Agriculture Business Week

Whether you are a hobby farmer or one who is into farming for money, growing unusual plants is always a rewarding experience.

If you are into livestock raising, for instance, you will be glad to know that there is a new Napier grass that could assure you of abundant supply of forage grass for your farm animals, even during the dry months of the year.

The new forage grass is the Guatemalan Napier which is claimed to be an improved version of the two previous varieties introduced in the country. Napier has long been introduced in the country. It is often considered the most productive forage crop grown by ranchers as well as backyard livestock raisers. However, one has to harvest the grass every 45 days otherwise it will become too tough for the animals.

The old Napier was replaced by the hybrid that Martin Gomez of Canlubang introduced in the early `90s from Florida. The hybrid Napier had slightly broader leaves and is more succulent than the old variety. Ernesto Abalos who has a ranch in San Mateo, Rizal, is one of the avid growers of this forage grass.

Now comes the Guatemala Napier which has much broader leaves than the two previous introductions. It is said to be higher-yielding and more succulent, too. We have seen one goat raiser in Baliuag, Bulacan growing this new variety. Another is a goat raiser in Davao City. Both their Guatemala Napier plants are growing luxuriantly.

Napier, whether the old or new, is a sturdy plant. It will grow well even during the dry months for as long as it is irrigated. Application of manure will enhance its productivity.

NEW STAR RUBY MAKOPA
For hobbyists, there is this new Star Ruby makopa introduced from Thailand by a local foundation. This one produces crunchy fruits that are bigger than previously introduced varieties. In Bangkok, according to Dr. Benito S. Vergara, it is selling at more than double the price of other commercial varieties. He had also reported that imported fruits of Star Ruby were being sold in an upscale supermarket in Makati City at P800 per kilo.

Star Ruby is ideal for the hobbyist in the urban area because it can be grown in containers as well as in the ground. Marcotted plants will start bearing fruit in a couple of years if given the right cultural management. That means it is regularly fertilized with organic as well as chemical fertilizers. It should also receive adequate light. Too shady location is not good for makopa.

Star Ruby is seedless so it has to be propagated by means of marcotting. If you have seedlings of other varieties, you can multiply Star Ruby by grafting.

BANANA WITH THOUSAND FINGERS
Another interesting plant the hobbyist might consider planting is the Pisang Seribu or the banana with a thousand fingers. This produces a fruit bunch that may be as long as six feet. Most of the fingers, however, are very small and don’t have edible flesh. There are fleshy fingers, though, near the base of the bunch and these could be eaten fresh. The fruit tastes like the saba banana.

The Pisang Seribu, a variety from Indonesia, is not really grown in large scale for commercial fruit production. It is grown as a conversation piece by hobbyists. An enterprising grower could, however, still make money by growing this. He could sell the suckers at a high price to other hobbyists. Plant hobbyists we know who grow this banana include Mariano de Vera who has a hobby farm in Laguna, Andry Lim of Davao City and Capt. James Fos Reamon of General Santos City.

SEEDLESS GUAVA
If you want to produce guava that is different, try planting the seedless variety. Its fruit is not as big as the usual guapple, but it is unique in that the fruit is seedless. It is sweet and crunchy, especially if you apply a balanced fertilization of organic as well as chemical fertilizer that contains enough amounts of potash.

This variety is grown in big numbers in some farms in Malaysia. Fruits are often sold in roadside fruit stands. In the Philippines, it is only being planted by hobbyists. We got our own stock from the late Carlos Yusepeng of General Santos City. It is easy to take care of this plant. Marcotting is the usual means of propagation although scions of the seedless variety can be grafted on seedlings of the standard varieties.

SWEET KAMIAS
The sweet kamias is not really new. We have come across it as early as the 1970s but not many people arc growing it. Perhaps people don’t grow this because it is not sour and would be useless for souring the native sinigang.

But one lady who tasted the maturing fruits from our tree was excited. The fruit is perfect for making salad, she said. And that’s why she had to get one of our stocks. Of course, it is also enjoyable to eat the fresh fruits right after picking from the tree.

Like the standard kamias variety, the sweet kamias does not need any special care. It produces a lot of fruits one batch after another. Some of the fruits (not all) produce viable seeds and these could be used for propagation. Marcotting is not as easy as in other fruit trees. The marcotted branches produce very fine roots and many of them don’t survive.

Why not try planting some of these interesting crops? You will be glad you did.

By : Zac B. Sarian