High Wallpapers Resolution Image Python S HD Desktop

High Wallpapers Resolution Image Python S HD Desktop above is uploaded to at Tuesday, February 10th, 2015 by Boergeus and assigned assigned Desktop category. You can download High Wallpapers Resolution Image Python S HD Desktop wallpapers from this .com for free by select resolution above. Please leave comment about this High Wallpapers Resolution Image Python S HD Desktop

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High Resolution Wallpapers High Definition Wallpapers

High Resolution Wallpapers High Definition Wallpapers above is posted to at Monday, February 09th, 2015 by Boergeus and categorized categorized Desktop category. You can download High Resolution Wallpapers High Definition Wallpapers wallpapers from this .com for free by select resolution above. Please leave comment about this High Resolution Wallpapers High Definition Wallpapers

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Spring Wallpapers And Backgrounds WThemes Windows Themes

Spring Wallpapers And Backgrounds WThemes Windows Themes above is published to at Monday, January 19th, 2015 by Boergeus and categorized sorted Desktop category. You can download Spring Wallpapers And Backgrounds WThemes Windows Themes wallpapers from this .com for free by select resolution above. Please leave comment about this Spring Wallpapers And Backgrounds WThemes Windows Themes

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Green Nature Wallpapers HD Wallpaper

Green Nature Wallpapers HD Wallpaper above is published to at Monday, February 23rd, 2015 by Boergeus and grouped sorted Abstract category. You can download Green Nature Wallpapers HD Wallpaper wallpapers from this .com for free by select resolution above. Please leave comment about this Green Nature Wallpapers HD Wallpaper

Filename : Green Nature Wallpapers HD Wallpaper

Category : Abstract

Author : Boergeus

Publish Date : Monday, February 23rd, 2015

Image type : Image/jpg

Resolution : 2560x1600 Pixel

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Growing Potatoes

An ancient vegetable, potatoes were first cultivated by the ancient Incas in Peru. This crop came to America in 1621, and today is the most popular vegetable in the United States. If you love potatoes and have never tasted a homegrown one, you definitely need to try growing potatoes. Potatoes are cool-season vegetables and yield the best quality and number of tubers in the northern portion of the country. And just so you know: A potato isn’t a root but an underground storage stem called a tuber.
Note: While we do not currently carry this variety, we offer this information for gardeners who wish to grow it.

Soil, Planting, and Care

Potatoes are cool-season crops and can survive light frosts. Plant as soon as soil is workable in early spring. Potatoes need fertile, well-drained soil that’s loose and slightly acid (pH 5.8 to 6.5). Hard, compacted soil produces misshapen tubers. Amend heavy clay soil the fall before planting by working organic matter into planting beds. Potatoes form tubers 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface. When stems reach 8 inches tall, draw soil up and around plants, covering half of lower stems. Repeat the process two to three weeks later. Potatoes exposed to sunlight turn green, which causes flesh to taste bitter. Keeping tubers covered prevents greening.
Some gardeners grow their potatoes in straw, placing straw around the 8-inch-tall stems instead of soil. This method yields potatoes that you don’t have to dig, but simply fish out of the straw. If you use the straw method, be sure to keep your straw layer consistent throughout the growing season. It will most likely break down and need to be topped off during the course of growing the potatoes.

Maximum tuber formation occurs when soil temperature is 60 F to 70 F. Tuber formation stops when soil temperature hits 80 F. Mulching soil with straw or other organic matter can help reduce soil temperature. Research has shown that maintaining a 6-inch-thick straw layer around potatoes keeps soil temperatures 10 degrees lower. Potatoes are sensitive to drought. Keep plants consistently moist, especially when plants flower and right after, since this is the peak time when tubers are forming.
Move potatoes to a different place in the garden each year to help limit disease and insect problems. For best success, rotate potatoes on a 3-year program, growing them in a different spot for three years in a row before cycling through the growing spots again.

