primer on el nino - da

7/23/2019 Primer on El Nino - DA

1/6

PRIM R on

EL NIOEL NIO

Department of AgricultureBUREAU OF SOILS AND WATER MANAGEMENT

A Production undertaking by the

Training and Information Dissemination ServicesBureau of Soils and Water Management

Elliptical Road, Corner Visayas Avenue,Diliman, Quezon City


2/6


3/6


4/6


5/6

Sugarcane

The volume of sugarcane productionmay decline but the sugar recovery

and production will increase.

Vegetable

Vegetables that are normally damagedby excessive rainfall and slight frost, asis the case of Baguio, will besuccessfully grown and will have

higher production.

Aquaculture (fishpond production)

Under an extended drought, waterquality may be affected for lack ofsupply of freshwater from the riversource. In some cases and under mild

El Nio water event, water temperaturemay be improved thus developinggrowth of algae in the pond andtherefore potentially enhance thegrowth of fish in the pond.

c. Impacts on the incidence of pests and diseases:

Locust infestation may occur especially in areas closeto known breeding grounds, such as the lahar areas of Central Luzonand old volcanic sands in South Cotabato.

d. Impacts on human health

In highly urbanized areas, dusts and particulates fromfactories and cars pollute the air and this can cause various healthproblems.

e. Impacts on the natural resources and environment

Rivers may dry up and groundwater recharge isreduced. Forest and grassland fires can occur, which can causemassive atmospheric pollution, affecting not only in the Philippines butalso in adjoining regions. This problem is clearly illustrated by themassive forest fire in Indonesia, which caused the serious problem ofhaze in Malaysia, Singapore and in Indonesia, itself.

What are the direct effects of El Nio on some important cash

cropsand major export high value crops of the country?

Coconut

A prolonged drought caused by El Nio will affect theyield the following year and thenprobably return or even improve thesecond year after El Nio, if yearfollowing will have good amount and

distribution of rain.

Mango

Yield of mango will most likelyimprove but the year following ElNio may drop if the farm isadequately fertilized to allow the plantto recover from heavy fruiting during

the El Nio event.

87


6/6

What maybe done to reduce theproblems of water supply caused byEl Nio?

1. Do not burn rice straws and

use them as composting materials ormulch/land cover to minimize moisturelosses and as supplementary roughage(hay) to livestocks.

2. Clean the irrigation canal andremove as much weeds to reduceirrigation water losses and improve farmwater delivery.

3. Reduce the amount waterlevel in the rice paddy to as low as one to two cms.

What other practical irrigation water management may be usedto reduce irrigation water consumption?

Intermittent irrigation scheme can be an alternative system to thecurrent practice of continuous submerge irrigation system.

The simple procedures are:

1. Maintain irrigation water (2 cm) from transplanting until the plantsfully recovered (approximately 25 to 30 days from transplanting).

2. Cut off water supply and close the field drains to hold and storeirrigation water

in the paddy and allow it to subside until the soil becomes almostdry. In three to four days, depending on soil texture, soil in the

paddy will dry up and starts to crack. This practice, however, is notapplicable in areas with problem of acid sulfate subsoil, such asswampy areas of Samar, Leyte and Agusan provinces. Drainage inthese soils can cause extreme soil acidity (soil pH can drop to lowerthan pH 4.5) upon drainage.

3. Reintroduce irrigation water slowly up to 4 cm, before the soil finallydevelop cracks.

4. Repeat procedure number 2 and continue this until two weeksbefore harvest.

9

primer on el nino - da

Documents