Agriculture Business Week

The Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center(PhilRootcrops for short) has gone a long way in improving the productivity as well as the taste and other qualities of the lowly camote or sweet potato.

Long before the research and training center was established in 1977. farmers used to harvest an average of eight tons of roots per hectare from their favorite varieties. Today, the yield has increased to an average of 12 to 15 tons per hectare. Of course, there are varieties that give much higher yields like VSPI which gives an average of 21.90 tons per hectare, thanks to the researchers.

In the beginning, the target of the researchers was to produce hybrids that will produce high yields, says Dr. Jose Bacusmo, the president of Visayas State University (VSU), who has been involved in the sweet potato research program from the beginning up to now. He still acts as the project leader of the research program although other staff acts as head of the center. The present head is Dr. Julieta Roa.

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Hybrid rice seeds are produced by planting male and female parental lines in rows next to each other and allowing them to cross-pollinate. These are harvested from the female plant, which are then planted for hybrid rice cultivation.

Hybrid rice seed production (HRSP) is a tedious yet rewarding endeavor. Hybrid seeds sell at a minimum of about P60 per kilogram. A one-hectare farm that produces 1,500 kg hybrid seeds will have a gross sales of P90,000 while the same field if planted with commercial rice yielding 5,000 kg will have gross sales of about P65,000 based on the current price of paddy rice. While HRSP is more costly than commercial rice planting, the returns would justify the added cost.

However, not all regions and seasons are favorable for HRSP. It is not recommended for wet season planting. So far, there are only two major provinces/regions in the Philippines identified by PhilRice suitable for HRSP- Davao Oriental in Mindanao and Kalinga in Northern Luzon. In fact, farmer-cooperatives devoted to HRSP are in these regions, notably the Davao Oriental Seed Producers Cooperative (DOSEPCO), Kalinga Hybrid Rice Seed Producers Multi-purpose Cooperative, and the Tabuk Hybrid Rice Seed Producers Multi-purpose Cooperative. These cooperatives are stories of successful implementation of HRSP.

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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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“Weed” is a harsh and very condemning term that we can coin for a plant whose economic importance and value is yet to be discovered. Weed is a plant that is unwanted at a particular space and time. Such unwantedness can be traced by generalizing that it can do more harm than good under such particular condition.

These are some of the possible damages weeds can do in ricefields.
1. It reduces yield due to competition with crops for light, water, and nutrients.
2. It reduces quality of produce through adulteration.
3. It blocks irrigation and drainage-canals.
4. It interferes with cultural practices.

5. It makes harvesting difficult.
6. It harbors insect pest and pathogens that attack the rice.

In comparison with other pests, weeds do not show visible damage to rice and because of this farmers do not recognize the yield reducing effect of weeds. Some farmers often neglect their presence, and will only remove when weeds have already grown vigorously and have already produced seeds. On the other hand, some farmers are so meticulously concerned to achieve a weed-free field in the whole cropping season. Both situations are an example of improper weed management. Removal of weeds after completing their life cycle is already too late because the weeds have already established themselves in the ricefield. Maintaining absolutely weed-free fields is too costly and time and labor consuming. Both approaches will reduce – farmer’s productivity either by reduced yields or by unnecessary channeling of resources to weed control. Weeds should only be controlled only when they pose significant yield reduction.

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The government will stop granting each farmer P1,500 hybrid rice seed subsidy and reduce the certified seed subsidy from P1,200 to P600 starting this wet season. The fund for the subsidies will be used instead for construction of farm-to-market roads, dryers and other farm infrastructures.

Thelma F. Padolina, head of PhilRice Plant Breeding, said that farmers should not be discouraged by the reduction of subsidies from using hybrid seeds and certified seeds, and that they should consider their yield advantage over other seeds.

Studies show that the use of hybrid seeds and certified seeds results in 15 percent yield increase and contributes 10 percent to rice production growth, respectively. In addition, according to the study Sources of Decade Rice yield Growth in the Philippines presented during the 23rd National Rice R&D conference last March, adoption of high quality seeds was one of the major factors that contributed to yield increase from 1996 to 2007. About 15 percent and 12 percent of which are attributed to the use of certified seeds and hybrid seeds, respectively.

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Even as their farming techniques vary from each other; three farmers in Pangasinan say the same thing about the latest corn hybrid they planted- their yields from it was much higher than from the other varieties they used before.

Anselmo Dionio, 55, of Caaringayan, Laoac town said his recent yield from 3 hectares planted to Bioseed 9909 was as much as 10 tons of shelled corn per hectare. Last year, he harvested an average of 11 tons of shelled corn per hectare using the same variety. This year he also planted 1.8 hectares in Sta. Barbara in partnership with a large-scale poultry raiser, Engr. Manuel Soriano, and estimated that the yield would be also about 10 tons per hectare even as the corn ears were still being dried before shelling.

On the other hand, Edwin dc Asis, 47, of Dumayat, Binalonan planted Bioseed 9909 in 6,000 square meters. He harvested 5,026 kilograms or 8,376 kilos per hectare.

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A project on growing high-value vegetables under contoured sloping areas is being implemented in Brgy. Masunoy and Brgy. Candungaw in San Isidro, Bohol.

This is a joint project of the local government (LGU) of San Isidro, the Bureau of Soils and Water Management, East-West Seed Company and the Australian Center for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR).

According to Daisy Monreal, technology transfer technologist of East-West Seed Company, they will showcase the improved techniques of growing high-value vegetables in sloping fields that are contoured to prevent erosion of the soil.

