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.