How Old Should You Transplant Rice Seedlings For Higher Yield – An Un/Fortunate Exchange Between Daisy Langenegger And Frank A Hilario
Ms Daisy felt it was my personal insult to her and she
replied with a tirade of 341 words. (Read a shortened reproduction of it at the
end of this essay – no hard feelings!) This educator’s reply
was 8 words: “whatever. the seedlings are still too old, period.
Ms Daisy’s first words were: “Frank A Hilario Sir, are you
mentioning me?” No, I did not “see” her in the picture. Now I see, “hindi na
natuto” reads as an insult, sorry. What was I thinking? Not a proper way to
treat a lady!
Yes, these are a month
old seedlings of our own farm… organically farmed rice seeds and we are doing
this intentionally to make them more resistant to snail damage.
Ms Daisy, you’re not alone. One month-old rice seedlings are
the practice all over the Philippines; I saw that already almost 60 years ago
in the ricefields of my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan. Transplanting rice
seedlings that old has nothing to do with organic farming – my father grew his
rice chemically, and I was the one who sprayed those pesticides – and I enjoyed
spraying those leaves with “2-4D” until they were dripping wet! Innocents
beguiled.
Not to say that we
have more than 22 years of actual rice farming practice devoted to research on
what works best in our particular [ecosystem] with maximum result that’s in
line with our sustainability and health goals.
But Ms Daisy, why do farmers who practice System of Rice Intensification (SRI) transplant
at 2 weeks old, singly and in equidistance? Month-old seedlings transplanted are
too old to grow their maximum number of tillers – while young SRI transplants
produce more tillers that produce more panicles that produce more grains.
Was mine “Facebook Fervor”? I’m terribly sorry for thinking
only of science and not somebody else’s feelings…….
Selections from Daisy
Langenegger’s tirade:
Frank A Hilario Sir,
are you mentioning me? Yes, these are a month old seedlings of our own farm
developed organically farmed rice seeds and we are doing this intentionally to
make them more resistant to snail damage.
… We have more than 22
years of actual rice farming practice… As you are very busy downloading farming
systems in the [Internet] and styling yourself as ultimate expert in organic
agriculture… , we ecological farmers are actually putting into practice what we
are learning and… learned… from our 2 generations of…ancestors… and… from … our
best teacher – Mother Nature.
I believe you should
start farming yourself… Time to try out your own farming theories Mr UPLB BS
Agriculture degree holder/ power lobbyist/ influencer so at least you get your
license to lecture us. You’re getting too indulgent in your posturings as
agricultural expert. Bah, humbug!
Thanks
for your left-handed compliments of me!@517
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