Refrain from burning rice straws! Doing this frequently can affect soil nutrients and make farmlands unproductive.

This practice during the harvest season reduces the soil’s nitrogen and phosphorus content by 25 percent. It likewise burns beneficial insects that kills the harmful ones which destroy the palay resulting in low production. Burning rice straws also produces carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and sulphur dioxide which causes air pollution.

Instead of burning them, rice straws can be utilized for other agricultural practices. Farmers can use rice straws as organic fertilizer. When scattered in the field during land preparation, nutrients and moisture in the soil are maintained. These can also be used as mulch to protect the roots of the plants from heat and cold, preventing weeds from growing in the paddy.

Also, rice straws can be used as a primary material for mushroom production and fodder for buffalo and cattle production. (Philippine Rice Research Institute)

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