substances that may be harmful to the crop plants and livestock. In the aquatic environment, weeds block the flow of water in canals, water-transport system, and drainage system, rendering navigation difficult. The dense growth of aquatic weeds pollutes water by deoxygenating it and killing the fishes. Weed management is done through mechanical, chemical, and biologically. Crop losses due to weeds: Most of these weeds are self-sown and they provide competition by virtue of their faster growth rate in the initial stages of crop growth.  In some crops, the yields are reduced by more than 50% due to weed infestation. Besides competition for resources, weeds often reduce crop gr

What is healthy living soil? Healthy living soil is the most important factor for growing vegetables, fruits, and grains.  The soil must be replenished each season so that plants have all the nutrients necessary to grow. It must be protected from erosion to build healthy topsoil and from the sun, wind to preserve the moisture content. Soil quality directly relates to good nutrition, and they taste better and improve health. The untrapped minerals in any kind of soil are only accessed by humus complex. Humus is the most important thing in organic farming. Humus provides food for the soil biota includes bacteria, microorganisms, earthworms, and many more small insects. The organic residues left after the extensive decomposition of organic debris (leaves, woods, grass clippings, branches, and other plant parts) by bacteria and fungi is called humus, it contains 60-70% of the total organic carbon in soils. It contains a good mix of clay, sand particles, and air pockets. The clay

Bacterial Wilt:  Symptoms:       - Wilting ( loss of water from leaves), Stunting( results in dwarfing and loss of vigor), yellowing of the foliage, and finally entire plant will break down.       -The vascular system becomes brown in color.       -Plants show wilting symptoms in afternoon times, will recover at nights but it will die soon.       -Lower leaves will drop first before wilting occurs.     Management:       Crop rotation with cruciferous vegetables such as cauliflower helps in reducing the spreading of disease.

These are derived from organic sources like the plant, animal, and human residues. Among these are bulky organic manures such as farmyard manure(FYM), compost, concentrated manures like Oil-Cakes, and various products of animal origin like dried blood, fish manure..etc. are added in the soil, to improve the physical condition of the soil, replenish and maintain it's human status via soil organic matter, create optimum conditions for the activities of soil microorganisms and contribute a small part of the plant nutrients removed by the crops or otherwise lost through leaching and soil erosion. The plant-food elements contained in manure are released in an available form upon decomposition by soil microorganisms. The main role of this manure is to add organic matter and humus content. Biofertilizers or bio inoculants: These are the preparations containing microorganisms beneficial to agricultural production in terms of nutrient supply, especially N and P. Fertilizer and thei

1. Black rot: ( Xanthomonas campestris )     Symptoms:       *  Most commonly seen in areas having a wet and warm climate.       * Plants can be infected during any growth stage and the symptoms resemble nutritional deficiencies.       * Infected seedlings turn into yellow in color, drop lower leaves and soon become die.       * Leaves may be affected only one side of the seedling.       * The infected tissue turns pale green-yellow and then turns brown and dies.       * Affected areas are usually a wedge or V-shaped.       * Disease progress the severely affected leaves may drop off. The veins in infected leaves, stems, and roots become black in color.   Management:      * Planting should be done on raised beds to facilitate drainage.      * Raising non-host crops.      * Affected plants should be removed and destroyed. 2. Leaf spot and Blight: (Alternaria brassicae and A.brassiciola) Symptoms:  * One of the destructive diseases on seed crop. Older