Extract from Wikipedia. ........ Cutlass

HistoryEdit

Although also used on land, the cutlass is best known as the sailor's weapon of choice. A naval side-arm, its popularity was likely because it was not only robust enough to hack through heavy ropes, canvas, and wood, but short enough to use in relatively close quarters, such as during boarding actions, in the rigging, or below decks. Another advantage to the cutlass was its simplicity of use. Employing it effectively required less training than that required to master a rapier or small sword, and it was more effective as a close-combat weapon than a full-sized sword would be on a cramped ship.

Cutlasses are famous for being used by pirates, although there is no reason to believe that Caribbean buccaneers invented them, as has sometimes been claimed. However, the subsequent use of cutlasses by pirates is well documented in contemporary sources, notably by the pirate crews of William Fly, William Kidd, and Stede Bonnet. French historian Alexandre Exquemelinreports the buccaneer Francois l'Ollonais using a cutlass as early as 1667. Pirates used these weapons for intimidation as much as for combat, often needing no more than to grip their hilts to induce a crew to surrender, or beating captives with the flat of the blade to force their compliance or responsiveness to interrogation.

A cutlass drill on HMS Wolverine, 1882

Owing to its versatility, the cutlass was as often an agricultural implement and tool as it was as a weapon (cf. machete, to which the same comment applies), being used commonly in rain forest and sugarcane areas, such as theCaribbean and Central America. In their most simplified form they are held to have become the machete of the Caribbean.

Extract from Wikipedia. ........

Fruit development

The development sequence of a typical drupe, the nectarine (Prunus persica) over a 7.5 month period, from bud formation in early winter to fruitripening in midsummer (see image page for further information)

A fruit results from maturation of one or more flowers, and the gynoecium of the flower(s) forms all or part of the fruit.^[10]

Inside the ovary/ovaries are one or more ovules where the megagametophytecontains the egg cell.^[11] After double fertilization, these ovules will become seeds. The ovules are fertilized in a process that starts with pollination, which involves the movement of pollen from the stamens to the stigma of flowers. After pollination, a tube grows from the pollen through the stigma into the ovary to the ovule and two sperm are transferred from the pollen to the megagametophyte. Within the megagametophyte one of the two sperm unites with the egg, forming a zygote, and the second sperm enters the central cell forming the endosperm mother cell, which completes the double fertilization process.^[12][13] Later the zygote will give rise to the embryo of the seed, and the endosperm mother cell will give rise to endosperm, a nutritive tissue used by the embryo.

As the ovules develop into seeds, the ovary begins to ripen and the ovary wall, the pericarp, may become fleshy (as in berries or drupes), or form a hard outer covering (as in nuts). In some multiseeded fruits, the extent to which the flesh develops is proportional to the number of fertilized ovules.^[14] The pericarp is often differentiated into two or three distinct layers called the exocarp (outer layer, also called epicarp), mesocarp (middle layer), and endocarp (inner layer). In some fruits, especially simple fruits derived from an inferior ovary, other parts of the flower (such as the floral tube, including the petals, sepals, andstamens), fuse with the ovary and ripen with it. In other cases, the sepals, petals and/or stamens and style of the flower fall off. When such other floral parts are a significant part of the fruit, it is called an accessory fruit. Since other parts of the flower may contribute to the structure of the fruit, it is important to study flower structure to understand how a particular fruit forms.^[3]

There are three general modes of fruit development:

• Apocarpous fruits develop from a single flower having one or more separate carpels, and they are the simplest fruits.
• Syncarpous fruits develop from a single gynoecium having two or more carpels fused together.
• Multiple fruits form from many different flowers.

Plant scientists have grouped fruits into three main groups, simple fruits, aggregate fruits, and composite or multiple fruits.^[15] The groupings are not evolutionarily relevant, since many diverse plant taxa may be in the same group, but reflect how the flower organs are arranged and how the fruits develop.

Extract from Wikipedia. ........

