As trees are fast disappearing in various parts of the world and with the concern of environment growing, timber are getting scarce day by day. This is due to long period of time taken by even softwood to attain maturity. So, a substitute or if that is not possible, an alternative, has to be found. Bamboo is the answer for this.

The Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation Inc. is campaigning for the mass production of narra to avert is extinction in the Philippine forests. With reforestation and education programmes, it believes the nitrogen-fixing tree which can grow to a height of 33 meters and a diameter of 2 meters, could easily be preserved.

Rice hull is made of hard materials. It is an ideal source of energy. A ton of rice hull is equivalent to 318 liters of fuel. Using rice hull could impact on the world economy as it reduces dependence on fossil-based fuels, thereby significantly reducing energy costs.

Erosion is the most pervasive form of soil degradation.Davao-based MBRLC developed the Sloping Agricultural Land Technology (SALT), a system patterned after the famous Philippine rice terraces of Banaue. Unlike the famous rice terraces, which use physical barriers and contour ditches, SALT uses live hedgerows like Leucaena leucocephala, Flemingia macrophylla, Desmodium rensonii, Gliricidia sepium, and Indigofera anil. All these help enrich soil and aid neighboring plants because of its foliage rivals manure in nitrogen content.The technology is simple. The hedgerows are planted in very dense double rows to serve as erosion barriers.

While there is a drop in the rate of deforestation in the Philippines the principal causes of still remain: logging, conversion to agricultural lands and human settlements. The reduced rate is not an increase in real forest cover but merely an increase in the number of trees. Such is the bleak scenario facing the country,

Manila Super Mango found its way in the Guinness Book of World Records as the sweetest of its kind in the world. It is best cultivated in well-drained, fairly deep, loamy soil. This article gives more tips on how to propagate Philippine mangoes that will become sure winners.