Public Service Announcement

I've noticed that here in the Philippines there are several Public Health Service announcements that are much more thorough than the standard, "Employees must wash their hands before returning to work." I've seen flyers on Hand washing; "Respiratory Ettiquette"--(covering your mouth before you sneeze or cough)-- I haven't actually read the flyer as it is a full 11X 17 sheet...But this is my favorite one thus far:

Golden Apple Snail

The Pink mass are the eggs of the Golden Apple Snail (GAS). This snail was introduced to the Philippines to provide additional dietary protein... However, the snail escaped and has become an invasive pest that thrives in the wet paddy conditions of rice fields. I'll learn more about the non-chemical methods for controlling GAS later in the rice course...

For now...I've attached a time-lapse video so you can see the difference between rice with the SUB-1 gene The variety is called IR-64 (its very popular in SE Asia): SCUBA RICE

The Daily Double

Can you guess what is stuck to this blade of grass?

I'll give you a clue... This pinkish mass is the eggs of the major rice pest in this region!

Any ideas???

More tomorrow... its late here!

PROOF IS IN THE PADDY...

Even non-sciency folks can appreciate the
differences between the rice varieties that
contain the sub-1 gene (sub=submergence)
and those that don't!

In this photo, the rice variety, 'Swarna,' was planted on the left and did not survive being submerged for 12 days-- thus the bare puddle. However, the 'Swarna sub-1,' on the right, contains a gene that allows the rice to tolerate
submergence for 2 weeks! 'Swarna sub-1' is thriving!

The sub-1 gene has been integrated into popular rice varieties through breeding (not transgenics) so that farmers have 'flood insurance in a seed.'






Check out NPR's IRRI interviews for more information!

CARABAO

The traction animal of choice in the Philippines is the carabao (domesticated water buffalo). Today we tried our hand at field preparation using carabao, hand tractors, hydrotillers and modern tractors with laser level capabilities.

That's me plowing a rice paddy behind a 3 year old water-buffalo... Preparing 1 hectare of land (almost 2.5 acres) by hand would take 1 farmer 160 days. Using a water buffalo and plow, the time required is reduced to 12 days.

Magandang gabi!

Magandang gabi is a Tagalog greeting meaning, "Good evening!"

I arrived in the Philippines on Sunday evening after a loooooong day of travel. I flew from LAX to Hawaii to Guam to Manilla to participate with 27 other students/scholars in a rice production course at IRRI: the International Rice Research Institute! What an amazing place! Bill and Melinda Gates think so too-- they've committed to donating over 19 million dollars to support the distribution of improved rice cultivars and related technology to rural farmers in Asia and Africa. Over the next 3 weeks you can check this blog for updates and an introduction to what I'm learning meet some of the folks I'm working alongside!