Agriculture Business Week

“Weed” is a harsh and very condemning term that we can coin for a plant whose economic importance and value is yet to be discovered. Weed is a plant that is unwanted at a particular space and time. Such unwantedness can be traced by generalizing that it can do more harm than good under such particular condition.

These are some of the possible damages weeds can do in ricefields.
1. It reduces yield due to competition with crops for light, water, and nutrients.
2. It reduces quality of produce through adulteration.
3. It blocks irrigation and drainage-canals.
4. It interferes with cultural practices.

5. It makes harvesting difficult.
6. It harbors insect pest and pathogens that attack the rice.

In comparison with other pests, weeds do not show visible damage to rice and because of this farmers do not recognize the yield reducing effect of weeds. Some farmers often neglect their presence, and will only remove when weeds have already grown vigorously and have already produced seeds. On the other hand, some farmers are so meticulously concerned to achieve a weed-free field in the whole cropping season. Both situations are an example of improper weed management. Removal of weeds after completing their life cycle is already too late because the weeds have already established themselves in the ricefield. Maintaining absolutely weed-free fields is too costly and time and labor consuming. Both approaches will reduce – farmer’s productivity either by reduced yields or by unnecessary channeling of resources to weed control. Weeds should only be controlled only when they pose significant yield reduction.

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One simple technique that could add more weight to our corn harvest is to air-dry the husked ears rather than drying the kernels in the sun.

This is what Virginia de Guzman has found in her own experiment. De Guzman is the provincial agriculturist of Salvador town in Lanao del Norte. At the recent agri-fair in conjunction with the 50th anniversary celebration of Lanao del Norte, she showcased her technology.

In her experiment, she has found that grains of air-dried husked corn ears are heavier by three percent than the kernels dried in the sun to about 14 percent moisture content. Besides being heavier, she said that the air-dried corn grains have a longer storage life.

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Normally, mango trees will bear fruit only once a year. But one fellow who grows mangoes in Libungan, North Cotabato, can make two harvests from the same mango trees twice a year. And both harvests are considered off-season so he gets a very good price for his two crops

The fellow is Francisco “Frank” Sacdalan, a retired accountant whose passion these days is farming, particularly mango production. He operates four mango farms with a total area of more than 40 hectares, two of which he owns while two others are leased. Many of the trees are 16 to 20 years old but there are 63 trees that are at least 50 years old. These old trees are really big and very productive because they are adequately fertilized and judiciously pruned.

At the recent National Mango Congress in Tagbilaran City, he detailed how he produced two off-season mango crops in 2007 from the same trees. He revealed that although he had owned the two farms for many years, it was only starting four years ago that he took over the management of the trees. In previous years, a contractor took charge of production under a sharing scheme of the harvests.

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It is planting time once again for many corn farmers. Coming up is the wet season cropping, probably the more challenging season of the year. Along with the wet season comes a litany of issues and problems which our corn farmers will encounter, from pest and disease right after seedling emergence to harvesting(when you don’t need the rains anymore). But don’t get me wrong, I am not discouraging you from planting yellow corn at this time of the year. Let’s face it, the coming months will surely be a tough season but a good and wise farmer would know ho to deal

FIVE THINGS TO REMEMBER
Whenever new or soon-to-be corn farmers ask me about tips in growing corn, I always go back to what my mentors taught me. The following are
the five key technologies one should remember in pursuit of better profitability in corn:

1. Seed selection – choose the best adapted hybrid for your area and your needs.

2. Plant population – ensure proper planting distance; each hybrid you choose has specific recommended planting distance or seeding rate.

3. Balanced fertilization – follow the recommended fertilization rate for your field; even better would be soil analysis for your field.

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Unmanaged water supply in the farm can aggravate golden apple snail infestation. According to the book “Global Advances in Ecology and Management of Golden Apple Snail”, continuous source of water enhances snail growth and development, which results in rapid growth, reproduction, and dispersion of snails.

Hence, Mario dela Cruz of the Technology Management and Services Division of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) strongly emphasizes the importance of having a well-leveled field for this facilitates water management, which plays a big role in controlling movements and feeding activities of the snails.

He also recommends maintaining a shallow water depth of 1 cm-2 cm from transplanting because golden apple snail, locally known as golden kuhol, can move only when the depth of water is half or more of its shell height.
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Here are some of the helpful tips in planting hybrid rice :

Seed and Seedbed preparation
For every 2 kg of seeds, prepare 40 m2 seedbed. Each bed must be about 1m wide, of any length, and raised to a height of 4 to 5 cm. Soak the seeds for about 12 to 24 hours in clean water until these have swelled. Some seeds will float. Do not remove them. Change the water every 5 to 6 hours. Then drain the water and incubate them for 24 to 36 hours until a white dot comes out from the seeds. After preparing the seedbed, apply 1 to 1.5 bags of organic materials for every 40 m2 seedbed. Once the seedbed is prepared, sow 20 kg of pre-germinated hybrid seeds at a rate of 50g for every square meter.

Transplanting
This method only requires 20 kg of hybrid rice seeds per hectare. Transplant 21 to 25 day-old seedlings at 1 to 2 seedings/hill. Plant at a distance of 20 cm x 20 cm during wet season. Replant missing hills within 7 days after transplanting.
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Why settle with your current farm income when there are means to earn more?

Farmers should always keep this in mind like farmers Romeo Mendoza Jr. and Jose Velasquez of San Ildefonso, Bulacan. They have always been receptive to new farming technologies, and have ventured to other agribusiness to increase their income. Now, they have over a hundred sacks of rice, baskets of vegetables, and buckets of fish to sell.

A man open to new ideas, Mendoza, an official of Barangay Pinaud, initiates the conduct of seminars with the help of extension workers to update himself and his fellow farmers on new farming methods.

