24 January 2019, Kuala Lumpur
To enhance staff's understanding of agricultural knowledge and development, Mr Wee Yong Geap, Chief Farm Director of Eco Starland Group had prepared a 3-day agriculture mini-workshop. Mr Wee provided a guide to the use of soil testing and soil management. It was a fun and interesting process, which made the participants feel like going back to the campus and do experiments again.
First of all, Mr Wee let the group understand the nature of the soil, including the composition of the soil structure, texture, the right way to cultivate the soil and so on. Moving on to soil testing, which is the focus of this class, Mr Wee pointed out that soil ph is important because the amount of plant nutrients that can be absorbed is affected by ph, for instance, the most appropriate ph of durian is in the range of 5-6g/m2. He also said lime and sulfur can be added to the soil to increase or decrease the acidity and alkalinity of the soil, respectively.
Before planting, nitrogen content (N) should be tested first, because nitrogen in the soil is nitrate (NO3-), and the roots of plants absorb NO3- as they grow, so the nitrogen concentration of soil will affect the judgment of applying fertilizer. It was also mentioned in the process that suitable materials for composting are those with high carbon content, including crop wastes, paper and straw. Materials with high nitrogen content, such as vegetables, fruit waste, weeds, flowers, etc., can be composted.
Mr Wee stressed that there is no big issue for durian planting in the first three years. It is just mainly against the invasion of pests and diseases and to let the seedlings grow. He said if grasshoppers invade, a pesticide can be used in moderation. There are also ways to treat leaf slime disease or caterpillars which can affect plant growth by absorbing nutrients from the leaves.
Mr Wee said that there are 134 kinds of durian diseases, the most threatening ones are root rot disease and canker disease, which could lead to poor leaves and outflow of black juice from trees. He said there is no one-size-fits-all solution to root rot disease, we just have to find the best solution by ourselves.
In order to get the staff to learn while doing the work, Mr Wee used the soil from the garden and found that the soil that's sampled in the area is very different in the 315 acres EcoFarm. It is clear to know that whether the lands are rich or lack of certain nutrients via scientific experiments, and this knowledge is very important to farmers.
Mr Wee also shared his notebook which includes his 30 years of professional experience. Not only that it could improve our agricultural knowledge but also letting us know that agriculture is an advanced knowledge.
2019年1月24日-吉隆坡讯。
为了提高工作人员对农业知识和发展的了解，易盛集团农场总监黄勇业特别准备为期3天的农业迷你工作坊，提出对土壤检测的使用方法及土壤管理的袖珍指南。过程有趣好玩，让参与人员仿佛回到校园听课做实验，而黄勇业则变身为黄老师。
首先，黄老师让大家了解土壤的性质，包括土壤的组成结构、质地、栽培土壤的正确方式等。接着进入这堂课的重点—土壤测试，黄老师指出土壤的酸碱度很重要，因为植物养分的可吸取量会受酸碱度影响，例如榴梿最适当的酸碱度在5-6g/m2的范围。他也提到可以加入农用石灰及硫分别来提高和降低土壤酸碱度。
在种植前，需要先测试氮含量（N），因为氮在泥土的形态是硝酸盐（NO3-），植物的根在生长时吸收NO3-，因此土壤的氮浓度会影响对施用肥料的判断。过程中也提到适合堆肥使用的材料是含高碳量的材料，包括农作物的废弃物、纸、稻草等。高氮含量的物料，例如蔬菜、水果废弃物、杂草、花朵等，除了生食，都可以制作成堆肥。
黄勇业强调，榴梿树种植在开始的前三年，其实问题不大，主要是对抗病虫害侵袭，细心呵护种苗茁壮成长。他提到如果蚱蜢侵袭，可以适量使用好年冬。如果粘叶病或移毛虫吸收叶片养分，影响植物生长，也有方法可以针对情况做处理。
黄老师说榴梿病害多达134种，最具威胁性的要属腐根病和溃疡病，分别会导致叶子不茂盛及树身流出黑色汁液。他表示对付腐根病没有万能药，不是一种药就能解决的问题，必须亲力亲为去找出最妥善的解决方法。
为了让工作人员边学边做，黄老师使用从易盛园采集到的泥土进行检测，发现腹地占315英亩的易盛园，在范围内采样的土壤的矿物质含量都不尽相同。从所教导的科学实验，则可以清楚了解每一块土地富含和缺少的物质，对农务栽种来说，十分重要。
黄勇业也无私的拿出自己编撰的榴梿园主笔记，完整表述他将近30几年的专业经验。不只增进大家的农业知识，更是让我们了解到，种植绝对是一门高深的学问。