Agriculture Business Week

Hybrid seeds are really much more productive than ordinary open pollinated seeds, and they are naturally much more profitable.

Just like the new hybrid ampalaya called Bonito released a couple of years ago by the East-West Seed Company. Bonito was developed especially for “pinakbet” although it could be prepared for other vegetable dishes. It is a cross between the Ilocano variety with small fruits and the variety with long fruits. The resulting fruits are about four inches long, which is just about an inch longer than the native variety.

The Bonito is thus intended largely for planting in Northern Luzon where pinakbet is a favorite dish. These Include the two Ilocos provinces down to La Union, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Nueva Ecija and the provinces in Cagayan Valley.

Those who have tried planting Bonito swear that it is really a money-maker. One of them is Alex Alcantara of Rizal, Nueva Ecija. He first planted this hybrid in August last year on a 4,000square meter land which turned out to be his most profitable crop. Bonito is hardy so that it could be planted even during the rainy season using a trellis. It is early maturing and is very productive for a long period. Alcantara said that he made his first harvest from Bonito in just 46 days from planting the seeds. From that 4,000 square meters he harvested as many as 300 hundred kilos every other day, which he sold most of them at P40 a kilo. That meant a gross income of P 12,000 every other day. He said that Bonito fetched a higher price than the traditional ampalaya with long fruits. Bonito has a long productive life. Alex harvested from his plants for more than four months. He observes that Bonito is resistant to pests and diseases. He has not encountered the disease called “namamarako” which has afflicted other varieties. Fruitfly is not also a problem with Bonito fruits. The fruits are of uniform shape and with desirable green color.

Of course, he uses modern techniques such as the use of plastic mulch to keep down the weeds and to moderate the entry of rain water at the root zone during the wet months. He also fertilizes his plants adequately with manure and chemical fertilizer.