Agriculture Business Week

Total defoliation of custard apple, a member of the atis family, really works wonders. The defoliated tree bears fruit much ahead of the normal bearing season. This is one of the practical farming techniques that was observed by participants of the AANI Farm Tour when they visited the Teresa Orchard & Nursery in Teresa, Rizal, last Sunday.

All the leaves of the four-year-old custard apple tree that originally came from Taiwan were removed with the use of a pair of scissors by our lady farm worker on December 10. The tree was full of leaves then.

Way before the defoliation, we saw to it that the tree was adequately fertilized with organic as well as complete inorganic fertilizer. It was also watered every day if it did not rain. Fortunately, we have abundant water in our farm.
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Citrus originates in tropical and subtropical southeast regions of the world. The fruits are notable for their fragrance, partly due to flavanoids and limonoids contained in the rind, and most are juice-laden. The juice contains a high quantity of citric acid, giving them their characteristic sharp flavor. They are also good sources of vitamin C.

Lemons and limes are also used as garnishes or in cooked dishes. Their juice is used as an ingredient in a variety of dishes; it is commonly found in salad dressings and squeezed over cooked meat or vegetables.

The fruit pulp can vary from sweet and tart to extremely sour. Marmalade, a condiment derived from cooked orange and lemon, can be especially bitter but is usually sweetened to cut the bitterness and to produce a jam-like result. Lemon or lime is commonly used as a garnish for water, soft drinks, or cocktails. Citrus juices, rinds, or slices are used in a variety of mixed drinks.

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World's Heaviest Mango

The largest mango which won the “Pinaka” contest in the SUNDAYAG 2009 in Cagayan de Oro last year has been confirmed by the Guinness World Records (GWR) as the heaviest mango in the world, breaking the previous record held by an entry from Hawaii.

The mango weighs 3.5 kilos with a length of 30 cms. and a diameter of 50 cms. The fruit is owned by spouses Sergio and. Ma. Socorro M. Bodiongan from Barangay Tubod, Iligan City, Lanao del Norte, Region 10. Bodiongan said the mango tree was planted in 1992 and started to bear fruit in 1996. She said she got the seedling from her friend Mila Marquez who got a grafted “Florida Keitt” variety from Davao City. During every harvest the average weight of the mango fruit ranges from 1.5 kilos to 2.5 kilos . The spouses never attempted to sell or make money out of their large mangoes but instead gave some to their friends, officemates and bosses. The spouses said that they wanted to share this blessing to other people who are always amazed of the size of the extraordinary mango.

The spouses’ entry to the GWR was recognized on Dec. 19, 2009 and was given the official certificate last Jan. 13 as the heaviest mango in the world.

By Suzy May Roa

Introducing “Champion watermelon”.

And farmers in Southern Mindanao are happy that this hybrid variety, named Takii Watermelon Oriental Ball P1, has come along.

In Davao del Sur, for instance, farmers described it as dako (big) and daghang mamunga (prolific), much better than the old variety.

Introduced by the Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC), the country’s only full Filipino-owned vegetable breeding company, Tokii Oriental Ball was introduced to the farming sector in a series of harvest festivals conducted by the company headed by Will U. Co.

Other provinces now growing it include Davao del Norte and North Cotabato.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Infected plants with only the outer leaves affected may be saved by removing them from the field and harvesting the heads. However, when the entire head is infected, they should be discarded. Bottom rot may also be avoided by regular crop rotation.

Cercospora Leaf Spot. This disease is caused by the fungus Cercospora beticola. Cercospora leaf spot causes lesions on the side of leaves of infected crops. When left unmanaged, the infection spreads throughout the entire plant until it expires.

To control this disease, affected leaves should be removed and burned immediately. Chemical control of this disease may include spraying of zineb, maneb plus zinc sulfate or ziram.

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A member of the Philippine Inventors’ Society tells us why we should start drinking bignay tea.

In a recent study aptly titled “Antioxidant Potential and Components of Philippine Vegetables and Fruits” which was supported by the Bureau of Agricultural Research (BAR), bignay, kaluinpit and ubi were found to be high in antioxidants after it was subjected, along with other 15 fruits and vegetables, in a research designed to determine which of them had the most antioxidant capability.

Those 15 fruits and vegetables included: eggplant, patola, tiesa, mangosteen, durian, kalumpit, alugbati, ampalaya, bago, sayote, malunggay, bignay , squash, saluyot, sitaw and ubi.

Various steps in the research process, like the preparation of crude antioxidants extracts, screening of antioxidants, and partial separation of antioxidant components, were conducted to find out which among these fruits and vegetables have the highest potentials for producing antioxidants.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Lettuce is one of the long standing high-value crops in the Cordillera. This vegetable is appropriate for the said location because of the location’s cold climate. Currently, an approximate of 407 hectares of Cordillera land is used for growing lettuce.

Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) is an economically-important member of the compositae family. This is a cool weather vegetable and grows in the ideal temperature of 60 to 70 Fahrenheit. Lettuce has five varieties including leaf or loose-leaf, Cos or romaine, crisphead, butterhead, and stem or asparagus lettuce.

Leaf lettuce is characterized by crisp leaves loosely arranged on the stalk. Leaf lettuce type includes Salad Bowl, Early Curked Simpson, and Slobolt.

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In the banana producing areas in Mindanao, the growers have a problem with their so-called “rejects” which are either too small or too big for the export market.

One big plantation alone may have 15 tons of rejects every day. There are some businessmen who buy the rejects dirt cheap (P500 per truckload) but they can buy just a small fraction.

