Agriculture Business Week

Henry Ballesteros was reviewing for the board exam when he was asked by his friend to attend some seminars on rice production. But his interest in it got deeper that he decided to go back to Isabela to become a seed grower. Well, it seems that he has made a very good decsion because today he is one of the successful seed growers in Isabela.

A graduate of Technological University of the Philippines, Henry hosts experiments by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and private companies in his farm in San Andres, Aurora, Isabela. One of these was the Farmer-led Extension Program of DA in 2008 in which he was a Palay Check cooperator of.

He also holds farmers’ field day so other farmers can take a look at his farm, and attends seminars on rice production. So from these he sees which technologies really work. In fact he has practically Tried most of the technologies demonstrated in his farm.

In his thirties, Henry has 2 hectares (ha) of inbred and 2 ha of hybrid for seed growing, and harvests 80 cavans (cav)/ ha and more than 100 cav/ha, respectively. His top grossers are PSB Rc82, PJ7, and NSIC Rc158.

Due to the high cost of seedling pulling, he does the dapog method in growing seedling. It’s a technique wherein the seedbeds are placed on mosquito nets to allow easy transport of rice seedlings from the seedbed to the actual rice area. Hence. there’s no transplanting shock in the process and no cost on seedling pulling.

He sprays muriate of potash (0-0-60) to enhance the reproductive growth of the
plant. However. the cost of 0-0-60 is spiraling, so he reduced his application rate from 2 bags per hectare to 1 bag per hectare. But nowadays when the cost of 0-0-60 has almost tripled as it costs f12,400 per 50-kilogram bag, he sprays 5 kg of MOP plus other fertilizer at 45 days after transplanting (DAT) and at 80 DAT. The good thing is that his yield increased from 120 cav/ha to 140 cav/ha.

Evelyn Javier of the Agronomy, Soils. and Plant Physiology Division of PhilRice said that the potassium (K) content of the soil in Henry’s farm might be low that’s why the addition of 0-0-60 contributed significantly to his increased yield. She noted also that there are areas in Isabela with very low potassium content.

She explained that K is mobile and easily leached. Hence, split application of K in silty loam, sandy loam, and sandy soils is recommended. This makes K application more efficient, as in Henry’s case. But if addition of K did not significantly increase yield, then the soil must have enough K and that the soil type must be more or less clayey. To make sure, soil analysis must be done, stressed Javier.

Henry also uses the leaf color chart as a guide in nitrogen fertilizer application. He does basal fertilizer application using 3 bags of complete fertilizer per hectare, and topdressing with 1 bag urea and 1 bag 0-0-60 per hectare at 45 days after transplanting (DAT). He does sidedressing at 10 DAT and at 20 DAT using 16-20-0.

But for farmers who do direct-seeding, says Henry, sidedressing must be done 20 days after applying 2 bags of 14-1414 and I bag of 16-20-0 per hectare. And if the weather is cold, it is recommended to sidedress twice.

Being inquisitive, Henry also thought of using gibberellic acid (GA ) for inbred rice to enhance growth of tillers as GA3 is very important in hybrid rice seed production.

He mixes GA3 with potassium. Five sachets of GA3 are good for 1 ha, and application should be done if 50 percent of the panicles have emerged, he said. He also stressed that application must be done when the panicles are starting to show off; otherwise elongation of leaves will be observed. This practice results in heavier grains.

However, Javier said that although this is actually the recommended spraying frequency of GA3 for hybrid rice seed production, using it to enhance productive tillers is unfounded now. Physiologically, she said, GA 3 is a hormone that “acts primarily to elongate cells.”

She explained that the heavier grains must have resulted from the application of MOP. MOP is an important source of K. So together with sufficient water within the plant system, it is responsible for transporting simple sugars from one part of the plant to another. And the sugars that eventually became carbohydrates or starch make the grains heavy.

Henry is also knowledgeable on indigenous practices. For instance, when rats were infesting his farm he tried the trap barrier system (TBS). The trap. containing smelly food like a mixture of leftover rice, oil, and garlic, is placed near the area where the rats eat. But the rats are smart creatures, he added. When one sees that rats are trapped. it won’t dare touch the bait anymore. Therefore, farmers should constantly check the TBS to see if there’s a rat trapped inside.

They should also try using other food as bait such as a mixture if rice, oil, and smoked fish, as what Henry does. Rice grains can also be left in the paddy so that. rats direct their attention to it rather than to the rice plants.

And to drive away birds, he connects a can filled with stones to string, which he pulls when he sees some birds coming to his rice field.

With the changing times, however. the need for new technologies arises And for farmers to be successful, they should be receptive to technologies for improved yield, as in the experience of Henry.

By Jaime A. Manalo IV