Troubleshooting

Potatoes will develop areas of green skin when they’re exposed to direct sunlight during growth. The green areas have a bitter taste because the flesh contains a moderately poisonous compound. When preparing potatoes, cut away any green areas and discard. Potatoes in storage will develop green spots if they’re exposed to sunlight or fluorescent light. Keep stored potatoes in darkness. If your storage space isn’t completely dark, store potatoes in a box with a lid. Mounding soil or straw around potato stems will protect developing tubers during the growing season. Wedge-shaped leafhoppers feed on potato leaves, causing them to curl or crinkle and edges to turn brown. Flea beetles, which are tiny (1/16 inch), black, and shiny, create white streaks in leaves or small holes. They typically infest plants in late spring. If the infestation is bad enough, it can cause some leaves to die, which will reduce yield. Colorado potato beetles can also ravage plants. Read more about all of these pests and their control in our Pest Identification section.

Harvest and Storage

You can harvest new potatoes usually about two to three weeks after plants flower. If soil is loose enough, dig potatoes free with your hands. Otherwise, use a shovel or digging or spading fork to loosen soil near stems.Harvest all potatoes after vines have died. If the growing season has been rainy, wait a few days for soil to dry. It’s easier to dig potatoes in dry soil. You’ll find tubers 4 to 6 inches below the soil surface. Use a shovel or digging or spading fork, inserting the tool 6 to 10 inches away from the plant stem. Loosen and pry up soil gently, looking and feeling around for tubers.
Brush dry soil from potatoes. Don’t wash them if you plan to store them. Newly dug potatoes don’t have a tough skin. Handle tubers gently to avoid damaging and bruising them. Curing produces a tougher skin. To cure potatoes, place in a humid spot at roughly 55 F for two weeks.

If you plan to store potatoes into winter, select tubers that are firm and without soft spots. Store in a dark room with high humidity; the temperature should be 38 F to 40 F. Do not store potatoes with apples. Check potatoes frequently for sprout formation; knock off sprouts with your hands and dispose. Do not refrigerate potatoes. Tubers will hold at room temperature for 1 to 2 weeks.

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Silver Queen Corn

• Light: Full sun
• Cob size: 8 to 9 inches long
• Matures: 92 days
• Plant spacing: 8 to 12 inches apart
• Plant size: 5 feet tall

Over and over again, Americans choose Silver Queen as their favorite sweet corn! Big ears of crisp, tender white kernels provide sweet, rich old-fashioned flavor and texture. This is a big corn with dark green leaves—a pretty plant—that is also the standard for white sweet corn flavor. To extend the harvest, set out plants weekly for a month or longer or as long as Bonnie plants are available at your favorite store. Plants grow about 5 feet tall and are resistant to bacterial wilt and Helminthosporium. Set plants 8 to 12 inches apart with a minimum of 4 rows for good pollination.

Some Bonnie Plants varieties may not be available at your local stores, as we select and sell varieties best suited to the growing conditions in each region.

Categories: All America Winners, Corn, Vegetables.

Light requirements: Full sun for best yields.
Planting: Space 8 to 12 inches apart, depending on type. (Read the stick tag that comes with the plant for specific spacing recommendations.) Extend the harvest by setting out plants weekly for a month or more.
Soil requirements: Corn needs moist but well-drained, nutrient-rich soil. Amend soil with compost or other organic matter prior to planting. Soil pH should be 6.0 to 6.8. In coldest regions, warm soil with black plastic for one week prior to planting.
Water requirements: Fuel corn’s fast growth with consistently moist soil. Shallow roots make plants susceptible to drought. Mulch soil to reduce water evaporation, but wait until soil has warmed before covering it.
Frost-fighting plan: Corn can be damaged by light frost (28º F to 32º F). If a surprise late spring frost comes into the forecast, protect seedlings with a frost blanket.
Common issues: Watch for corn earworms, aphids, flea beetles, Japanese beetles, and cutworms. Use a barrier fence to deter deer and raccoons. Diseases to be on the lookout for include corn smut, leaf blight, and rust. In poorly draining soil, fungus diseases can attack seedlings. If gusty summer storms blow corn plants over, they will usually right themselves after a few days of sunny weather. If pollination is an issue (corn is primarily wind-pollinated), grow corn in blocks of short rows instead of one long one. Don’t plant different types of corn close enough to cross-pollinate or flavor can change.
Harvesting: Ripe ears feel full and rounded; silk should be dried and brown on the ends. If you’re unsure, poke a kernel with your fingernail. Corn is ready if sap is light and milky Clear liquid means the ear isn’t ready. Corn is sweetest in the early morning; pick ears first thing for best flavor. To harvest, hold the corn stalk with one hand; use the other to pull the ear down and away from the stalk, twisting until it breaks off.
Storage: Keep corn in the husk until cooking. Refrigerate harvested ears right away. While sweetness should last about a week, corn tastes best eaten as close to harvesting as possible.
For more information, visit the Corn page in our How to Grow section.

