CropsRylee Reynolds of Twin Falls, Idaho, won the National Wheat Yield Contest for a second year running, as drought and smaller plantings cut entries but 15 of 28 national winners were first-timers.
IslamWriting in Desh Rupantor, Mufti Muhammad Anisur Rahman Rizvi cites the Quran and hadith to argue that restraint in irrigation, drinking and wudu, recharge and protecting water bodies are a Muslim's duty.
EnvironmentAt a policy dialogue in Rajshahi, experts and MPs called for less reliance on groundwater, more surface water, restored canals and wetlands, rainwater harvesting and less thirsty crops.
VegetablesOrganic carrot grower Philip Draper says irrigation got this year's harvest started on time, and that machinery, storage and staff now cost far more as Ireland is left with nine commercial growers.
EnvironmentOregon's agriculture department has found hydrilla in private ponds in Jackson County and plans herbicide, surveys and nursery checks to stop a weed that chokes ditches, intakes and fish habitat.
FruitsAbout 100 acres of mixed fruit orchards in Rowangchhari, Bandarban, have no irrigation; water hauled by labourers from a stream 1.5 km away costs about Tk 2 a litre. The agriculture department is planning solar-powered pumps.
CropsAt Borai mouza in Kalai, Joypurhat, one of three co-owners of a deep tubewell is keeping its electrical equipment at home, so the well cannot run; two co-owners have complained to the UNO.
CropsAman rice was transplanted on 17,009 hectares of Shyamnagar, Satkhira; the upazila agriculture office says at least a quarter of that land is short of water, and farmers fear a poor harvest.
The US National Weather Service reported sea-surface temperatures 2.5°C above average along the equator on 26 October; all 27 climate models forecast a very strong El Niño, and some project more than 3.5°C.
CropsWith below-normal rain forecast across Zimbabwe, three farmers in Matabeleland South and the Midlands explain how fodder stocks, urea-treated stover and water reserves are keeping them in production.
Untreated effluent from factories in Bhaluka, Mymensingh, reaches the 45km Khiru river through canals and drains; in the dry season the water turns black or blue, no fish survive, and farmers say irrigating with it damages their crops.
CropsIntense heat and a lack of rain have left Aman fields short of water across 15 unions and the municipality of Pirganj, Rangpur, with soil cracking in places; farmers are paying for extra irrigation just as the panicles emerge.
AgrotechDr Michael Southwood of the Agri Vision Foundation says over-irrigation starves roots of oxygen and excess nitrogen causes most crop quality problems, and recommends probes, NDVI imagery and twice-weekly sap tests.
