Agriculture Business Week

Aerial spraying is recognized as a method or standard means of pest control, crop management, and fertigation as expounded in agricultural modernization.

As early as 1968, the Philippines already had 10 aircrafts used in aerial spraying of export bananas, the Cavendish variety. Yet Russia that time already had 7,000, while the United States had 5,700, and these aircrafts were used in spraying cotton and corn among other plantation crops.

For so many decades now, no country that has experienced aerial spraying has banned the practice. And with the advent of modern research, safer and more modern pesticides are being formulated and introduced commercially worldwide. Hence, we do not have to fear the large-scale use of pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers through aerial spraying to control the dreaded fungal diseases of bananas, particularly the Black Sigatoka.

(more…)

This high-yielding bean is fast shooting to “stardom” in the vegetable world.

Named Condor Negrostar, this long bean variety was bred and developed by Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC) at its research facility in this Pangasinan town situated almost 200 kilometers northeast of Manila.

“The uniquely purple-tipped pod variety is very prolific and very ideal for off-season planting, especially when early harvest is desired,” reported, ABC corporate communication manager Rommel Lopez.

Lopez added: It can be harvested at about 54 days after sowing and has an average weight of 23 grams and length of 56 centimeters per pod.

(more…)

Investing in Philippine pili nut trees might be an overlooked opportunity due to the lack of media exposure.

Philippines – February 1, 2010 – “One of the best Philippines investments might be the organic farms growing pili nuts; pili trees can give a harvest for up to 100 years” according to Will Irwin who is currently writing his next book ‘Additional Income for Expats in the Philippines’. It is viewed as a good alternative to the usually offered real estate investments like condotels and apartments. Projected ROI is expected to be higher also; pili nuts are one of the highest profit products exported from the Philippines.

The basic idea boils down to the fact that the Philippines has all that is required to produce extremely high yields in agriculture; what is lacking is mostly the implementation of the latest know-how and technologies. Agro-business in general has created one of the richest people in this country.

(more…)

What started as a seed company focused on breeding sorghum some 25 years ago has now become a major player in the seed industry as it has diversified into many other high-value crops, especially tropical vegetables.

This is the Allied Botanical Corporation organized by a then youthful business-minded guy named Willy Co who believed in the usefulness of sorghum, a hardy grain crop that could take the place of corn in livestock and poultry feeds.

While sorghum remains as a major interest to this day, the company has gone a long way in producing its own hybrids as well as selections of open-pollinated varieties. It is conducting its research and development activities in a 23-hectare experimental farm in Tayug, Pangasinan.

(more…)

A manufacturer of sweet preserves is in need of additional supply of ubi tubers due to the increasing demand for high quality ubi jam and puree that it supplies to major bakeshops and food chains.

Engr. Crispin Muyrong, vice president of Sunlight Food Corporation situated in Marikina City said that the company will require a minimum of 250 metric tons (mt) of ubi tubers this year for the production of ubi jam and ubi puree, which are Sunlight’s flagship products.

The company has been getting its ubi supply from growers in Northern Luzon, CALABARZON, Palawan and Mindanao. However, Muyrong said that this year sees a decrease in ubi growers’ production due to the effect of climate change and the damage brought about by pests and diseases, especially the fungal disease called yam anthracnose.

(more…)

Researchers at the Philippine Rootcrop Research and Training Center (PhilRootcrops) of the Visayas State University (VSU) in Baybay, Leyte have unveiled what could become the next potential biological control for anthracnose in ubi and other plant diseases.

Julie D. Tan, Evelyn B. Taboada, May V. Tampus, Jilly B. Regis and Rodney H. Perez have isolated and tested the endophytic microorganisms found in sweetpotato, which are recognized as source of secondary metabolites useful in biotechnology and agriculture. Initial results have confirmed that these endophytes produce antimicrobial compounds that inhibit the growth of disease-causing microorganisms in plants.

In their study titled “Antimicrobial evaluation and effects of fermentation process conditions of bioactive compounds produced by endophytic Bacillus sp. against some selected food and plant pathogens”, the researchers screened isolates of endophytes from rootcrop-based products and other related fermented food products for their abilities to inhibit the growth of some selected food pathogens. They also determined the effects of fermentation on the productivity and activity of the biocontrol compound.

(more…)

If you have the area and the money to invest, better get into sugarcane production, especially if there is an accessible sugar mill where you can take your harvest for milling.

That’s the advice of our long-time friend, Leon Arceo, the executive director of the Philippine Sugar Research Institute (Philsurin).