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How to Grow Tomatoes in Hot Weather

By Julie Martens
Sizzling summer temperatures can bring your previously productive tomato plants to a screeching halt. When days hit 85°F to 90°F and nights hover above 75°F, tomato flowers often fail to pollinate, then drop — which in turn puts new fruit production on hold. The longer the heat lasts, the longer those tomato flowers will continue to hit the pause button. In short, hot weather can delay your tomato crop.
Here’s how to grow tomatoes in hot weather:

Choose the right variety.
Heat-tolerant tomato varieties like Heatmaster, Solar Fire, Summer Set, Florida 91, and Phoenix keep forming fruit as temperatures climb into the 90s or higher. (Check the product reviews of these varieties to see what other gardeners think.) These tomatoes are often described as “heat set” types, or have heat-related words or locations in their names. Another option is to take a cue from commercial tomato growers and plant determinate types, whose fruit tends to ripen all within in a short period of time earlier in the growing season—before the serious heat arrives.
Plant in the right place.
Tomato tags call for full sun, which works great in places like the Midwest, Northeast or Pacific Northwest. In Southern California, the Deep South, Texas, and the Desert Southwest, though, where summer afternoons can get hot enough to fry eggs on the sidewalk, try to choose spots where tomatoes will receive morning sun, then filtered sun or light shade during the rest of the day. In areas in which there is no natural shade, create some yourself (see below).
Make some shade.
Gardeners in the country’s hottest regions (think Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, Florida, Southern California, and the Desert Southwest) frequently use shade cloth to cool tomatoes during the key hours when tomato flower pollination typically occurs (usually between 10 AM and 2 PM). Researchers have found that best yields occur with a shade structure that’s open to the east (no cloth on that side), so the plants can be bathed in morning sun, but shielded from hot afternoon rays. To build one, create a simple frame around tomatoes using wood or row cover hoops, then drape shade cloth (found at garden centers or online) over it. Look for “50 percent” shade cloth, which reduces sunlight by 50 percent and heat by 25 percent. Or, experiment with summer-weight row covers, which typically provide about 15 percent shade. In regions where sunlight and heat are not as intense, of course, shading tomatoes isn’t typically necessary.

Add mulch.
Put a 2- to 3-inch-thick mulch layer around tomato plants to help keep soil moist. In regions with long growing seasons, replenish mulch as it breaks down (think late summer). Organic materials like straw, cotton hulls, shredded bark, chopped leaves, untreated grass clippings, or other locally available materials make great choices because they improve soil as they decompose.
Pour on the water.
When temperatures stop dipping below 90°F, a tomato plant with a lush leaf canopy and a load of fruit shifts into survival mode—and needs ample water to keep itself healthy. Stick your finger an inch or so into the soil each morning to assess dampness; if there isn’t any, it’s time to water. Keeping soil moist prevents fruit cracking and also helps defeat blossom drop. (Too-dry tomatoes drop flowers sooner than well-watered ones.) In areas with sandy, fast-draining soil, like parts of the Southwest, South Florida, and Coastal South, you may need to water plants daily or even twice a day during the hottest days of summer. No matter where you live, drip irrigation is probably the best, most economical watering option.