One company that is taking advantage of the availability of cheap off-size bananas is Perfect Milling, a feedmill in Tagum City, Davao del Norte, managed by Aerol Conde. Thanks to the off-size bananas, Aerol can produce high quality feeds at a lower price than the competition. He said that his feeds (for swine and poultry) are at least P40 per bag cheaper than the leading brand in the market.

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As more volunteers help in nation building, I see an opportunity during this financial crisis. This means the upside of the downturn is also an opening for hope.

I attended the Agrilink co-organizers meeting recently and I was enthused by the big turnout of the fisheries industry group. The Chair of Agrilink this year is Philip Ong of Santeh Feeds. He is able to galvanize the fisheries group to participate in the coming Agrilink with more exhibitors. More live fish viewed in a series of, aquaria is a least to the eves. In view of this development, I foresee a bigger, more interesting Agrilink come October 2009. As early as now, attendance is assured. it has truly become a reunion of all agriculture and fisheries stakeholders.

Fruits and vegetables
In a recent meeting of’ the NAFC fruits and vegetables sub-committee, it was interesting to note tile change of focus of the core group of indigenous vegetables. Started tell years ago, its first locus was malunggay. The success of the malunggay as a food supplement and its other uses surpassed all expectations. Ill view of this development, the core group decided now to focus on saluyot. Mr. Antonio Rola of the core group discussed the merits of the saluyot A lot of interest was again generated by his power point well researched presentation. For example, did you know that the nutrient value of l00 gills of edible saluyot contain 7325 mg of beta carotene, 1221 mg of Vitamin A and 488 mg of calcium? It is the food for the royalty in olden days.

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Ex-NPA chief Bernabe Buscayno of Talaga, Capas, Tarlac and Capas Mayor Reynaldo Catacutan are both producers of organic bananas. The methods of these close friends, however, are very different. Catacutan is into the scientific, while “Kumander Dante ” practices what he calls primitive banana production that he learned from the natives when he was in the boondocks.

Buscayno started venturing in banana production in 2004. But before this, he was producing rice. He had even established a rice farmers’ cooperative after then President Corazon Aquino granted him a reprieve. The co-op unfortunately fell apart because the 2,000 members were affected by the Mt. Pinatuba eruption in 1991.

Buscayno was encouraged by his friend who was working at the Lorenzo Farms in Davao to plant banana instead of rice as the return of investment with banana is more substantial. He was convinced of its potential and so he ordered 4,000 tissue-cultured  seedlings from the Lorenzo Farms. He bought cavendish, lakatan, and latundan varieties at P30 each.

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One model farm that attendees of the recent National Vegetable Congress held in General Santos City visited is the organic farm of Capt. James Fos Reamon, a commercial pilot, in Brgy. Katungauan of the same city. There they saw beautifully growing high-value vegetables like carrots, hybrid tomatoes, ampalaya, eggplant, lettuce, pechay, cauliflower, rootcrops and many more.

Aside from vegetables, the 2.4-hectare diversified farm boasts of fruit trees like exotic mango varieties, avocado, pummelo, latexless jackfruit, aromatic coconut, lemon and others. The farm also has a small parcel for growing organic rice, a fishpond for growing fish and ornamental water plants like Nymphaea.

The farm is being developed into a showcase of organic farming practices like the production of vermicast, a very potent organic fertilizer, using the African nightcrawler earthworm. James is considered the biggest vermicast producer in southern Mindanao today, producing half a ton of pure vermicast everyday. He envisions his farm to eventually become a tour destination for people interested in organic farming.

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Considered a complete food, this fruit has so many benefits that one can imagine.

Avocado is often said to be the most nutritious fruit in the world – and it is! The fruit provides more than 25 essential nutrients such as protein, iron, copper, phosphorus and magnesium, just to name a few.

Nutritionists claim avocado contain goodly amounts of Vitamin C (necessary for the production of collagen needed for the growth of new cells and tissues, prevents viruses from penetrating cell membranes, and also a powerful anti-oxidant), thiamine (converts carbohydrates to glucose to fuel the brain and nervous system), and riboflavin (helps the body to release energy from proteins, carbohydrates and fat).

Avocado also has 60% more potassium than banana. Potassium is a mineral, that helps regulate blood pressure. As such, adequate intake of potassium can help guard against circulatory diseases, like high blood pressure, heart disease, or stroke. III addition, avocado also provides calories for energy and beneficial phytochemicals such as glutathione.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Tomatoes have an annual average growth rate of 2.33% in the Philippines for the period of 1998 to 2002. Major producers of tomato in the Philippines include Pangasinan (22.811.40 tons, average for 1998-2002), Bukidnon (17,297.20 tons), Ilocos Norte (14,489.40 tons), Iloilo (10,476.80 tons), Ilocos Sur (10,001.20 tons) and Nueva Ecija (7,900 tons).

Growing tomatoes
Tomatoes are considered as a hot weather crop. Tomatoes like heat and humidity. Tomatoes need light, fertile soil with a lot of organic matter. Too much nitrogen can reduce tomato yields.

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Here’s an easy do-it-yourself guide to managing your own garden of high-value fruits and vegetables.

Vegetable growing in the Philippines is seasonal. Subsequently, profits from the vegetable industry can also be unstable. Availability of vegetables in the market varies throughout the year. Thus, vegetable prices also vary accordingly. Price of vegetable with high supply is low, and price of vegetables with low supply is high.

However, high-value vegetables maintain their price through out the year with the only exception of the event that the vegetable is in excessive supply in the market. These high-value vegetables include asparagus, lettuce, cauliflower, sweet peas, celery and broccoli.

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