Sugar is in short supply worldwide and the price has increased tremendously. For instance, one pound of sugar used to sell for 8 US cents in Europe for several years. Now the price is 28 US cents. In the US, Arceo said, the price is 33 cents per pound. Since sugarcane is a one-year crop, the shortage will not be easily solved. At least in the next two years, high prices are expected to stay.

(more…)

Sweetpotato would taste sweeter for farmers in the provinces of Tarlac and Albay

That’s because a P13.9 million sweetpotato production and livelihood program is being undertaken to enhance its potential as a cash crop in these calamity-prone provinces where many sweetpotato farms are located.

Called “Enhancing Research Utilization for Sweetpotato Livelihood Development in Disaster-Prone Communities,” this, is a program of the Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center (PhilRootcrops) and the Philippine Council forAgriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

(more…)

Here’s an easy guide to grow the ever reliable root crop.

Locally known as kamoteng kahoy or balinghoy, cassava (scientific name: Manihot escidenta) ranks second only to sweet potato in hectarage among root crops produced in the country. It is mainly grown for its tubers which are a rich source of carbohydrates. Unknowingly, it is a good source of calcium and ascorbic acid.

However, there are many reasons why Filipino farmers should plant cassava. Let’s start with its food uses, which include confectionaries, native pastries like suman and bibingka, sago, vegetables, food seasoning, noodles and flour. Although not the staple of Filipinos, cassava feeds about 80o million people around the world, according to the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT).

(more…)

Sweet sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] is similar to grain sorghum with sugar-rich stalks. Being a water-use efficient crop, sweet sorghum has the potential to be a good alternative feedstock for ethanol production.

It is a multi-purpose crop which can be cultivated for simultaneous production of grain from its earhead as food and feed ingredients, sugary juice from its stalk for making syrup, jaggery, or ethanol, and bagasse and green foilage as an excellent fodder for animals, as organic fertilizer, or for paper manufacturing.

(more…)

The Jatropha plant (also known as “tubang hakod” or “tuba-tuba”) is truly a biochemical wonder. Centuries before it gained popularity as a wellspring of precious biodiesel, rural communities in the tropics have already embraced its dual identity: a medicine cabinet for various body ailments as well as a toxic plant they have to be careful of.

Dr. Eustaquio G. Aragones, Jr., botanist of the Department of Science and Technology’s Forest Products Research and Development Institute (DOST-FPRDI), recently scanned the literature on Jatropha’s medicinal value and toxicity.

“Because it is both a strongly beneficial and harmful plant thriving all over the Philippines, Jatropha is one species we need to understand well, “he says.

(more…)

Acknowledging the Philippines as one of the largest coconut producing countries in the world, Julie’s Bakeshops has signed an agreement with the Philippine Coconut Authority (PCA) to come up with a healthy alternative in making bread.

“The recent increase in flour prices has encouraged bakeshops to look for alternatives that result in the same quality that flour provides in baking bread,” George Abando, Julie’s Bakeshops national sales and marketing manager.

“Some bakeshops have adjusted the sizes of their products to make it still affordable to the Filipino consumers. What you have as a result are either more expensive breads of the same size or the smaller breads at the same price,” Abando explained.

(more…)

Coco sugar and other organic products from Lanao del Norte sold like the proverbial hotcake at the 2009 National Livelihood Trade Fair at the SM Megamall in Mandaluyong City under the auspices of the Philippine Chamber of Handicrafts, Inc. and the Congressional Spouses Foundation, Inc.

Besides coco sugar, the other organic products from Lanao del Norte included honeymansi with pineapple, honeymansi concentrate plain, pineapple marmalade, bangus in corn oil packed in glass container, coco honey and coconut vinegar which are all manufactured without any preservatives.

A lot of people bought the coco sugar although the price is much higher than the sugar from sugarcane. The coco sugar is in the form of fructose which is superior healthwise compared to the sucrose in the ordinary sugar from sugarcane.

(more…)

A whole day seminar on mushroom production is scheduled this Saturday, October 3, at the AANI Urban Farm at Kingsville Court, Antipolo City. The place is near Sumulong Highway.

Teddy Laurie who is an expert in producing spawns as well as growing the crop will conduct the seminar right at the AANI Urban Farm where he has put up a facility to produce planting materials, particularly fruiting bags of oyster mushroom.

Fruiting bags produced by Laurie are of such quality that they can remain productive for as long as eight months, according to him. Some fruiting bags from other sources usually remain productive for only a few weeks or months.

(more…)