Agriculture Business Week

Isn’t it more enjoyable to eat rambutan fruits when these are seedless? Yes, just like grapes, rambutan fruits can also be produced sans the seeds, a technology which is now being pioneered by the Aklan State University (ASU) in Banga, Aklan.

Dr. Marilyn Romaquin, dean of ASU College of Agriculture, Forestry and Environmental Sciences, accidentally came up with “seedless” rambutan that is sweet and has thicker aril or flesh by spraying them with gibberellic acid (GA3), a plant growth regulator or hormone.

“My discovery occurred in September 2003 while evaluating the effect of gibberellic acid on the yield and quality of rambutan (Nephelium lappaceum Linn.) fruits at harvest for my dissertation,” says Romaquin. That time, she was about to finish a doctorate degree in crop science, major in horticulture, from Central Luzon State University (CLSU) in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija.

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One interesting citrus that you’d want to grow in your garden as well as in your farm is Valencia orange whose fruits and leaves are both variegated green and yellow. The fruits weigh 150 to 200 grams each. They are very juicy and sweet.

Like most other citrus plants, this variegated orange is very easy to grow. Grow it in full sun. It can be grown in the ground as well as in containers. A container equivalent to the regular half drum will be good enough for growing this fruit tree. Provide a rich growing medium consisting of topsoil, organic fertilizer and rice hull (carbonized rice hull would be very good).

Aphids usually infest this tree but that is very easy to control with most insecticides. With clean culture, that’s not often a problem.

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Citrus originates in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world. The fruits are notable for their fragrance, partly due to flavanoids and limonoids contained in the rind, and most are juice-laden. The juice contains a high quantity of citric acid, giving them their characteristic sharp flavor. They are also good sources of vitamin C.

Lemons and limes are also used as garnishes or in cooked dishes. Their juice is used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes; it is commonly found in salad dressings and squeezed over cooked meat or vegetables.

The fruit pulp can vary from sweet and tart to extremely sour. Marmalade, a condiment derived from cooked orange and lemon, can be especially bitter but is usually sweetened to cut the bitterness and to produce a jam-like result. Lemon or lime is commonly used as a garnish for water, soft drinks, or cocktails. Citrus juices, rinds, or slices are used in a variety of mixed drinks.

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A consultation meeting on the anthracnose disease in mango was tackled in a consultation meeting facilitated by Dr. Teodoro Solsoloy, assistant director of the Bureau of Agricultural Research.

Among the participants were Roberto C. Amores, president of Philfoodex and CEO of a mango exporting firm, Director Ricardo Cachuela of the Bureau of Postharvest Research and Extension, Kevin Yaptengco of the UPLB Institute of Agricultural Engineering, a representative of the Bureau of Plant Industry, and technical personnel of BAR.

The discussion focused on how to address the presence of anthracnose disease in mango fruits, also known as black spots. This disease is caused by a fungus called Colletotrichum gleosporioides and is considered a very serious disease of mango. Anthracnose infects almost all parts of the mango, including flower panicles, twigs, leaves, and fruits of mature as well as immature trees.

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In Philippine politics, a person who is a turncoat or has many faces is called “balimbing. ” The term originated from the stunning fruit whose shape has five angles or points. If you slice the fruit, however, a cross-section looks like a star which is why it is sometimes called the star fruit.

In English-speaking countries like the United States, it is called carambola. In India, where it is native, the fruit is called kamranga or kamrakh. The Chinese are said to call the fruit yongl ‘o or foreign patch. In Vietnam, it is called khe, khe ta, or similar terms; in Kampuchea, spu; in Laos, nak fuang; in Thailand, ma fueang. But scientifically, it is called Averrhoa carambola.

“The Chinese and the Hindus eat the carambola when green as a vegetable, when ripe as a dessert,” writes Wilson Popenoe, author of Manual of Tropical and Subtropical Fruits, The author puts balimbing under “miscellaneous fruits” along with durian, santol, and tamarind.

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World's Heaviest Mango

The largest mango which won the “Pinaka” contest in the SUNDAYAG 2009 in Cagayan de Oro last year has been confirmed by the Guinness World Records (GWR) as the heaviest mango in the world, breaking the previous record held by an entry from Hawaii.

The mango weighs 3.5 kilos with a length of 30 cms. and a diameter of 50 cms. The fruit is owned by spouses Sergio and. Ma. Socorro M. Bodiongan from Barangay Tubod, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Region 10. Bodiongan said the mango tree was planted in 1992 and started to bear fruit in 1996. She said she got the seedling from her friend Mila Marquez who got a grafted “Florida Keitt” variety from Davao City. During every harvest the average weight of the mango fruit ranges from 1.5 kilos to 2.5 kilos . The spouses never attempted to sell or make money out of their large mangoes but instead gave some to their friends, officemates and bosses. The spouses said that they wanted to share this blessing to other people who are always amazed of the size of the extraordinary mango.

The spouses’ entry to the GWR was recognized on Dec. 19, 2009 and was given the official certificate last Jan. 13 as the heaviest mango in the world.