Pick fruit early.
When temps consistently hit the 95-degree range, tomatoes tend to stop producing red pigments, which means typically red fruits may instead ripen to orange. When high heat lingers with days above 100°F and nights over 80°F, most tomato ripening stops altogether. Fruit left on plants may have some color on the outside, but may still be green inside. So if a period of intense heat is in the forecast, pick any fruit already showing hints of ripe color and allow it to finish ripening indoors.
Watch for pests and diseases.
In hottest areas of the country, where high temperatures linger for extended periods, keep an especially sharp eye out for tomato pests. Heat-stressed plants can’t fend off attacks as well as they can in milder temperatures, so deal with problems as soon as you spot them. High heat can also cause some tomato diseases to spread more rapidly, so it’s a good idea to remove affected or dying leaves immediately.
Follow these steps and your tomatoes will stay healthy, strong, and ready for a speedy return to growing and producing once the heat breaks.

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How to Prune Tomatoes for a Big Harvest

Try to remove suckers while they’re young and you can pinch them cleanly off.

Article and photos by Julie Martens Forney
Do you like to train your plants and check up on them almost every day? If so, then you may be a natural tomato pruner. Pruning tomato plants is an optional technique that some gardeners use to keep plants tidy, manipulate fruit size, and even speed ripening. There is one big catch: You should only prune indeterminate varieties, which produce new leaves and flowers continuously through the growing season. If you prune determinate varieties, you may reduce the harvest. (Looking for indeterminate varieties to plant? Try our Tomato Chooser.)

Do you know what the different parts of a tomato plant are called?

Pruning works best for plants trained on a strong vertical support, such as a trellis or stake like the one shown in the photo above. That way, it’s easy to both see what you are doing and keep the main stems carefully controlled by tying them to a single support. (Cages, on the other hand, naturally gather all of the limbs and support them without much help from the gardener, so there’s no need to prune — though you certainly can if you’d like.) Either way, the key is to prune enough, but not too much, so that the fruit receives both adequate sugars from the leaves and enough cover from the sun. A word of caution, though: Don’t prune tomatoes when leaves are wet, as doing so can help spread disease.
Here are some reasons to prune tomatoes:
– Improved airflow and less disease. With fewer leaves, pruned plants are less dense, allowing more air to move through the plants. The leaves dry faster after a rain, so they are less susceptible to the diseases that need prolonged moisture to develop — something that can be very helpful in wet climates. Plus, fewer leaves make it easier to spot insect pests that might otherwise be hidden by a thick canopy.
– Bigger fruit. Pruning at the right time directs energy toward creating and ripening fruit instead of making more leaves. Overall, you will probably have fewer fruit on a pruned plant, but it will be bigger. And, since pruned plants can be put a bit closer together in the ground because the growth is so vertical, you’ll have room for additional plants to make up the difference in harvest numbers.
– Earlier ripening. When a plant’s leaves and physiology have fewer fruit to take care of, that fruit ripens faster. This can really help in short season climates, where getting a tomato harvest is often a race against time, thanks to early fall frosts.

You can begin pruning plants any time once they’ve reached 12 to 18 inches in height.

How to Prune Tomatoes
(Indeterminate Varieties Only!)

You’ll want to prune tomatoes throughout the season. Here’s what to do and when:

At Planting

– Remove the lower leaves when planting so you can bury plants deeply into the soil. If you’re planting a Bonnie plant, follow the directions on the wrapper.

To do the Missouri pruning technique on suckers, pinch off the growing tip, leaving only the two lowest leaves.

– Remove any flowers present at planting time (even if they were on there when you bought the plant), so energy goes into leafy growth instead of fruiting at this early stage.

Early/Mid-Season

– Remove flowers until plants are 12 to 18 inches tall, so plants can direct more energy to the roots.
– Remove all leafy suckers beneath the first fruit cluster so they won’t slow the development of the fruit. Suckers are the little shoots that form in the spot (called an axil) where the leaf stem attaches to the main growing stem. In northern regions, many gardeners go further, removing all suckers as they appear. In warmer zones, though, experts often recommend practicing what’s known as Missouri pruning, where you pinch off the leaflets on the end of each sucker, leaving only the two base leaflets in place. As these leaves enlarge, they help shade fruit and protect it from sunscald. Try to remove suckers when they’re small enough to pinch with your fingers, so you don’t leave a gaping wound on the stem. If you do have to cut them, use a sharp knife or pruner blade to make a clean cut as close to the main stem as possible without damaging stem tissue.