Specialized terms for stemsEdit

Stems are often specialized for storage, asexual reproduction, protection or photosynthesis, including the following:

• Acaulescent – used to describe stems in plants that appear to be stemless. Actually these stems are just extremely short, the leaves appearing to rise directly out of the ground, e.g. some Viola species.
• Arborescent – tree like with woody stems normally with a single trunk.
• Branched - aerial stems are described as being branched or unbranched
• Bud – an embryonic shoot with immature stem tip.
• Bulb – a short vertical underground stem with fleshy storage leaves attached, e.g. onion, daffodil, tulip. Bulbs often function in reproduction by splitting to form new bulbs or producing small new bulbs termed bulblets. Bulbs are a combination of stem and leaves so may better be considered as leaves because the leaves make up the greater part.
• Caespitose – when stems grow in a tangled mass or clump or in low growing mats.
• Cladode (including phylloclade) – a flattened stem that appears more-or-less leaf like and is specialized for photosynthesis,^[2] e.g. cactus pads.
• Climbing – stems that cling or wrap around other plants or structures.
• Corm – a short enlarged underground, storage stem, e.g. taro, crocus,gladiolus.

Decumbent stem inCucurbita maxima.

• Decumbent – stems that lie flat on the ground and turn upwards at the ends.
• Fruticose – stems that grow shrublike with woody like habit.
• Herbaceous – non woody, they die at the end of the growing season.
• Pedicel – stems that serve as the stalk of an individual flower in aninflorescence or infrutescence.
• Peduncle – a stem that supports an inflorescence
• Prickle – a sharpened extension of the stem's outer layers, e.g. roses.
• Pseudostem – a false stem made of the rolled bases of leaves, which may be 2 or 3 m tall as in banana
• Rhizome – a horizontal underground stem that functions mainly in reproduction but also in storage, e.g. most ferns, iris
• Runner (plant part) – a type of stolon, horizontally growing on top of the ground and rooting at the nodes, aids in reproduction. e.g. garden strawberry,Chlorophytum comosum.
• Scape – a stem that holds flowers that comes out of the ground and has no normal leaves. Hosta, Lily, Iris, Garlic.
• Stolon – a horizontal stem that produces rooted plantlets at its nodes and ends, forming near the surface of the ground.
• Thorn – a modified stem with a sharpened point.
• Tuber – a swollen, underground storage stem adapted for storage and reproduction, e.g. potato.
• Woody – hard textured stems with secondary xylem.

How to water your plants. ........

When the soil is dry, water the plant thoroughly. In fact, water the plant until the water comes out of the bottom of the planter. This will guarantee that the bottom roots in the planter have gotten water as well. However, don’t let the pot sit in the water on the saucer. Empty the saucer once it is done draining. Make sure the water temperature is between 62 and 72 F. (17-22 C.). You don’t want to shock the plant. Finally, keep in mind that if the plant wilts, you should still check the soil before watering because wilting doesn’t necessarily mean the plant needs water. Now that you know how to water a plant and how little water will kill a plant, you can have healthy office or home plants for your enjoyment from now on.

Watering is of no value if the water runs down the outside of the root ball, leaving the roots at the core of the plant dry. This can happen if you water too quickly or apply too much water at once. Slower watering is usually more effective. The key is to ensure that water gets to the root zone — whether you aretending seedlings, watering houseplants, watering a row of tomatoes or soaking thirsty shrubs and trees.

You can't use the "lift test" in your garden or landscape, but you can use a soil moisture sensor to see if it's time to water. For a more thorough investigation, push a spade into the soil near your plant and pull it back to see how the soil looks. If it feels moist to a depth of 6 to 12 inches, you're in good shape. If it's bone dry, water!

The Best Way to Water

• Focus on the root zone. Remember that it's the roots that need access to water, not the leaves. Wetting the foliage is a waste of water and can promote the spread of disease.
• Water only when needed. Automatic timersare especially useful; just make sure to watch the weather, and reduce frequency when rainfall is abundant. Too much water can be just as damaging to plants as too little.
• Water deeply and thoroughly. Lawns and annuals concentrate their roots in the top 6" of soil; for perennials, shrubs and trees, it's the top 12". In heavy soil, it may take hours for water to percolate down 6-12". Use your finger or a shovel to check the progress.
• Water in the morning. If you do get moisture on the leaves, this gives them time to dry out. It's much more difficult for plant diseases to get a foothold when the foliage is dry.
• Mulch everything. Mulch reduces surface runoff and slows evaporation from the soil.
• Use the right tool. For efficient watering at the root zone, use a soaker hose or an even more precise drip irrigation system instead of a sprinkler

