Promoting, patronizing Agriculture products

August 26, 2011, 9:51pm

 MANILA, Philippines — To boost the country’s agriculture industry, the government, through the Department of Agriculture (DA), calls on Filipinos to patronize local agriculture products and thus help Filipino Farmers to produce more and earn sustainable incomes.

The DA-Agribusiness and Marketing Assistance Service (DA-AMAS) will establish a central depot or distribution hub where small supermarkets may buy their regular stocks of agri-fishery products, including onions. The Philippine Association of Supermarkets, Inc. (PASI) will also provide a list of organic agricultural products which the DA will refer to interested suppliers, farmers’ groups, and producers.

The Hotel and Restaurant Association of the Philippines (HRAP) will provide the DA with a list of farm and fishery products and ingredients that hotels and restaurants require which farmers’ groups could supply on a regular basis.

The Katipunan ng mga Samahang Magsisibuyas ng Nueva Ecija (KASAMNE) committed to ensure a sustainable supply of onions. It will soon produce off-season yellow granex onions which will be planted beginning August and harvested by October through November to meet the demand during the Christmas season.

DA will lead a program to revive the country’s garlic industry and will also promote the production of local “Peking duck’’ to supply the requirements of Chinese restaurants.

With the Philippines’ fertile lands and other rich natural resources, Filipino farmers can produce agriculture products with the same quality and quantity as imported ones. Let us promote local products and help advance the nation’s agriculture industry and economy. Mabuhay!

13 tons corn per hectare!

By ZAC B. SARIAN

July 22, 2011, 4:29pm

MANILA, Philippines -- With just one spray with a new growth-enhancing formulation, a farmer in Pangasinan was able to produce 13 tons of corn kernels (14% moisture content) in one hectare.

That’s the good news that our friend, Alfonso G. Puyat, brought to us a couple of days ago. Puyat is a dedicated researcher who has long been making studies on how to enhance yields of rice, corn and other crops at affordable costs.

Puyat has been developing his plant growth-enhancing formulations for a number of years now. He only has tentative names for them such as Philor Formula I and Philor Formula II. Patents are still pending but in the meantime, they are being tried by scientific researchers as well as by hands-on farmers.

One of the recent users is Oftociano “Anong” Manalo of Balungao, Pangasinan who is also the president of the North and Central Luzon Federation of Irrigators Associations. Last January 15, he planted Bt corn Dekalb 9132 on 6,300 square meters. Three-and-a-half months later, he harvested 12.3 tons of fresh corn-on-the-cob. That’s equivalent to 19.53 tons per hectare. When shelled and dried to a moisture content of 14 percent, the yield is equivalent to 13 tons per hectare.

Aside from the conventional fertilizer that Manalo applied (5 bags of complete fertilizer 14-14-14 at planting time and sidedressing of 2 bags urea and 1 bag 0-0-60), he just sprayed Puyat’s Philor Formula 1 only once when the corn plants were waist-high after hilling up.

Puyat’s formulation which did the trick consists of single elements of plant food which he combined together plus ANAA, a plant growth regulator. The spray costs only about P250 per hectare, yet the increase in yield is tremendous. It is also very easy to apply.

Puyat’s two formulations were also compared with Wokozim (a well known fertilizer) and control (not treated with fertilizer). On a per row basis, the Wokozim-treated corn plants yielded 17.8 kilos while the control plants (not fertilized) gave 15 kilos. Puyat’s Formula 1 with trace element yielded 30 kilos, a 100% increase over the control. On the other hand Formula II gave 26 kilos which is 73.33% higher than the yield of the control plants.

In the farm of Rosendo So in Rosales, Pangasinan, the corn plants were sprayed with Formula I about 34 days after planting. Then the growth of the plants was measured two months after planting. It was found that the sprayed plants were 95 inches tall on the average while the unsprayed plants were only 66 inches tall.

The yield of the sprayed plants was much higher - 88 percent higher than the unsprayed.

Puyat is very upbeat about his new technology. It could significantly increase corn production not only in the Philippines but also abroad.

If it is adopted in the United States, it could greatly help that country rebound from its economic crisis. That’s because the US has a vast growing area for corn and other cereals like soybean and wheat. Then it can supply the rest of the world with its agricultural produce.

