Agriculture Business Week

The Philippines is proud to have notable ladies who have considerably contributed to the task of nation building.  Among them are President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, former President Corazon C. Aquino, First Ladies Amelita Ramos and Imelda R. Marcos.  Today, such names are not only synonymous with political prestige but are now Hybrid names for indigenous species, Mussaenda.

Collectively known as the Doñas, Philippine Mussaendas were named after the First Ladies of the Philippines.  This is considered as the country’s most important contribution to the ornamental industry.  They are likewise regarded as the “centennial” breakthrough in Philippine Horticulture.  In fact, they have became popular not only in the Philippines but are also now gaining recognition abroad.

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Posted on July 23rd, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Ornamental. Comments: None

It was another ordinary day for Ms. Rebecca Bartolome of Pucay Village, Marcos Highway, Baguio City, when I visited her to write an article about her success story on anthurium production.  She was doing some chores and attending to her grandchildren.  On the lookout of their five lovely grandchildren — one girl and four boys — was Dada Doming who just arrived checking his roosters and chickens.  As I approached her, she welcomed me with a warm smile and a fully-gripped handshake.  As usual, she was happy to see me and showed interest in what we were about to do.

Nana Rebecca started growing anthuriums out of interest and love of flowers until it became a hobby which expanded to another family’s source of livelihood.  She first had a hand on the plant when her son-in-law from La Trinidad, Benguet, gave her daughter planting materials of three anthurium varieties (Nita, Hawaiian Red, and Kansaku).  Of course, the gift turned to be a manifestation of commitment and loyalty until it became part of a family story.  Her daughter, Lanie, became the wife of Bon, they are blessed with a bubbly son named Kiko.  The anthurium plants are equivalents of their life stories describing a very strong family relationship.  The production is now on its eight year and still gaining momentum because of a cultivated passion and dedication.  These made her continue to work and enjoy this simple hobby complete with stories and memories, including the fruits of gratifying labor.

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Posted on July 23rd, 2008 under Entrepreneurs, Ornamental. Tags: Anthuriums, Flowers, Ornamental. Comments: None

Have you ever wondered how flowers are arranged together to form a symmetric layers of full colors and variety?  Or are preserved to look fresh and look real for a period of time in a vase?  Well, this kind of activity is based on the skill, artistry, and creativity of the flower arranger and sculptor to show his or her aesthetic creations and well-coordinated hand maneuvering.  The flowers are picked, arranged, and organized to show the colors or the blending of leaves, petals, other products, vases or even the containers used to illustrate life.  To do this, flowers are orderly packed, stocked, and tied in neatly arranged manner exuding their beauty.  As soon as these are organized and blended, the flowers express a feeling of warmth and harmony that magnify the inner soul of the individual making the arrangement or sculpture.  In the end, it is the person receiving that manifest gratitude and appreciation, be it as a symbol of love, peace, harmony, or simply care.  Most often, it is the interpretation of the person preparing and combining the flowers or plants that makes the difference with the right combination and selection of colors, flowers, leaves, and accents.

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Posted on July 23rd, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Bonsai, Flowers, Ornamental. Comments: None

Euphorbia! Euphorbia! Not only is this simple house plant becoming a household name but collecting them has also turned into a frenzied mania among plant enthusiasts and hobbyists.

A garden is never complete without it. Even housewives are starting to collect every color that they can get their hands on. And since they are easy to propagate and to manage, growing this plant is becoming more of a pleasant activity among any other tedious and routinary gardening activity.

“It is the actual collecting of all the colors and seeing them beautifully aligned and displayed in one place that makes this activity an addicting pleasure,” quipped Lilia Ramos, an avid Euphorbia aficionado. Another collector, Anita dela Cruz, revealed that her enthusiasm started when a friend gave her this plant as a gift. Eventually, curiosity rose and since then, he did not stop collecting.

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Posted on July 22nd, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Euphorbia, Flowers. Comments: None

Orchids are among the popular cutflowers in the world.  It has become the object of attention of many cutflower growers as it captures an element of beauty through its complexities and elegantly formed sepals.  Different species of orchids are used widely in flower arrangements, corsage making, and as collection specimens for the hobbyists.  One orchid genus, Vanilla, is commercially important as it is used as the source of the vanilla food flavoring.  Through the years, with the development of new orchid species, the world-wide demand for orchids has rocketed giving the cutflower a high market value.

As a high-value crop, orchids are seen as good source of profit in the world-wide market.  In the country, during the 1970’s, several commercial nurseries were established to meet to growing demand of the domestic and international market.  Key production area for orchids expanded in Laguna, Batangas, Cebu, Negros Occidnetal, Davao city, and South Cotabato.

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Posted on July 22nd, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers, Orchids, Ornamental. Comments: None

Ornamental plants are part of Filipinos’ everyday living, cutting across very diverse culture, religion, and political landscape. There is always a pot or two to brighten up the household, or a bunch of flowers to adorn the altar. Like in many other countries, flowers are given to someone as expression of love and affection; it is a perfect gift to console the weary or to celebrate a victory.

The floriculture industry was once dubbed the sunshine industry of the Philippines. That was in the late 1990 when this once stagnant industry made a turnaround to become a promising industry. From an annual total cut flower production of 8,120 metric tons in 1990, it grew to 22,671 metric tons produced from 1,586 hectares in 2003. The 20.63 percent production growth rate over a period of 14 years was reason enough for the government, as well as the private sector, to take a more serious look at this emerging industry. There were more activities that ensued. More government funds were poured into research.

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Posted on July 22nd, 2008 under Ornamental. Tags: Flowers. Comments: None

Postharvest systems play a critical role in enhancing the competitiveness of cutflowers which by nature are highly perishable.  Roses grown in open fields by small farmers and traded locally are of particular interest not only because it is one of the major cutflowers grown in the country but also because of its fair quality and short vaselife.

This study aimed to determine the postharvest and marketing practices of rose farmers in major growing areas (Benguet, Cebu, Bukidnon, Cagayan de Oro), determine the extent and causes of losses, and develop appropriate technologies that would maintain quality, particularly in the areas of market preparation, storage, and packaging.  The vase life of different cultivars was also evaluated.

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Posted on July 22nd, 2008 under Ornamental, Technology. Tags: Flowers, Roses. Comments: None

In a bid to decrease the country’s over dependence on fuel, various research institutions started to focus their leads in studying and identifying some of the most cost-effective and environment-friendly energy source to produce biofuels. Biofuels, such as bioethanol, biodiesel and biogas, are renewable fuels that are generally produced from agricultural crops or organic matter.

This effort to find alternative bio-source is also in accordance with the recent passing into law of the Biofuel Acts or SB 2226 and the Department of Agriculture (DA)’s drive towards energy independence. The law requires that “a minimum of 1% biodiesel by volume shall be blended into all diesel engine fuels sold in the country subject to domestic supply and availability of locally sourced biodiesel component.” Violators are penalized with one to five years imprisonment and a fine ranging from Php1 million to Php5 million.

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Posted on July 21st, 2008 under Ornamental, Special Report. Tags: Biofuel, Flowers, Sunflower. Comments: None