Extract from Britannica .www.Britannica.com.......

farm management, making and implementing of the decisions involved in organizing and operating a farm for maximum production and profit. Farm management draws on agricultural economics for information on prices, markets, agricultural policy, and economic institutions such as leasing and credit. It also draws on plant and animal sciences for information on soils, seed, and fertilizer, on control of weeds, insects, and disease, and on rations and breeding; on agricultural engineering for information on farm buildings, machinery, irrigation, crop drying, drainage, and erosion control systems; and on psychology and sociology for information on human behaviour. In making his decisions, a farm manager thus integrates information from the biological, physical, and social sciences.

Because farms differ widely, the significant concern in farm management is the specific individual farm; the plan most satisfactory for one farm may be most unsatisfactory for another. Farm management problems range from those of the small, near-subsistence and family-operated farms to those of large-scale commercial farms where trained managers use the latest technological advances, and from farms administered by single proprietors to farms managed by the state.

In Southeast Asia the manager of the typical small farm with ample labour, limited capital, and only four to eight acres (1.6–3.2 hectares) of land, often fragmented and dispersed, faces an acute capital–land management problem. Use of early maturing crop varieties; efficient scheduling of the sequence of land preparation, planting, and harvesting; use of seedbeds and transplanting operations for intensive land use through multiple cropping; efficient use of irrigation and commercial fertilizer; and selection of chemicals to control insects, diseases, and weeds—all of these are possible measures for increasing production and income from each unit of land.

In western Europe the typical family farmer has less land than is economical with modern machinery, equipment, and levels of education and training, and so must select from the products of an emerging stream of technology the elements that promise improved crop and livestock yields at low cost; adjust his choice of products as relative prices and costs change; and acquire more land as farm labour is attracted by nonfarm employment opportunities and farm numbers decline.

On a typical 400-acre (160-hectare) corn-belt farm in the United States with a labour force equivalent to two full-time men, physical conditions and available technologies allow a wide range of options in farming systems. To reach a satisfactory income requires operating on an increasing scale of output and increasing specialization. Corn and soybean cash-crop farming systems have increased in number along with corn-hog-fattening farms and corn-beef-fattening farms. Thus, the choice of a farming system, the degree of specialization to be chosen, the size of operation, and the method of financing are top concerns of management.

For a typical crop-livestock farm in São Paulo’s Paraíba Valley, Brazil, large-scale use of hired labour creates a substantial management problem. With 30 to 40 workers per establishment, procuring and managing the labour—keeping abreast of demand and supply conditions for hired labour, working out contractual arrangements (wage rates and other incentives), deciding how to combine labour with other inputs, and supervising the work force—are of critical importance.

A rancher with thousands of acres, whether in the pampas of Argentina, the plains of Australia, or the prairies of the United States, is concerned about the rate of increase of the herd through births and purchases and herd composition—cows, calves, yearlings, steers, heifers. Risks from drought, winter storms, and price changes can be high. Weather, prospective yields, and the price outlook are the constant concern of competent and alert farm managers.

On a collective farm in the Soviet Union with 30,000 acres (12,000 hectares) and 400 workers, major management decisions are made by party–state representatives; the collective-farm chairman responds largely to their directives, though the farm manager is being given greater autonomy. Major management concerns are determining optimal size of the collective, improving labour incentives, increasing crop and livestock yields, and reducing unit costs—with emphasis on levels of fertilizer, on pesticide and herbicide use, and on conservation of soil and water in crop production.

Thus, the character of the world’s agriculture is shaped as millions of farmers manage the resources under their control in ways to obtain as much satisfaction as possible from their decisions and actions, which are made in a large variety of settings in regard to human, capital, and land resource combinations; technological possibilities; and social and political arrangements. Future agricultural progress depends on improving the quality of management and the environment in which farmers make decisions and on helping them adjust their decisions to the changing environment. In the low-income agricultures of the world in the 1980s, expanded research, improved input supplies and transport facilities, enlarged market opportunities, and an otherwise encouraging environment promise to open up a much wider area for managerial choice and decision making

 How to graft mango

Tools

You should obtain a special grafting knife which is different from an ordinary knife as it is sharpened on one side only. It must be kept very sharp and clean at all times.
Use special 1.25 cm wide PVC grafting tape available from most nursery shops. Clean-cutting secateurs are useful for cutting bud wood, and small plastic bags and brown paper bags placed over the graft greatly improve the success rate. A fine sharpening stone is necessary to maintain a very sharp knife.


