Specials NEWS

Mere rock dust could help save humanity. A study from the UK found that dispersing rock dust on farmlands could capture up to 45% of the carbon dioxide that is required to help the UK achieve its net-zero target by 2050.

Passion fruit (Passiflora edulis) is usually eaten by scooping out the pulp. The pulp, however, is only a small portion of the fruit, so most of the passion fruit is actually not used. The big remainder of the fruit is its flesh, which is usually just disposed of.

The global fertilizer shortage has been dealing a massive blow to the world’s food systems. To adapt to these challenging times, farmers have been forced to cut down on fertilizers or buy them at soaring prices. As farmers make do with decreased production yield and increased production costs, consumers on the receiving end have to put up with the rising prices of goods.

Rising fertilizer costs, fuel price hikes, and rampant smuggling. Ace Estrada, co-founder of Rural Rising, believes that these are the current issues hounding Filipino farmers. To support the struggling agricultural sector, Rural Rising has made it its mission to tap into farming communities and help them provide a platform to sell their produce to customers from Metro Manila.

The coconut tree is called “the tree of life” because every part of it can be put to use. However, the coconut as a crop has a complicated history in the Philippines, with coconut being a high value crop while its farmers remain some of the poorest and most marginalized in the industry. 

French legislators, on January 21, 2021, passed a law to safeguard everyday aspects of rural life. This expansive law covers causal farm quirks like the sounds of cowbells and quacks of ducks, down to the smell of cow manure. The law recognizes such features as part of the “sensory heritage” of rural France, thus protecting them from complainants hoping to live in the countryside without them.

More countries have been recognizing the potential of bamboo in restoring damaged ecosystems. Among these countries is the Philippines which as part of the country’s enhanced National Greening Program, included bamboo planting as a tool to rehabilitate degraded watersheds. 

Who would have thought that growing plants in the soil of the moon was actually possible? Scientists from the University of Florida accomplished this by growing thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) on lunar soil collected by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin during the Apollo 11 mission in 1969, as well as soil brought back by other astronauts from the succeeding Apollo 12 and 17 missions.

The tree of ibuli (Cubilia cubili) is now a protected tree in the town of Pakil, Laguna after the local government approved an ordinance declaring ibuli as the town’s flagship species for conservation.

By: Vic Thor Palarca

Space habitats of the future need to come up with ways to sustain their food supply without depending on resupply missions from Earth. 

Anything in excess is detrimental to the development of a plant. So like sunlight, water, and fertilizer, mulching should be applied effectively to avoid negative consequences.

And neither is this book history, though someday it might well be.

Tech companies are coming up with ways to incentivize people to use their products with the promise that their time spent on an app or program will be paid for with a planted tree.

We can go on and on about the rich relationships between mothers and children and the many virtues (and pitfalls) of motherhood, but today is Mother’s Day and all we want is to sing praises to them.

There are a number of reasons why an indoor plant might develop leaves with brown spots. The underlying cause might not be immediately obvious, but there are multiple ways to treat plants with browning leaves.

Selling coffee branded Philippine-made has become a marketing trend for cafes. It has become a way to appeal to coffee drinkers who want to drink sustainable coffee while supporting the local industry. But selling coffee with Philippine origins comes with a lot of responsibilities, according to Ros Juan, the chief coffee extractor of Commune Café and Bar.

You don’t have to choose among the top vacation getaways in the country, you can visit them all.