“Top” plants for faster late-season ripening by removing growing tips about a month before the first frost.

Late Season

– As the growing season draws to a close, tomato plants are often still loaded with fruit. To speed ripening late in the season, remove the growing tip of each main stem about four weeks before the first expected fall frost. Called “topping,” this type of pruning causes the plant to stop flowering and setting new fruit, and instead directs all sugars to the remaining fruit. This way, the fruit will ripen faster, plus it becomes more likely that the green tomatoes you pick before frost will actually ripen when you bring them indoors. It may be hard to bring yourself to do this, but it will be worth it if you wish for ripe tomatoes! Of course, if you prefer your tomatoes to remain green for use in frying and jelly, you can certainly skip this step.

To help improve airflow and cut down on the chance of disease, remove the leaves along the bottom 12 inches of the stems of indeterminate tomato plants.

What if I already have big plants in the garden?

– Growing and pruning to a vertical stake may be not be an option for this year, but both determinate and indeterminate varieties benefit from removing the lower leaves to keep soil-borne diseases from splashing up onto the foliage. (You may already be seeing leaf spots and blotches on the lower leaves.) Clip away any leaves that are touching the soil and continue pruning up to a foot from the ground. Many tomato diseases, including septoria and early blight, are present in soils, especially in the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic and upper Midwest. As plants get taller, you can continue removing lower leaves up to 18 inches from the ground, to help keep the disease from spreading. Work when the leaves are dry to avoid spreading disease.
– For plants supported by cages, you can remove some leaves from the center of the plant to increase airflow, which can help prevent and/or slow disease outbreaks. Research shows that leaves nearest a fruit cluster are the ones that send sugar to that fruit, so when thinning, do not remove leaves directly above and below the cluster. That way, leaves above can help shade the ripening fruit, while leaves below can send sugars to it.

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Cambodia’s rich rice history

Milled rice is the main staple in the daily lives of Cambodians as well as millions of others in Asia and across the world. Rice has deep roots in Cambodian society, dating back thousands of years.
According to H E Sim Sarak, general director of the Technical Department of the Ministry of Culture and Fine Arts: “Khmer ancestors living along Tonle Sap river have been growing rice dating back to between two to five thousand years BC.”
Sarak’s statement is echoed in 10 Main Rice Crops, a book published in 2011 and written by Agriculture Minister Chan Sarun.
The book states that, regarding the history of unmilled rice, “many researchers agree that the crop originated in South and Southeast Asia about three million years ago. Among these researchers, some speculate that unmilled rice could have originated around the Tonle Sap.”

Wat Ek Phnom in Battambang, home to sandstone inscriptions describing aromatic rice. Moeun Nhean

Sarak said: “In the past, Khmer people enjoyed growing rice by throwing it into flooded areas. Some rice continues to grow within water two to five metres deep.”
Seventy-year-old farmer Mark Moeun, chief of Champei commune in Takeo province’s Bati district, recalled that “during the ancient times, the older generation of people in the village grew long-term, mid-term and short-term rice”.
The long-term, unmilled rice is a crop grown in deep water or in lowland rice fields. “It is grown first, but harvested later,” he added.
Middle-term rice is grown in medium-depth water. Its age is shorter than long-term rice. Short-term rice mostly grows in small fields, which require little water. Short-term rice is grown because the shorter time to maturation means that it can be harvested more quickly.
Moeun said: “There are many types of rice including the long-term crops such as Pka Sla, Neang Sorn, Chang Kong Pluk, middle-term crops such as Pka Khnhei, Chhmar Prum, Tro Nung, White Rice and short-term crops such as Kramoun Sar, San-tus Pluk, A-rith and Kra-chak Chab rice.”
He added that in the current environment, those seeds have been abandoned almost completely. Rural farmers have turned to growing unmilled rice seeds, as instructed by officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing, due to their higher output and higher pricing in the export market.
There is much evidence to suggest that Khmer people, with their unique civilisation, acquired the expertise to plant rice in ancient times. These skills continued to develop until peaking during the Angkor Era between the ninth and the 13th centuries.

