Agriculture Business Week

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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Posted on June 9th, 2009 under Farming, Rice. Tags: Farming, Hybrid, Rice. Comments: None

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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Posted on May 26th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: Hybrid, Rice. Comments: 4

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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Posted on May 19th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: Hybrid, NSIC, PhilRice, Rice. Comments: None

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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Posted on May 15th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: Hybrid, Rice. Comments: None

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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Posted on May 14th, 2009 under Fruits, Technology. Tags: Hybrid, Mandarin, Seedless, Seeds. Comments: None

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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Posted on May 13th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: Hybrid, Mindanao, Rice. Comments: None

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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Posted on May 12th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: Hybrid, Mindanao, Rice. Comments: None

The Philippines is sick of politics and bossism. What the country truly needs are good and effective leader who will lead its people towards development and better life.

Take the case of the agricultural development in San Jose City, Nueva Ecija. From 4.8 tons per hectare (ha), the average harvest of farmers increased to 5.8 tons per ha, and a big part of such improvement is attributed to the good and effective leadership of Engineer Rogelio B. Malunay, San Jose City agriculturist.

Malunay has been serving San Jose City for 16 years already. He started as a clerk in 1989 and then became a community affairs officer. Aside from being a city agriculturist, Malunay is also the president of an association of municipal agricultural officers of Nueva Ecija.

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Posted on May 11th, 2009 under Farming. Tags: Farmer, Farming, Hybrid, Leadership, Rice. Comments: 1

In our recent tour in Sultan Kudarat and war-torn Maguindanao, we met an extension worker-farmer and two farmer-financiers who insist that nothing, is better for them now than the Bioseed corn varieties they are planting.

All of them – Nerio Gerodias of Talisawa, Datu Abdullah Sangki, Maguindanao, Jessie Caldito of Camasi, Ampatuan, Maguindanao, and Yolanda Sales of Osmena, Bagumbayan, Sultan Kudarat – had been planting other hybrid varieties. But they will not plant those varieties again as they are now greatly satisfied with Bioseed varieties.

FINDING TIME FOR FARMING
Nerio, 53, is an agricultural extension worker of the Municipal Agriculture Office of Datu Abdullah Sangki yet he finds enough time for farming. He spends his free time in his farm, and extends farm technologies to owners of neighboring farms and other farmers from other barangays.

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Posted on April 14th, 2009 under Corn/Maize. Tags: Bioseed, Corn, Hybrid. Comments: None

Many farmers in Bicol Region initially doubted the hybrid rice technology as its launching in 1998 was not as successful as the trials conducted in other areas. Yet, a farmer in Albay got deeply interested in hybrid rice and eventually succeeded in its production.

That farmer is Ricardo Roperes of Ligao City, Albay. “My passionate interest in learning a technology has paved my way to victory,” he says as to why he have succeeded in hybrid rice production.

In spite of its unimpressive promotion and low adoption rate, this 52-year-old farmer and agriculture graduate persisted in learning the technology. He collected reading materials and followed reports on its development on radio and television. After a year of conscientious self-study, he started to utilize what he learned.

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Posted on April 12th, 2009 under Farming, Rice. Tags: Bicol, Farming, Hybrid, Rice. Comments: None

This article cites the importance of activities needed for good hybrid corn seed germination during the planting period and the first few days afterwards.

Whenever the planting season starts, it is expected that a good number of customer calls to seed companies are related to germination issues. It is surprising if a season passes without the usual field visits to check on the requests. So for this month, we thought of writing an article on germination and some practical approaches on ensuring a good start for your corn. For those who have followed this column, you might probably recall that we have already wrote a similar article years back, but we hope you’ll find this as a good addition to your knowledge bank.

Every good farmer knows that besides using the right hybrid and an effective maintenance program for his farm to ensure high yield, he also needs to recognize that a good germination is one of the success factors for better yield and income. Consider applying 12 to 16 bags of fertilizer in a 1-hectare corn farm with 75,000 plants vis-a-vis the same amount of fertilizer and the same area size with only 50,000 plants. The low population count is due to poor germination or due to other factors. But obviously, this is a waste of fertilizer – an input with skyrocketing prizes due to its direct relationship with crude petroleum products – and time. Bear in mind that to maximize farm inputs and the cost associated with it, all means should be exhausted to ensure a good population of productive plants.

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Posted on April 9th, 2009 under Corn/Maize. Tags: Corn, Corn/Maize, Germination, Hybrid. Comments: None

In the early ’80s, Apolinario “Enar” Orilla of Brgy. Baligian, Jabonga, Agusan del Norte was just a utility boy of a rich Chinese businessman in Butuan City, who later became his father-in-law. After more than 20 years, he has become the top Sangguniang Bayan member of his town and the 2006 Gawad Saka awardee for integrated rice farming in the Caraga region.

Although he started farming with less than a hectare (ha) in 1983 when he was only 23 years old, he now cultivates 10 has, of which 4 has are rented. His harvest from his first crop, however, could not be considered that of the neophyte that he was. He got 130 bags/ha, while the maximum yield of old timers was only 100 bags/ha.

Because of his income in the first year, he was able to mortgage 1 ha the following year for P3,000. Now 47, Enar said other farmers are forced to mortgage their farms because of their poor harvests.

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Posted on March 31st, 2009 under Farming, Rice. Tags: Farmer, Farming, Hybrid, Rice. Comments: None

The National Seed Industry Council(NSIC) released two new hybrid rice varieties bred by the private sector and developed jointly by NSIC and the national Rice Varietal Improvement Group, which is led by PhilRice (Philippine Rice Research Institute).

More popularly known as BIO 401 and Rizalina 28, the new hybrid rice varieties are officially known as NSIC Re 162H (Mestizo 8 ) and NSIC Re 164H (Mestizo 9), respectively. Both are recommended for transplanted culture in irrigated lowland in the dry and wet seasons.

Bred by Bioseed Research Phils., Inc.. BIO 401 is high yielding and suitable in Luzon and in seven other regions in the Visayas and Mindanao. It has good grain and good eating qualities.

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Posted on March 29th, 2009 under Rice. Tags: BIO 401, Hybrid, Rice, Rizalina. Comments: 3

Here are some of the helpful tips in planting hybrid rice :

Seed and Seedbed preparation
For every 2 kg of seeds, prepare 40 m2 seedbed. Each bed must be about 1m wide, of any length, and raised to a height of 4 to 5 cm. Soak the seeds for about 12 to 24 hours in clean water until these have swelled. Some seeds will float. Do not remove them. Change the water every 5 to 6 hours. Then drain the water and incubate them for 24 to 36 hours until a white dot comes out from the seeds. After preparing the seedbed, apply 1 to 1.5 bags of organic materials for every 40 m2 seedbed. Once the seedbed is prepared, sow 20 kg of pre-germinated hybrid seeds at a rate of 50g for every square meter.

Transplanting
This method only requires 20 kg of hybrid rice seeds per hectare. Transplant 21 to 25 day-old seedlings at 1 to 2 seedings/hill. Plant at a distance of 20 cm x 20 cm during wet season. Replant missing hills within 7 days after transplanting.
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Posted on March 16th, 2009 under Agri Tips, Rice. Tags: Hybrid, Rice, Tips. Comments: None