Rootstocks


Both Kensington and Common mango seedlings are suitable as rootstocks, as they produce uniform, vigorous seedlings that are compatible with other varieties.
The main requirement is to have vigour in the rootstock at the time of grafting. You can achieve this by using a well-drained potting mix and attending to nutrition and pest and disease control. Do not graft rootstocks that are not vigorous.
The size and age of the rootstock can vary considerably if it is vigorous. However, the most common stocks selected would be about 12 months old, 40-50 cm tall and up to 1 cm wide at a point about 20-30 cm above ground level. Field planted stocks can also be grafted after 6-12 months of growth.

Bud wood


Tip wood is considered the best material to use for grafting. The most suitable tips have prominent eyes or buds. The growth may vary from just matured wood (wood that has changed colour from the pink leaf, immature stage) up to fully matured growth.
Ensure all scion wood is free from pests and diseases.
Prepare the scion wood by cutting the young shoot (about 10 cm long), off the parent tree and trimming the upper and terminal leaves back, leaving about 1 cm of petiole on the scion. These short petioles protect the juvenile buds at the base of each petiole and indicate the success of the graft a few days after grafting. Cut the entire leaves and petioles towards the base of the scion back flush with the bark.

Grafting time

Only attempt grafting when the rootstocks are vigorous and the buds on the scion wood are swollen. Best results are obtained during warm, humid weather - usually from January until the end of April. You can be successful at other times of the year by artificially increasing the temperature and humidity. Day temperatures of 25-30 °C and nights of 18-21 °C are ideal. It is usually difficult to obtain quantities of suitable bud wood between flowering and fruit harvest.

Grafting methods

The most suitable height for grafting is about 20-30 cm above ground level. At this point, the rootstock should be straight, at least pencil thickness and have green bark. If the bark is old, brown or corky, avoid the area. Retain the leaves on the stock below the point of grafting.
A wide range of graft types can be used on mangoes, but the two most common are the whip and the cleft or wedge graft. The whip graft is used widely by nursery operators and other highly experienced operators, while the wedge graft is used by most other grafters. Both grafts are quite easy to do. After a little experience, and if you perform certain basic steps, you will achieve a high percentage of successful 'takes'.
Wedge or cleft graft
Prepare the scion wood by making two sloping cuts at its base to form a wedge 2.5-3 cm long, depending on the width of the stock. Cut the top off the rootstock 20-30 cm above soil level and make a clean-edged cut down the centre of the stem for about 3 cm.
Insert the scion wood wedge into the rootstock cut to match the cambiums on the thick side of the scion. Then tie the union firmly with grafting tape to seal the union, prevent moisture loss and stop scion movement.

Whip graft

A whip graft involves making a single-angled cut through both the rootstock and the scion wood. This cut would be similar to the first cut used on the cleft graft, though it need not be as long.
As with all grafts, ensure that the area where the graft is to be made is straight and preferably relatively young with green bark. Make only one angled cut on both the rootstock and the scion, preferably about the same length.
When tying the graft, start taping at the bottom and finish above the top of the graft. The cambium should be matched on at least one side of both the scion and rootstock during this process.

Covering the graft

You will greatly enhance your success rate by covering the newly completed graft with a small plastic bag and tying it at the bottom to enable a build-up of heat and humidity. You do not require further covering in a shaded greenhouse but, if the grafted plants are in the sun, place a small, brown paper bag over the plastic bag to prevent excessive heat build-up.
Removal of bags and grafting tape
Remove the plastic bag and paper bag from the graft once it has grown 1-2 cm. This may take 2 to 4 weeks. The new shoot growth is very brittle so handle the plant carefully.
Remove the tying tape after the first flush growth has matured. If left on too long (several months), the tape may restrict growth by becoming too tight in the graft area. The time taken to tape removal will be 2-4 months. The trees can be planted in the field at this stage.