Ancient inscriptions on the art of rice cultivation. Moeun Nhean

A Chinese diplomat, Chiv Ta Guan, who visited the Great Angkor City of Cambodia during the 13th century (1296-1297), wrote a book entitled The Customs of Cambodia. In it, he states that in and around Angkor City are many big reservoirs including,
West Baray, linked by large and small tributaries. Green rice fields mixed with golden rice fields were harvested by Angkorians three times a year.
Besides the Ta Guan notes, there are many manuscripts depicting rice, unmilled rice and rice fields. The manuscripts also show the King and his citizens giving gifts to each other as well as organising concessions across the farming community during his reign. Manuscripts at the Phimean Akas Temple, Ta Prohm and Preah Khan Temples describe works of King Jayavarman VII between 1181-1221 BC.
Those manuscripts say that in the reign of King Jayavarman VII, the King built 102 illness-curing centres (what we would today call hospitals) across Cambodia. The King equipped each centre with facilities, equipment and more, including medicines.
Many hab (an ancient Khmer unit of weight equal to 60 kilograms) of rice and unmilled rice was regularly supplied to hospital staff and patients. Quite possibly, during that time, the King dispensed thousands of tons of rice, both milled and unmilled, each year.

A government official examines rice at an agricultural exhibition. Moeun Nhean

One must note that the King governed and developed the land in a progressive manner relevant to the agricultural sector. Rice production in particular progressed to its peak stemming from the development of irrigation systems. They controlled the natural water through tributaries, creeks, rivers and especially the Baray reservoirs powered by irrigation systems throughout the country.
Just around the Angkorian capital city, there are huge reservoirs including the West Reservoir. It is two kilometres wide, seven kilometres long and four to six metres deep.
Jaya Tadak Reservoir on the eastern side of Angkor, similar to the West Reservoir and Intra Tadak Reservoir, is located to the north of Preah Kor temple (southeast of Angkor).

Additionally, far from the Angkor area, there are many more reservoirs, namely the Ang Trapaing Thmor reservoir in Banteay Meanchey province, Rorharl Reservoir around Koh Ke Temple in Preah Vihear province, Tonle Om reservoir in Kampong Cham province, Tonle Om reservoir at Chi Sor Mountain Temple in Takeo province and the Ang Kampingpouy reservoir in Battambang. Evidence surrounding these reservoirs suggests that there were many rice fields planted by the Cambodian people. In some areas they performed two to three harvests every year. The practice was handed down by Khmer ancestors from ancient times. Successive generations have kept these methods of rice cultivation alive by adopting wholeheartedly them.

Rumduol rice from Takeo province. Moeun Nhean

Khmers have known how to produce quality rice for thousands of years.
The following information comes from manuscripts dating back to the early 11th century AD. They were discovered in the Ek Phnom Temple in Battambang province and are currently kept in the Ekime Museum in Paris.
One inscription says that “there is a local woman, living in Ta Kream district, who took jewellery, white rice and quality rice with a good smell, to give to the King’s teacher, named Yokesvara. It was given as a gift for devotion to Shiva Linga and all the other Gods over there.”
This is evidence demonstrating Khmer people in Battambang province have ancient knowledge about how to grow unmilled rice and produce high-quality milled rice with a rich, full colour and smell. For thousands of years prior to the existence of other nations in the region, the Khmer have been growing and cultivating rice.
In accordance with the history of the Norkor Phnom, between the first and fourth centuries BC, they learned that the Khmer practised intensive agriculture dating back to that time. According to Chinese traders who travelled by boat to Norkor Phnom in the same time period, these residents (Funan residents) cultivated rice once but harvested it three times per year.

Rumduol rice cooked up and ready to dig in to. Moeun Nhean

The first harvest was done by cutting transplanted or thrown rice. The second, harvested from sa-srov (rice growing from the bottom part of the rice tree which can then grow again). The third, harvested from moure srov (the rice crop falling over the land and growing up from first rainfall giving rise to rice). Srov in Khmer means rice.