By Suzy May Roa

Federico’s Bignay Wine from Victorias City in Negros Occidental bagged the top prize in the Best Bignay Wine category of the Tropical Wine Competition hosted by the Department of Science and Technology South Luzon Cluster on November 11, 2009 at SM City Sta. Rosa City, Laguna.

Federico’s Bignay Wine bested six other finalists in its category which drew entries from several regions in the country. Dielle’s Bignay Wine from National Capital Region and Goyena’s Bignay Wine from CALABARZON placed second and third, respectively.

Federico’s Bignay Wine is produced by Federico’s Island Wine which produces all-natural and organic wines made from wild berries. This bignay wine has a rich, fruity flavor and aroma. It is clear and dark plum in appearance and has 13 percent alcohol content achieved through natural fermentation.

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Mitigating the adverse effects of climate on fruit production is the subject of an interesting article of Dr. Pablito P. Pamplona.

Dr. Pamplona, of course, is the fruit expert who retired earlier from the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato, and now managing his own fruit farm and nursery.

He writes that production of pummelo, longkong lanzones, durian, mangosteen and rambutan in Mindanao has been adversely affected by the climate change that started in 2007. Climate change, he said, brought about unpredictable occurrence of long and heavy rains accompanied by strong winds not previously experienced in Mindanao. One time, it’s a prolonged period of light rains followed by a short dry spell, like what happened in 2007. The short dry period was not long enough to trigger profuse flowering of the trees and that was the reason why there was a shortfall in production.

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Introducing “Champion watermelon”.

And farmers in Southern Mindanao are happy that this hybrid variety, named Takii Watermelon Oriental Ball P1, has come along.

In Davao del Sur, for instance, farmers described it as dako (big) and daghang mamunga (prolific), much better than the old variety.

Introduced by the Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC), the country’s only full Filipino-owned vegetable breeding company, Tokii Oriental Ball was introduced to the farming sector in a series of harvest festivals conducted by the company headed by Will U. Co.

Other provinces now growing it include Davao del Norte and North Cotabato.

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One piece of good news is that the banana that looks like a dwarf version of our Saba banana will now be propagated for commercial planting.

Now christened Mama Sita banana, it was introduced from Thailand a few years back through the initiative of the Mama Sita Foundation. The imported plants were planted in a demo farm consisting of several hundred hills in the property of Dr. Benito Vergara who is most active in a research and development project on fruit crops supported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

When we visited the plantation earlier this year, the plants were fruiting very well and the fruits were about ready for harvest. After the fruits were harvested, a panel of tasters evaluated the ripe fruits. The mature ones that were not yet ripe were processed into chips. Now, Dr. Vergara is convinced that Mama Sita banana has a good commercial potential. He says that it could be cooked like Saba, best as fried. It can be eaten raw like a latundan. It is also excellent for making banana chips.

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Durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) is a distinctive Asian fruit. The tree reaches a height of 40 meters. Its bark is red-brown and peels off regularly. The trunk is buttressed. Its leaves are oval or lance-head-shaped and arranged alternately. The upper surface is smooth and glossy. The lower part is covered with scales and hairs. The flowers are whitish and greenish white. The fruit is green to brownish in color, shaped like a globe or egg.

Adaptation

Durian is adapted to sandy loam and clay loam, with high organic matter, reasonably deep and slightly acidic soil (pH of 5.6).

Durian grows in lowland tropics in elevation up to 800 meters above sea level with optimum temperature of 25-35°C and 80% relative humidity.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Infected plants with only the outer leaves affected may be saved by removing them from the field and harvesting the heads. However, when the entire head is infected, they should be discarded. Bottom rot may also be avoided by regular crop rotation.

Cercospora Leaf Spot. This disease is caused by the fungus Cercospora beticola. Cercospora leaf spot causes lesions on the side of leaves of infected crops. When left unmanaged, the infection spreads throughout the entire plant until it expires.

To control this disease, affected leaves should be removed and burned immediately. Chemical control of this disease may include spraying of zineb, maneb plus zinc sulfate or ziram.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Lettuce is one of the long standing high-value crops in the Cordillera. This vegetable is appropriate for the said location because of the location’s cold climate. Currently, an approximate of 407 hectares of Cordillera land is used for growing lettuce.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an economically-important member of the compositae family. This is a cool weather vegetable and grows in the ideal temperature of 60 to 70 Fahrenheit. Lettuce has five varieties including leaf or loose-leaf, Cos or romaine, crisphead, butterhead, and stem or asparagus lettuce.

Leaf lettuce is characterized by crisp leaves loosely arranged on the stalk. Leaf lettuce type includes Salad Bowl, Early Curked Simpson, and Slobolt.

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Water Management

For young mango trees, weekly manual watering should be done during dry months by saturating the soil with enough water followed by mulching. If drip irrigation is available, fertilizer application can be incorporated in the irrigation water.

For flowering trees, apply water weekly during flower initiation and fruit development and stop one month before harvest. Irrigate developing flowers and fruits to enhance fast development, minimize fruit drop and increase fruit size. The volume of water ranges from 60 to 100 liters per tree depending on size.

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