In one of the seminars he attended, he learned that the use of certified seeds of a recommended variety is the first key in increasing yield. Hence, he travels to the Science City of Munoz Nueva Ecija to buy certified seeds from the seed centers along the road.

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One of the things I noticed and appreciate with our corn farmers nowadays is their increasing knowledge on kaibigang kulisap or friendly insects. This group of good insects performs valued services for farmers like pollination and pest control. As we all know, some plants need the help of insects for pollination to take place (termed entomophily). These insects include the bees, wasps, and butterflies. Some insects are natural enemies of borers, armyworms, and other Lepidopteran pests. These good insects include the earwigs, Trichogramma, parasitic wasps, mantis, and lady beetles. Spiders, although technically not an insect, are also a friendly inhabitant of the cornfield.

A very good number of our farmers can list down all these kaibigang kulisap with ease. Thanks to our government’s active promotion of integrated pest management (IPM) through farmers’ field schools and season-long trainings. I think this program has been going on for several years now and has been conducted among important corn and rice growing areas of the country. I got the chance of interacting with many farmers in Central Luzon for several years and it’s nice to know that their acquired knowledge is put to use and reaping good results, economically and ecologically. Consequently, their farmer neighbors learn from them and follow them.

This month, let’s discuss the roles-other than pollination – of some of these beneficial insects and how farmers can maintain a good level of their population in the cornfields.

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Harvest as much as 12 tons per hectare (t/ha) this dry season with hybrid rice.

It’s the best time to grow hybrid rice due to longer sunshine hours. Drier condition also reduces the occurrence of bacterial leaf blight (BLB) disease, and this is favorable to some hybrid varieties with relatively weaker resistance to BLB. So this period, farmers can realize a much higher yield with hybrid rice than with inbred rice varieties, which yield 4t/ha only.

Hybrid rice is grown like the way inbred varieties are grown, but hybrid rice requires greater attention in seed and seedling management. This is because a lower amount of hybrid seeds is recommended per hectare. A lower number of hybrid seedlings is also recommended due to the high production cost of hybrid rice.
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Agriculture, mainly rice with a relatively large corn crop, is the biggest industry in Isabela. Farming is highly mechanized as most of the agrocultural lands are irrigated. With the presence of the Isabela State University, joint ventures, other foreign assisted projects, and the Magat Dam agriculture has a high level of productivity. It is also the hub of trade, commerce and other economic activities due to its central location in the region. The wood industry used to be a top earner for the province but due to the logging ban imposed in the Cagayan Valley Region, activities in this industry have considerably declined. However, furniture making using narra and other indigenous forest materials continues. Some potential investments are in fisheries and tourism. Isabela has a fertile fishing ground on the pacific coast. The reservoir of the Magat Dam is utilized for fish cage operations, such as tilapia production for domestic markets.

Commodity Profile
Grains/Cereals
• Rice
• Yellow Corn
• White Corn

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The Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension (BPRE) advises farmers to prevent the deterioration of perishable crops like fruits and vegetables. The products must be of good quality even before harvest. This is because production practices have a tremendous effect on crop quality. This quality must be maintained through appropriate postharvest handling as they reach the consumers.

BPRE specialists tell us that recommended postharvest handling technologies and practices can no longer cure prior damage and injury suffered by the harvest. Farmers must understand that respiration, loss of moisture, and microbial growth induce quality deterioration of perishable crops. Thus, these must be minimized to attain optimum shelf life of fruits and vegetables.

During respiration, sugars, fats, proteins and other food reserves in the product are converted into metabolic energy needed to keep plant tissues alive and functioning. Since respiration uses oxygen and produces carbon dioxide and water vapor, the respiration rate of a product determines its transit and postharvest life. The higher the rate of respiration, the faster the product losses moisture, and the faster it deteriorates.

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Farmers and ricemillers can save at least P5,900 every time they use their batch recirculating dryers by retrofitting it with rice hull-fired furnace.

This was demonstrated in a study conducted by BPRE agricultural engineers led by Engr. Edgar D. Flores. Other collaborators in the study were engineers Nestor T. Asuncion, Wryan Quiet Z. Viloria, Robelyn E. Daquila, Romualdo C. Martinez, and Ruben E. Manalabe.

Batch recirculating dryers were originally designed to use kerosene as a source of heat for drying. However, their utilization has become minimal as a result of spiraling prices of fossil fuel like kerosene.

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Rat infestation is the major problem in ricefields in Llanera, Nueva Ecija. And one farmer here has successfully controlled these as well as other pests by adopting improved farm practices of the Philippine Rice Research Institute(PhilRice).

He is Macario Bautista. Two decades ago, this 47-year-old PhilRice farmer leader had almost lost all his potential harvests from his 25-hectare farm due to rat infestation. This incidence taught him the importance of a clean farm. So since then, he thoroughly cleans the field residues where his crops would grow.

During land preparation, a stage when rats start to thrive in the field because of the transplanting season, Macario makes and places a bamboo trap filled with ricebran (darak) treated with zinc phosphide on top of the dike(pilapio). The barrier helps control the initial infestation at this crucial stage of the rice crop.

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There’s more to sharing than success, for triumph wouldn’t be fully realized if it’s not shared.

One of those who believe in this is Francisco “Frank” Sacdalan of Midsayap, North Cotabato. He has been very successful in off-season mango production. And now he wants to help his fellow mango farmers increase yield by sharing to them his farming methods.

This 74-year-old retired CPA from Midsayap, North Cotabato who was first featured in this magazine last July agreed with the Department of Agriculture 12Central Mindanao Integrated Agricultural Research Center (DA-CEMIARC) to document his off season mango production. And for almost five months, from flower induction to harvest, the CEMIARC team documented his cultural methods and management practices.

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