Agriculture Business Week

Who would think that farmers could still extract profit from residues?

Researchers of the Bicol Integrated Agricultural Research (BIARC) do so. They have developed an innovative, environment-friendly technology to convert sweet sorghum residues into bioorganic fertilizer.

Bio-organic fertilizer is compost from any organic material that has undergone rapid decomposition through the action of introduced homogeneous microbial inoculants. It is different from fresh organic fertilizer in which natural decay process is brought about by the action of heterogeneous microbes present in the organic matter. Compared with the traditional composting method, the introduction of microbial inoculants shortens composting time from three months to just three to four weeks.

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They’re cheap, potent, safe and totally environment friendly. Greenland Farms’ Tony Luna explains why biofertilizers are the smarter way to growing crops.

Spending more on chemical fertilizers these days is considered a “win-lose” endeavor. Not only do you increase your production expense, you are also contributing to the planet’s decay and at the same time jeopardizing the health of others. This is why more and more farmers are shifting their mindsets and embracing the clean and green perspective. The smarter alternative? Shifting to biofertilizers.

Biofertilizers consist of microorganisms (bacteria and fungi) which fix atmospheric nitrogen solubilize phosphorus and promote uptake of immobile ions of zinc and other micronutrients. These include bacteria like Azolla, Azospirillum, Azotobacter, Rhizobium, cyanobacteria (blugreen algae), phosphobacteria, Sesbania, etc. Biofertizers also provide growth promoting substances like vitamins, hormones, amino acids etc. to the plants. (www.mictobiologysuite101com). In layman’s parlance, “bio” means life and the introduction of live microorganisms into organic fertilizers explains the term.

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A low-cost and effective organic fertilizer from seaweeds has been developed by researchers of the Southern Philippines Agribusiness and Marine School of Technology .

Fertilizers are major inputs in agriculture and aquaculture. The rising prices of petroleum-based chemical fertilizers have increased production costs of farms in the country and reduced farmers’ incomes. The use of organic fertilizers in combination with inorganic fertilizers is now being promoted by the government to improve farm profitability and protect the environment.

A low-cost and effective organic fertilizer from seaweeds has been developed by researchers of the Southern Philippines Agribusiness and Marine School of Technology (SPAMAST) in Davao del Sur led Gracilla Caballero. The technology was based on the observation that ornamental plant growers use the exudate or drippings of seaweeds for fertilizing orchids. To determine whether there was any scientific basis for such practice, the SPAMAST scientists conducted studies.

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A seaweed-based organic fertilizer which is said to address micronutrient deficiencies particularly zinc (Zn) deficiency in rice and other crops is one of the products that farmers should not have missed at the recent Agrilink Trade Show held at the 1Vorld Trade Center: Metro Manila in Pasay City.

Called MegaZinc Plus, it reportedly increases rice yield by a minimum of 20 cavans per hectare. It is said to increase resistance of rice plant to pest and diseases, increase tillering, induce uniform maturity of grains, and increase milling recovery. It has 1.62 percent zinc seaweed extracts plus auxins, gibberellins, and cytokinins as active ingredients.

Florentino Pangilinan, owner and general manager of Central Luzon Farmers Agro Center in Cabanatuan City, the producer of MegaZinc Plus, agreed that zinc is the most critical micronutrient to rice growth, with Zn deficiency now considered as the third most widespread nutrient disorder in lowland rice areas of Asia next to nitrogen and phosphorus.

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According  to Philippine Atmospheric Geophysical and Astronomical Services Administration (Pagasa),  El Niño, a weather phenomenon characterized by dry spells, may peak in February.   Sunstar Davao (28 december 2009) reported  that Davao City and the provinces of Davao Region have been categorized as moderately vulnerable to the El Niño phenomenon alongside with the provinces of Abra, Apayao, Benguet, Ifugao, Mt Province, Isabela, Nueva Vizcaya, Quirino, Batangas, Laguna, Quezon, Romblon, Sorsogon, Aklan, Antique, Bohol, Samar, Zamboanga Norte, Zamboanga Sibugay, Zamboanga Sur, and Bukidnon. The Center for Initiative and Research on Climate Adaptation (Circa) explained that the El Niño/Southern Oscillation (Eenso) is a recurrent ocean-warming and atmospheric disturbance resulting in deficient rainfall or prolonged drought.  This phenomenon is expected to adversely affect crop production.

