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SYNTHESIS, EVALUATION AND PROMOTION OF EVAPORATION SUPPRESSANTS FOR RESERVOIRS (INCLUDING RICE FIELDS AND FISHPONDS) |
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Insufficiency of irrigation water has been a recurring problem in Philippine farms. This is ironic because the country has a high average annual rainfall of 2,000mm/yr. If only a fraction of the water we have and are receiving is conserved, then such difficulties will not be encountered. Unfortunately, we do not effectively conserve water. There is rampant misuse of the resource, and heavy losses are incurred from seepage, evaporation, and plant transpiration. In rice production alone, evaporation accounts for 2,850 to 3,780 cu.m. of water loss per hectare per season. In reservoirs, evaporation rates peak at 665,280 liters/1000sq.m. per month during the dry season. With the intense heat of El Niņo, the more we are pressured to act on the matter. A promising solution addressing this concern is the use of monolayers/evaporation suppressants in rice fields and reservoirs. The material spreads like oil over the water surface, reducing evaporation but allowing oxygen exchange. It is presently being produced and used abroad, at an inhibiting price. The project was able to produce the material from local oil crops and animal fats, tested the suppressant and conducted initial promotion campaign. |
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