Now for something corny

Tue, Jun 01, 2010 at 09:05:53 AM

By Jennifer Possley

Today I am blogging about corn. Corn is a big industry around Yachang Orchid Preserve. In our hikes to and from field sites, we spend at least half the time walking through corn fields. Corn is a cash crop in Leye County, thus it is the main source of income for many families. The interface between farmland and orchid preserve is not always clear; corn fields have a tendency to creep inwards from the preserve edge. Identifying those responsible for deforestation can be challenging, so preserve rangers concentrate their efforts on maintaining amicable relations with corn farmers and discouraging deforestation through education.

Biologists contemplate a recently girdled tree adjacent to a corn field.

Bottles of the herbicide Atrazine are scattered through many corn fields. Atrazine is banned in some countries because it causes mortality in many different types of animals, especially amphibians.

A farmer applies herbicide or insecticide to corn. Yes, that really is corn, growing on the side of a mountain!

Worn out biologists head home through fields of corn.

1 comment - Add a comment

Nice photos and an interesting nice article. Especially since the article related to the local people and economy.

A tip of the fez to the author !

posted by anonymous, Tue, Jun 1, 2010 at 8:45 PM