Drought is a major limiting factor in farming.  Limited moisture suppresses the growth of crops, weakens the resistance  to pests and diseases, affects nutrient utilization and usually decreases the quality and quantity of yield.  Drought can cause damage to cell membranes.  Not all plants develop antioxidant defense systems to cope with  drought such that application of natural plant supplements that enhances resistance to drought maybe necessary during drought.   Cytokinins, a class of phytohormones, function as antioxidants and have been shown to improve drought resistance and exhibit anti-senescence properties  Musgrave,1994. Thimann (1987) noted that cytokinins delay the senescence process probably by maintaining the integrity of the tonoplast membrane.  Tonoplast membrane is the cytoplasmic membrane surrounding the vacuole, separating the vacuolar contents from the cytoplasm in a cell.  As a membrane, it is mainly involved in regulating the movements of ions around the cell, and isolating materials that might be harmful or a threat to the cell (www.biology-online.org/dictionary)

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In the last five years or so, the high price of commercial fertilizer has become one of the major concerns of our farmers. Due to this, many farmers cannot give their plants substantial amount of fertilize: Also, due to the use of these chemical fertilizers, many important soil nutrients were lost, resulting in unhealthy crops.

Here in Ilocos Sur, it has been agreed to avoid using inorganic fertilizer for five years. The reason, says the local government, is to lessen the cost of production and to restore lost soil nutrients.

For this reason, a vermicomposting facility has been set up at the 16-hectare BaRang-ay Demo farm in Labing, San Juan. Called Demo on Vermiculture utilizing Biodegradable Substrate (DVBS), the facility will serve as a model in the production of organic fertilizer.

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Among the many available fertilizers now in the market, liquid seaweed extract belongs to the most beneficial. This is because it is not only a plant food, but it effectively works as a biostimulant and a soil conditioner as well. Yet, many farmers still do not realize it. Although proven valuable as fertilizer, this product is probably the last that most farmers will think of buying when they go to their local Agri-supply store. They do not see the advantage that liquid seaweed fertilizer is not just organic and natural, but that it comes from a sustainable source and its production is done without harming the environment.

In the Philippine market, there are only a handful of registered and proven seaweed extract and most are even imported and thus expensive. VEGEGROW seaweed extract is a proudly Philippine made product that is proven effective yet economical. It is a natural plant food and biostimulant produced from 100% liquid seaweed extracts. It passed through a scientific extraction process that is designed to maximize the derived amount of primary, secondary and trace elements, as well as the naturally occurring plant growth regulators and other beneficial compounds. It is non-fibrous and non-neutralized alkali extracted.

Vegegrow works on a wide variety of crops and is compatible with other inputs. It provides a wide range of beneficial effects that include providing a well-balanced nutrition, improved growth & development of crops, increase resistance to biotic and abiotic stress, soil conditioning and enhanced yield. Vegegrow combines in one unique formulation the essential properties of three (3) seaweed species found in tropical waters namely Euchema cotonii, Euchema spinosum, Sargasum polycystum.  These are the same seaweed species used to produce food supplements, food ingredients and enhancers, cosmetics etc., proving its being safe for environment and humans.

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Filipino-made bio-organic plant supplement made from fruit extracts and beneficial microorganisms can increase crop yields by as much as 30 percent while reducing the use of chemical fertilizer by 50 percent in the initial cropping.

The bio-organic fertilizer, called Seed Growth, was developed by renowned inventor Engr. Glenn T. Castillo by using nanotechnology which deals with the development of materials or devices within the size of 100 nanometers or smaller in at least one dimension.

According to agriculturist Dann Revaula of G’Core Group which distributes Seed Growth, farmers can expect high yield from using it on rice, corn, vegetables, plantation crops, fruit trees, and even aquaculture.

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A seaweed-based organic fertilizer which is said to address micronutrient deficiencies, particularly zinc (Zn) deficiency, in rice and other crops was one of the products that farmers should not have missed at the recent Agrilink trade show held at the World Trade Center Metro Manila in Pasay City.

The fertilizer is called MegaZinc Plus, which is claimed to increase rice yield by a minimum of 20 cavans per hectare, increase resistance of rice plants to pest and diseases, increase tillering, induce uniform maturity of grains, and increase milling recovery. It has 1.62% zinc seaweed extracts plus auxins, gibberelins and cytokinins as active ingredients.