Today, some people in different areas of Takeo still adhere to tradition cultivating practices: planting rice once per year and harvesting it three times. Whether this technique is followed depends on the geographical locations of the rice fields and the availability of good, natural fertilisers and extra space. The practice is followed by three methods.
First, farmers crop or transplant the harvest for the first time.
Second, the farmers reserve rice for the second cultivation.
Third, the farmers preserve the land until rainfall at the beginning of the year.
The unmilled rice falling to the ground during cultivation can grow again, getting it the name moure srov and becoming ripe as farmers harvest it – the third time.

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Historical Timeline — Farm Machinery & Technology | បច្ចេកវិទ្យាកែឆ្នៃ ជាមួយ និងវិស័យកសិកម្ម

17th-18th Centuries

18th century
Oxen and horses for power, crude wooden plows, all sowing by hand, cultivating by hoe, hay and grain cutting with sickle, and threshing with flail
1790s
Cradle and scythe introduced; invention of cotton gin (1793); Thomas Jefferson's plow with moldboard of least resistance tested (1794)
1793
Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, which contributes to the success of cotton as a Southern cash crop
1797
Charles Newbold patents first cast-iron plow

1800

1801
Thomas Moore of Maryland invents the icebox refrigerator
1819
Jethro Wood patents iron plow with interchangeable parts
1819-25
U.S. food canning industry established

1820

1830
About 250-300 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with walking plow, brush harrow, hand broadcast of seed, sickle, and flail
1834
McCormick reaper patented; John Lane manufactures plows faced with steel saw blades
1837
John Deere and Leonard Andrus begin manufacturing steel plows; practical threshing machine patented

1840

1840s
Factory-made agricultural machinery increases farmers' need for cash and encourages commercial farming
1841
Practical grain drill patented
1842
First grain elevator, Buffalo, NY
1843
Sir John Lawes founded the commercial fertilizer industry by developing a process for making superphosphate
1844
Practical mowing machine patented
1847
Irrigation begun in Utah
1849
Mixed chemical fertilizers sold commercially
1850
About 75-90 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 ½ acres) of corn with walking plow, harrow, and hand planting
1850-70
Expanded market for agricultural products spurs adoption of improved technology resulting increases in farm production
1854
Self-governing windmill perfected
1856
Two-horse straddle-row cultivator patented
1858
Mason jars, used for home canning, were invented

1860

1862-75
Change from hand power to horses characterizes the first American agricultural revolution
1865-75
Gang plows and sulky plows come into use
1868
Steam tractors are tried out
1869
Spring-tooth harrow for seedbed preparation appears
1870s
Silos and deep-well drilling come into use
1874
Glidden barbed wire patented; fencing of rangeland ends era of unrestricted, open-range grazing

1880

1880
William Deering puts 3,000 twine binders on the market
1881
Hybridized corn produced
1884-90
Horse-drawn combine used in Pacific coast wheat areas
1888
The first long haul shipment of a refrigerated freight car was made from California to New York
1890-95
Cream separators come into wide use
1890-99
Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer; 1,845,900 tons
1890s
Agriculture becomes increasingly mechanized and commercialized
1890
40-50 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with gang plow, seeder, harrow, binder, thresher, wagons, and horses; 35-40 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 1/2 acres) of corn with 2-bottom gang plow, disk and peg-tooth harrow, and 2-row planter
1892
The first gasoline tractor was built by John Froelich

1900

1900-09
Average annual consumption of commercial fertilizer 3,738,300 tons
1900-10
George Washington Carver of Tuskegee Institute finds new uses for peanuts, sweet potatoes, and soybeans, helping to diversify southern agriculture
1905
The first business devoted exclusively to making tractors is established

1910

1910-19
Commercial fertilizer use: 6,116,700 tons/year
1910-15
Big open-geared gas tractors introduced in areas of extensive farming
1915-20
Enclosed gears developed for tractor
1918
Small prairie-type combine with auxiliary engine introduced

1920

1920-29
Commercial fertilizer use: 6,845,800 tons/year
1920-40
Farm production gradually grows from expanded use of mechanized power
1926
Cotton-stripper developed for High Plains; successful light tractors developed
1928
Otto Rohwedder introduced his bread-slicing machine

