Agriculture Business Week

As more and more enthusiasts are getting interested in planting Red Lady Papaya, which is very much in demand as ripe table papaya, there are also some seedling growers who are trying to make a fast buck from this papaya variety. Beware of them because they pass seedlings grown from the seeds of the hybrid plants as F1 or first filial generation seedlings.

Sometime in 2006, we tried planting six Red Lady seedlings which we got from Dr. Ronaldo A. Sumaoang, president and CEO of Novatech Agri-Food Industries, and we are now making some money from the fruits even with this limited number. This made us interested to plant some more, and Dr. Sumaoang provided us additional seedlings, which he obtained from a seedling grower

Planted during the last wet season. the plants are now bearing fruits but definitely, the seeds used by the seedling grower were not F1s. The fruits are a clear proof of the segregating characters of the plants, as they van in size, shape, and density. Some plants bear elongated fruits, while the others have oblong fruits. Unfortunately, too, the fruits are not as close to each as those of the Fl. The plants are also tall.

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Posted on November 6th, 2008 under Fruits. Tags: Papaya, Red Lady Papaya, Seeds. Comments: None

In many instances, scientists find something great in their researchers, which they never thought of before hand. Called serendipity, this was exactly how a PhilRice research discovered trigonelline from rice seeds while he was studying the possibility of extending the nitrogen fixation system in non-leguminous crops such as rice.

Trigonelline is is a chemo attractant for rhizobia or nitrogen-fixing bacteria and an active medicinal compound in rice seeds. This compound is an alkaloidal compound named after the leguminous plant Trigonella foenum-graecum (fenugreek) from which it was first isolated and characterized. Thus, besides the beneficial interaction of rice with nitrogen fixing bacteria, trigonelline provides health benefits from drinking rice coffee.

Dr. Constancio A. Asis Jr. said it never occurred in his mind that he would stumble upon trigonelline even as he was trying to identify some compounds that can attract the nitrogen-fixing bacteria (called chemo attractants) to the roots of rice.

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Posted on October 17th, 2008 under Rice. Tags: PhilRice, Rice, Seeds. Comments: None

Seed growing is a laborious business. The good thing about it is that the hard work is compensated by the big income one can derive from it.

Five accredited seed growers in Nueva Ecija know this best because if not for their profits from seed growing, they wouldn’t be able to afford a well-furnished house, jeeps, other ventures, and, most of all, sending their children to school.

One of them is Patricia Molina, 48, of the Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija. She started working on her accreditation in 2000. And since she is a member of Community Rice Farming (CORFARMING), an organization of seed growers in Nueva Ecija, she has attended many seminars on seed growing and these eventually paved the way for her accreditation.
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Posted on October 14th, 2008 under Entrepreneurs. Tags: Seeds. Comments: None

Tungro can be a thing of the past. Try the Matatag seeds.

Since 2004 when the Matatag seeds were introduced, farmers have always been looking for them in PhilRice Midsayap.

Many areas in Cotabato are tungro hotspots. There are times when farmers are barely able to pay their pre-planting debts much less to source their money for the next planting season.
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Posted on October 12th, 2008 under Rice. Tags: Disease, PhilRice, Rice, Seeds, Tungro. Comments: None

Like their counterparts in Dingle, Iloilo, farmers in San Jacinto, Pangasinan are upbeat on the prospects of the direct seeded lines that are being developed by Dr. Norvie Manigbas of Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice).

In a field day held at Barangay Lobong, farmers from various barangays in San Jacinto indicated their desire to plant two lines from among 10 lines that were being tested with the cooperation of Ludovico Sison. More than 10 farmers have requested for seeds of PR 31952-12-B-B and PR 32771-9-2-B-B which, to them, perform well under San Jacinto conditions.
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Posted on October 12th, 2008 under Rice. Tags: Farmers, Rice, Seeds. Comments: None

For 24 years, many members of the Pagalongan Seed Growers Multipurpose Cooperative in Pagalongan, Ditsaan Ramaen, Lanao del Sur were die-hard combatants of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) until they surrendered to the military in 1996 and joined the national effort of producing food for a burgeoning population.

Taha B. Cabugatan, who carries the ancestral title Sultan Diamla of Pagalongan, was the commander of 75 diehard combatants who were always on the run for 20 years. This 57-year-old leader recalls that most of the time, they were hiding in the mountains living on donations from farmers. They were always on the go as they continuously received mission orders from higher ranking officials.
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Posted on October 8th, 2008 under Entrepreneurs. Tags: Farming, Seeds. Comments: None

A big vegetable seedling production facility was launched in San Rafael, Bulacan last July 30, attended by more than 300 farmers from different parts of the country.

This is the one-hectare seedling nursery of East-West Seed Company which can produce 1.5 million ready-to-plant seedlings every month, according to Dr. Mary Ann P. Sayoc, company general manager.

The main purpose of the facility is to produce ready-to-plant high-value crops for the convenience of commercial farmers as well as small-scale hobbyists who may not be proficient or don’t have the time in germinating the seeds. At the East-West Seed nursery, the seeds are grown under sophisticated facilities which ensure the germination and development of healthy seedlings.

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Posted on September 26th, 2008 under Vegetables. Tags: Seeds, Veggies. Comments: None