Taking care

You will need to maintain a high level of hygiene at all times. Periodically dip grafting knives into methylated spirits to sterilise them. You should also spray the stocks and dip the scion wood in a 0.2 per cent mancozeb fungicide.

Post-grafting care

Over-watering recently grafted plants is perhaps one of the most common faults encountered. Remember that little leaf surface remains on the stocks following grafting and water loss through transpiration is minimal.
Suckering is sometimes prolific after grafting, if suckers grow from the rootstock remove them.

How to plant trees...........

The most common mistake when planting a tree is a digging hole, which is both too deep and too narrow . Too deep and the roots don’t have access to sufficient oxygen to ensure proper growth. Too narrow and the root structure can’t expand sufficiently to nourish and properly anchor the tree.

As a general rule, trees should be transplanted no deeper than the soil in which they were originally grown. The width of the hole should be at least 3 times the diameter of the root ball or container or the spread of the roots in the case of bare root trees. This will provide the tree with enough worked earth for its root structure to establish itself.

When digging in poorly drained clay soil, it is important to avoid ‘glazing’. Glazing occurs when the sides and bottom of a hole become smoothed forming a barrier, through which water has difficulty passing. To break up the glaze, use a fork to work the bottom and drag the points along the sides of the completed hole. Also, raising the centre bottom of the hole slightly higher than the surrounding area. This allows water to disperse, reducing the possibility of water pooling in the planting zone.

Planting Balled and Burlapped Trees.
Balled and burlapped (B & B) trees, although best planted as soon as possible, can be stored for some time after purchase as long as the ball is kept moist and the tree stored in a shady area. B & B trees should always be lifted by the ball, never by the trunk. The burlap surrounding the ball of earth and roots should either be cut away completely (mandatory, in the case of synthetic or plastic burlap) or at least pulled back from the top third of the ball (in the case of natural burlap). Any string or twine should also be removed. Backfill soil (combinations of peat moss, composted manure, topsoil, etc.) is then placed in the hole surrounding the tree just to the height of the ball or slightly lower to allow for some settling. Be careful not to compress the back fill soil as this may prevent water from reaching the roots and the roots from expanding beyond the ball.



Planting Container Trees .
Container trees (though subject to greater heat and drying conditions than B and B) can also be stored for a brief period of time after purchase as long as the soil in the container is kept moist and the tree stored in a shady spot. The procedure for planting container trees is similar to that for B & B trees. In the case of metal or plastic containers, remove the container completely. In the case of fibre containers, tear the sides away.

Once carefully removed from the container, check the roots. If they are tightly compressed or ‘potbound’, use your fingers or a blunt instrument (to minimize root tearing) to carefully tease the fine roots away from the tight mass and then spread the roots prior to planting. In the case of extremely woody compacted roots, it may be necessary to use a spade to open up the bottom half of the root system. The root system is then pulled apart or ‘butterflied’ prior to planting. Loosening the root structure in this way is extremely important in the case of container plants. Failure to do so may result in the roots ‘girdling’ and killing the tree. At the very least, the roots will have difficulty expanding beyond the dimensions of the original container. To further assist this, lightly break up even the soil outside the planting zone. This allows roots that quickly move out of the planting zone to be more resilient as they anchor into existing surrounding soil conditions.

Once the tree is seated in the hole, the original soil is then back-filled into the hole to the soil level of the container. Again, remember not to overly compress the back-filled soil especially by tramping it with your feet. Compress gently using your hands instead.

Planting Bare-Rooted Trees.
Planting bare-rooted trees is a little different as there is no soil surrounding the roots. Most importantly, the time between purchase and planting is a more critical issue. Plant as soon as possible. When purchasing bare-rooted trees, inspect the roots to ensure that they are moist and have numerous lengths of fine root hairs (healthy). Care should be taken to ensure that the roots are kept moist in the period between purchase and planting. Prune broken or damaged roots but save as much of the root structure as you can.

To plant, first build a cone of earth in the centre of the hole around which to splay the roots. Make sure that when properly seated on this cone the tree is planted so that the ‘trunk flare’ is clearly visible and the ‘crown’, where the roots and top meet, is about two inches above the soil level. This is to allow for natural settling.