1930

1930-39
Commercial fertilizer use: 6,599,913 tons/year
1930s
All-purpose, rubber-tired tractor with complementary machinery popularized
1930
One farmer supplies, on average, 9.8 in the United States and abroad; 15-20 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 1/2 acres) of corn with 2-bottom gang plow, 7-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, 2-row planters, cultivators, and pickers; 15-20 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (5 acres) of wheat with 3-bottom gang plow, tractor, 10-foot tandem disk, harrow, 12-foot combine, and trucks

1940

1940-49
Commercial fertilizer use: 13,590,466 tons/year
1940
One farmer supplies 10.7 persons (est.)
1941-45
Frozen foods popularized
1942
Spindle cottonpicker produced commercially
1945-70
Change from horses to tractors and increasing technological practices characterize the second American agricultural revolution; productivity per acre begins sharp rise
1945
10-14 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (2 acres) of corn with tractor, 3-bottom plow, 10-foot tandem disk, 4-section harrow, 4-row planters and cultivators, and 2-row picker; 42 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (2/5 acre) of lint cotton with 2 mules, 1-row plow, 1-row cultivator, hand hoe, and hand pick

1950

1950-59
Commercial fertilizer use: 22,340,666 tons/year
1950
One farmer supplies 15.5 persons (est.)
1951
Organic chemicals called chelates are found to help protect plants against certain metal deficiencies
1954
Number of tractors on farms exceeds the number horses and mules for the first time
1955
6 1/2 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (4 acres) of wheat with tractor, 10- foot plow, 12-foot row weeder, harrow, 14-foot drill, self-propelled combine and trucks.
Late 1950s
Anhydrous ammonia increasingly used as cheap source of nitrogen, boosting yields
1959
Mechanical tomato harvester developed

1960

1960-69
Commercial fertilizer use: 32,373,713 tons/year
1960
One farmer supplies 25.8 persons (est.)
1965
5 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 2-row stalk cutter, 14-foot disk, 4-row bedder, planter, cultivator, and 2-row harvester
5 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 12- foot plow, 14-foot drill, 14-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks; 99% of sugar beets harvested mechanically; Federal loans and grants for water/sewer systems
1968
96% of cotton harvested mechanically

1970

1970-79
Commercial fertilizer use: 43,643,700 tons/year
1970s
No-tillage agriculture popularized
1970
One farmer supplies 47.7 persons (est.)
1975
2-3 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 2-row stalk cutter, 20-foot disk, 4-row bedder and planter, 4-row cultivator with herbicide applicator, and 2-row harvester
3-3/4 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 30-foot sweep disk, 27-foot drill, 22-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks; 3-1/3 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (1 1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-foot tandem disk, planter, 20-foot herbicide applicator, 12-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks

1980

1980-89
Commercial fertilizer use: 47,411,166 tons/year
1980s
More farmers use no-till or low-till methods to curb erosion
1980
One farmer supplies 75.7 persons (est.)
1987
1-1/2 to 2 labor-hours required to produce 100 pounds (1/5 acre) of lint cotton with tractor, 4-row stalk cutter, 20-foot disk, 6-row bedder and planter, 6-row cultivator with herbicide applicator, and 4-row harvester
3 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (3 acres) of wheat with tractor, 35-foot sweep disk, 30-foot drill, 25-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks; 2-3/4 labor-hours required to produce 100 bushels (1 1/8 acres) of corn with tractor, 5-bottom plow, 20-foot tandem disk, planter, 20-foot herbicide applicator, 12-foot self-propelled combine, and trucks
1989
After several slow years, the sale of farm equipment rebounds; more farmers begin to use low-input sustainable agriculture (LISA) techniques to reduce chemical applications

1990-2000

1990
One farmer supplies 100 persons (est.)
1990s
Information technology and precision techniques increasingly used in agriculture
1994
Farmers begin using satellite technology to track and plan their farming practices. The user of conservation tillage methods, which leave crop residues in the field to combat erosion, continues to rise. FDA grants first approval for a whole food produced through biotechnology, the FLAVRSAVR™ tomato. Farm Bureau celebrates its 75th anniversary. U.S. Congress approves General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), helping liberalize world trade
1997
The first weed and insect—resistant biotech crops-soybeans and cotton—are available commercially.

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