Kerala monkey doubles up as a shepherd

Pallakad (Kerala): Compare him to the goats and he may look small, but Mani the monkey, shepherds nearly 100 goats in Nelliyampathy, Palakkad. The goat's ear is how he controls them. He makes the goats turn right or left by tugging gently at their ear. And he attacks anyone who ventures near the goats.

Manager Greenland Farmhouse, P J Martin says, "I got this monkey three years ago, bleeding all over. I applied medicine and left it with the goats. Afterwards he was always with the goats. He does all works as a man does it."

Three-year-old Mani effortlessly shepherds the goats through the coffee plantations. He even eats his food sitting on top of a goat. The tourists who visit the farmhouse watch Mani with awe.

A tourist, S Snehalatha says, "We came here on a holiday and heard about this monkey that is a shepherd. We have been watching him for the past few minutes and he seems to do his job better than a man would."

And you're in trouble if Mani catches you watching the goats. But then again, he's got a job to do.

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Toxic jatropha not magic biofuel crop, experts warn

(Reuters) - Oilseed plant jatropha does not offer an easy answer to biofuels problems as some countries hope, because it can be toxic and yields are unreliable, experts and industry officials warned on Wednesday.

The woody plant can grow on barren, marginal land, and so is increasingly popular in countries such as China that are keen to boost biofuels output but nervous about food security.

But its nuts and leaves are toxic, requiring careful handling by farmers and at crushing plants, said experts at an oils and fats conference.

In addition, it is a labour-intensive crop as each fruit ripens at a different time and needs to be harvested separately. Its productivity is also low and has yet to be stabilised.

M. R. Chandran, adviser to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil, told Reuters it would take five years of intensive research before jatropha could achieve productivity that would make its cultivation economically viable. The oil yield of the plant, originating in Africa and still largely a wild species, is less than 2 tonnes per hectare with large swings from year to year.

An engineer specialising in oil and fat processing plants, including for biodiesel production, said special facilities were needed for crushing jatropha nuts as they could produce a toxic vapour.

The engineer, who declined to be named, said his company hoped to seal a deal with a private investor to build one of the world's first large-scale jatropha-based biodiesel plants in China's southern province of Yunnan before the end of this year.

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Vegetable Market

A typical vegetable market in somewhere Pakistan. 

Growing lychee trees under datepalm in Khairpur

The predominant fruit crop of Khairpur district in upper Sindh is date-palm. According to a conservative estimate, around 100,000 acre of district land is under date-palm cultivation. Recently, a new trend, of growing different crops and fruit trees under the canopy of date-palm, has been observed, and the reason behind these inter-croppings gaining popularity is lucrative returns.

Climatically, Khairpur district is sub-arid to arid. Its eastern part is comprised of vast Nara desert. The western part of the district is irrigated by three irrigation canals which take off from Sukkur barrage. After the devastation of banana plantation following the spread of banana bunchy top disease (BBTD) growing banana under date-palm is no more considered cost-effective. Instead mango plantation with date-palm is quite common in spite of the fact that mango trees under the canopy of date-palm are vulnerable to many diseases and pests especially malformation and mildews.

However, a prudent grower of Khairpur after losing his banana plantation under date-palm orchard following the BBTD attack attempted cultivation of lychee fruit trees under the canopy of about 30-year-old date-palms. About 40 grafted lychee plants were planted between the date-palm trees which were 30 feet apart. The growth of the plants was very slow.

According to this grower, being unaware of its requirement of irrigation and fertilizer, no special care was taken even of plant protection. As a matter of fact, irrigation and fertilizer applied to date-palm were also meant for the very lychee plants. But to his surprise, the lychee plants gave fruit this year after attaining four years of age. With the present rate of growth, it appears that after 10 years these plants may assume the shape of trees.