Florentino Pangilinan, owner and general manager of Central Luzon Farmers Agro Center in Cabanatuan City, the producer of MegaZinc Plus, said that zincis the most critical micronutrient to rice growth, with Zn deficiency now considered as the third most widespread nutrient disorder in lowland rice areas of Asia, next to nitrogen and phosphorus.

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A 69 year-old in Buliran, Cabanatuan City, Nueva Ecija is surprised to harvest 345.6 cavans from a hectare planted to a hybrid rice reportedly exhibiting stunted (bansot) growth.

Severino G. Payumo became happier when he learned that because he harvested a whopping yield from the controversial SL8 hybrid rice of SL Agritech, he has been nominated to the provincial search for 10 outstanding hybrid rice farmers in Nueva Ecija for the 2008-2009 dry season.

At 50-kilogram per cavan, his yield was officially entered by the technical panel composed of representatives from SL Agritech, Department of Agriculture Regional Field Unit III (DARFU II1), PhilRice, Central Luzon State University, Provincial Agriculture Office, and Cabanatuan City Agriculture Office at 17.25 t/ha.

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Dr. Davide couldn’t forget what a high-ranking agriculture official told him when he presented his FTSP proposal for possible support. He was told that his project was good but he should not undertake it in Cebu because Cebu has barren soil and that it is not suited for agriculture. The government official suggested that he carry it out in Bohol instead.

That suggestion only served as a big challenge to Dr. Davide. That’s precisely why he wanted to help the farmers in his province so they could improve the productivity of the poor soil through scientific methods. He has thought to himself that “there’s no such thing as barren soils, only barren minds.”

The training of participants consists of three phases. Those who can participate are men and women from 18 to 60 years old who at least know how to read and write. They should own a piece of land and should have been farming in the previous three years.

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The National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at University of the Philippines Los Banos (BIOTECH) counts a microbial based fertilizer as its most successfully marketed technology.

Bio-N, a nitrogen supplement for rice, corn and vegetables, is a microbial-based fertilizer composed mainly of living bacteria isolated from the roots of talahib (Saccharum spontaneum).  “Through government support, we have been able to create more than 60 mixing plants for Bio-N to date,” says Dr. Jocelyn T. Zarate, BIOTECH researcher.

With the mixing plants mostly owned by farmers cooperatives in a kind of franchise arrangement with BIOTECH, the technology becomes available to more farmers in the country. “That is to say, farming cooperatives can purchase a single, pack of Bio-N, mix it in the mixing plant, and produce about 20 more packs of Bio-N that they can sell at P60 each,” Zarate says. “So the cooperatives, which shell out around P500,000 per mixing plant, including training and setup, can keep on earning from the Bio-N.”

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Would you like to use your kitchen leftovers and biodegradable garbage-like peelings of squash, banana, and pineapple; stalks of malunggay; unusable leaves of cabbage and pechay – as fertilizer for your vegetables and other crops planted in your garden?

It’s easy. Just build basket composts. “Basket composting is the process by which your home garbage, garden and farm waste and leguminous plants are allowed to rot in baskets which are half buried in garden plots,” explains Roy C. Alimoane, director of the Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Foundation, Inc. in Kinuskusan, Bansalan, Davao del Sur.

Basket composting is a central feature of the, Food Always In The Home (FAITH), a vegetable gardening technology which the MBRLC has developed. “This type of gardening can provide the necessary protein, vitamins, and mineral requirements needed by a family with six members,” Alimoane says.

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With the cost of fertilizer spiraling up, meeting nutrient requirement of rice crop becomes doubly burdensome.

According to the Bureau of Agricultural Statistics, a fanner spent close to P13,000 on the average in 2005-2007 dry season (DS) cropping, and 34 percent of this or P4,500 was spent on fertilizers. Many farmers, however, failed to apply the needed fertilizers due to financial constraints. While some managed to loan from banks or simply borrowed money from fellow farmers, fertilizer application was already late and affected crop performance.

For instance, nitrogen use can be_ optimized through “selection of proper fertilizer rates and sources, correct fertilizer placement, and optimum timing of applications,” according to the article “An Overview of Nutrient Management with Economic Considerations” published by the North Carolina State University. This shows that it is not enough that a farmer applies fertilizer because the amount and timing of application arc equally important.

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