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By this time, you may be expecting a record-breaking harvest of your hybrid rice. But even if you obtained a 30 percent yield advantage by planting PHB71 compared to your previous season’s harvest from an inbred or other hybrids, such yield advantage can be easily lost by postharvest losses. The following discussion thoroughly deals with minimizing such losses.

About 15 to 20 percent of our annual rice production is lost due to improper postharvest handling and processing. Postharvest losses can even reach 50 percent during the rainy season, especially in areas hit by typhoons. These losses are largely due to improper drying and storage. Our rice farmers toiled to produce every grain only to be lost when all we have to do is put it into our mouth. This is particularly disturbing in the context of a nation that has been perennially importing rice to feed its growing population. Reducing these losses will auger well to our seemingly unreachable quest for rice self sufficiency.

At near ideal situations, like in the International Rice Research Institute, rice grown to supply the rice allowance of its employees is harvested by track-laying combine harvesters. The paddy rice is immediately dried to 14 percent moisture content either by flatbed dryers or via continuous flow dryers for about 6-8 hours. After drying, the paddy is milled by a state of the art ricemill to produce quality polished rice ready for distribution just within 24 hours after harvest.

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About 242 hectares o terraced rice field in the mountainous Barangay Tukod in San Rafael, Bulacan is rainfed and unfavorable for farming, yet farmers here have managed to produce an average of 6 tons to 7 tons of hybrid rice per hectare.

Their success is attributable to their resourcefulness and receptivity to technology, which they have exemplified when the GMA Hybrid Rice Commercialization program was being introduced to the community six years ago. A 100 percent technology adoption rate was achieved in the community, and this would not be possible if not for the efforts of Pablito Trinidad, 61, who was the barangay chairman back then and is now the chairman of the Municipal Agriculture and Fisheries Council.

Being the barangay chairman, Trinidad was requested by municipal agriculturist Emelita Trinidad to initiate the adoption of the hybrid rice technology in the community. And so he planted his 1.5hectare rice farm to 20-kilogram bag of Gloria Rice, the first hybrid Mestizo variety bred by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). To propagate it, he attended seminars on hybrid rice production at PhilRice and farmer classes sponsored by the Department of Agriculture (DA) Regional Office.

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The National Seed Industry Council(NSIC) has again released for commercial planting two hybrid rice varieties bred by private seed companies and developed by the national Rice Varietal Improvement Group (RVIG) led by Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice). This will give farmers more choices in the selection of hybrid rice varieties that they are going to plant.

The new varieties are PSD 3 of Syngenta Phils. and BCS 064 of Bayer Crop Science. These now carry the names NSIC Rc166H (Mestizo 10) and NSIC Rc 168H (Mestizo 11), respectively. In the national cooperative tests (NCT) in four cropping seasons from the 2005 dry season to 2007 wet season, both varieties produced an average yield of 130 bags a hectare (ha).

Both are recommended for transplanting culture in irrigated lowland areas throughout the year, but preferably during the dry season.

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Research results at PhilRice show that Mestizo 1 hybrid seed yield can be increased by spraying its parentals with gibberellic acid, resulting in greater panicle exsertion (or elongation) and heavier seeds. This in creases the chances to maximize the pollination of the cytoplasmic male sterile lines or female parent.

According to PhilRice researchers Jesusa M. Rivera and Evelyn F. Javier, most of the panicles of the female parent of Mestizo 1 are normally enclosed in the flag leaf sheath and are hardly exserted during panicle emergence. Thus, chances of high pollination and seed setting become more difficult, resulting in lower seed yield.

Results showed that while other plant growth regulators like Brassinolide and Orgamin-DA increased the number of panicles and filled spikelet per panicle, other yield structures of Mestizo 1 female lines were not affected.

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Maricopa, California – Last April, California’s largest citrus grower threatened to sue beekeepers, accusing them of letting their insects “trespass” on mandarin groves.

The growers were not afraid of being stung, they were afraid that the bees would pollinate their trees, something farmers usually want bees to do. But these trees in the San Joaquin Valley were planted to bear seedless fruit, and pollination would create seeds.

This spring, a citrus growers trade association will be lobbying the state legislature for a Seedless Mandarin Protection Act that would establish “no-fly zones” of three kilometers for hives around designated orchards.

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RENERIO GUEVARRA
Renerio or “Dodong” is a forester with only one functional arm. His left arm was amputated in 1974 due to a vehicular accident. He was riding in a bus from Davao City when the vehicle was side swept by another bus. Unfortunately, his arm was resting on the window and was badly damaged. He was hospitalized for 29 days and lost his left arm as well as his job at the Franklin Baker, a coconut desiccating plant.

Even before the accident, Dodong was already into part-time farming that is why it became his fall back job. Notwithstanding his handicap, he planted sugarcane and corn in a 1.5-hectare farm using traditional technology and hired farm labor. However, he had no assurance that he would always derive a good income from farming. For five years, there were times when the harvest was good, but there were also times when his crops failed, leaving almost nothing for his family.

“It (sugarcane and corn farming) was not like growing rice [using] the new technology and be assured of getting a very good harvest if you do your homework,” Dodong said.

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Eulogio Guira is a migrant from Ilocos Norte, while Renerio Guevarra is a native of Digos City but they have one thing in common: They are the top hybrid rice growers in Mindanao and in the Visayas.

Eulogio, 64, has made Mindanao his second home since he has been there for 50 years. From Brgy. Nagbacalan, Batac, Ilocos Norte, he was brought to Palembang, Sultan Kudarat in 1957 by his uncle who migrated to Mindanao ahead of him.

In his first 15 years in Palembang, he acquired 10 hectares (has) and saved some money despite the traditional technology that he was using. In 1972, however, Sultan Kudarat became very troublesome due to the conflict between the Ilagas and the Muslims.

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