A comparison of organic and conventional farming

The Council for Agricultural Science and Technology (CAST) in the USA, assembled in 1980 a high-powered Task Force composed of 24 scientists...

Favorite and influential soil science books

Below is my short article which appeared in the IUSS Bulletin 117 (Nov 2010) and 118 (June 2011) under the title "Favorite Soil Scien...

Biocalcification: the biological accumulation of CaCO3 in rice soils

Lowland rice cultivation can enhance the proliferation of snails resulting in the accumulation of calcium carbonate (CaCO3) in the topsoil. ...

Challenges and opportunities in agriculture

by Dr. Cezar P. Mamaril Senior Consulting Expert of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) Los Ba ñ os, Laguna I would like to share ...

Global warming and our local environmental problems

Global warming is the increase in the average global temperature. It is a real problem now and we are starting to experience its bad effects...

Earthworms: the most important soil and ecosystem engineers

Earthworms are thought to be the most ancient soil animals having started colonizing terrestrial environments about 600 million years ago (...

The role of mycorrhiza in the mineral nutrition of plants

Mycorrhiza is the association between fungi and the roots of higher plants. The term was introduced by the German scientist A.B. Frank in ...

Relation between properties and age of soils in the Amazon forest

The Amazon Basin is that part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. It has a tropical climate with an annual rai...

Soil excursion to Southern Leyte, Philippines with Prof. R Jahn

On 09 April 2010, we organized a soil excursion to Southern Leyte for selected graduate students pursuing MSc degree in Soil Science at the ...

Hydrogen peroxide is not a good reagent for the removal of soil organic matter

Organic matter (OM) is the most important cementing agent of soil particles. Soils containing high amount of OM (like the dark Leyte soil sh...

Soil degradation in the Philippines

Soil degradation is a severe global problem of modern times. About 6 million hectares of agricultural land worldwide become unproductive ev...

The Physical Environment of Mt. Pangasugan, Leyte, Philippines

Geology Mt. Pangasugan is generally built up by andesitic and basaltic pyroclastic rocks (referred to as Pangasugan formation) which are mo...

Biological nitrogen fixation in corn

Corn ( Zea mays L.) can establish rhizospheric or endophytic associations with various nitrogen-fixing bacteria (diazotrophs) such as Azosp...

Invitation to the 13th Scientific Conference of PSSST on 27-28 May 2010

The Philippine Society of Soil Science and Technology (PSSST) will hold the 13th Annual Meeting and Scientific Conference in Puerto Princesa...

Response of corn to chicken dung and rice hull ash application and mycorrhizal fungi inoculation

By Luz Geneston-Asio, Central Analytical Services Lab, VSU, Baybay, Leyte The use of locally available and cheap organic fertilizers like ch...

Effects of Lantana camara on soil properties and neighboring plants

Lantana camara Linn, locally called Utot-utot , Koronitas or Kantotoy in the Philippines, is a shrub which originated from tropical Ameri...