 

Fast-growing Money-maker

By ZAC B. SARIAN

 MANILA, Philippines — One promising new money-maker for local investors is the Pekin duck, particularly the F1 (first generation) ducklings of a superior genetic line from the Czech Republic that is now available locally.

According to Dr. Erwin Cruz who is distributing the ducklings, this Pekin duck will usually attain a liveweight of 3.6 kilos in only 49 days. With a dressing percentage of 69%, each bird will yield 2.48 kilos of marketable meat. The meat has a farmgate price of P190 per kilo, hence one dressed duck will gross the raiser P471.20.

And what is the cost of production per bird of a batch of 100? The cost of producing one kilo of meat, including the cost of dressing, is P122.83, according to Dr. Cruz. So the cost of producing the 2.48 kilos of meat per bird is P304.61. Subtract this from the gross of P471.20, and you get a net profit of P166.59 per head. That’s not bad for a growing period of 49 days.

The quality of the meat meets the high standards of the top restaurants in Manila as well as the importers from Japan, according to Dr. Cruz. In fact, one Japanese importer would like to import three container loads (54 tons) of dressed Pekin duck every week. However, as of the moment, the requirement could only be met partially.

Dr. Cruz said that the ducks should be raised in confinement inside a house with elevated floor (one meter above the ground). In the growing period of 49 days, each bird will usually consume 8.4 kilos costing P194.58.

The other costs are the cost of the ducklings (P65 each), brooding cost at P5 per head; rice hull used for brooding (P5 per head). Labor is placed at P1,000 per 100 birds.

Here is a golden opportunity for the Philippines to capitalize on the fact that it is about the only country in the region that is free of the bird flu. Clusters of Pekin duck production involving the small farmers is possible, according to Dr. Cruz.

What is needed is government support for the industry such as the provision of AAA dressing plants that will make it possible to export the Pekin duck meat not only to Japan but also elsewhere.

Technology in postharvest processing as well as various ways of cooking Pekin duck meat should be in the research agenda.

Of course, the target should not only be for export. More Filipinos should also be able to savor the Pekin duck meat.

Actually, many Filipinos think very lowly of duck meat because they believe it is tough and has a fishy taste (malangsa). That’s because the local ducks often cooked are the culls whose meat is tough.

Once they taste the fleshy and tender meat of the 49-days-old Pekin duck of Dr. Cruz, their impression of duck meat would be totally different.

More on coco shell sugar

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines -- In this column last June 25, we reported on the Xylose Coco Sugar, a special kind of sugar that is extracted from the coconut shell. The company that is doing this for the first time in the world is the Toyota Tsusho Philippines, Inc. located at the DADC Economic Zone in Brgy. Darong, Sta. Cruz, Davao del Sur.

An information material was prepared by Angelica Laurilla and sent to us by Edgar Allan Pasaol from the Department of Agriculture –Region 12.

The info material tells us that “Xylose is a natural sweetener out of coconut shell. It is also commonly known as wood sugar and is obtained from the xylan-rich portion of hemicellulose which is present in plant cell walls and fiber of coconut shells. It can also be found in berries, spinach, broccoli, pears and corn cobs.”

The info continues that Xylose is safe for food use, is toxin-free and contains zero calorie. It helps fight infections, restores hormonal imbalances; it is antibacterial, antifungal and contains healing agents. Its by-product called Xylitol is a sweetener used in making chewing gum and toothpaste since it has anti-cavity attributes.

The technology used in extracting Xylose from coconut shell was developed in Korea and is being used for the first time in the Philippines. CJ Toyota Tsusho invested $55 million in the project which is more than P5 billion in Philippine money.

The company can produce 15,000 tons of Xylose per year. One concern, however, is sourcing enough raw materials to keep the plant busy. The company is currently buying coconut shell with 16 to 19 percent moisture content at P4 to P5 per kilo.

Local agricultural officials welcome the establishment of the processing plant in Sta. Cruz. DA Region 12 Director Amalia Jayag-Datukan has offered whatever assistance the DA could do to help the company obtain enough coconut shell for processing.

She invited the company’s general manager, Son Dae Ho, to attend the region’s quarterly Agri-Pinoy Information Caravan which is conducted in the four provinces in the region. This will help them promote their own product as well as to inform the farmers that there is a market for their coconut shell.

Agriculture Sec. Proceso J. Alcala also visited the company during its inauguration. He assured the com-pany officials of the assistance from the DA in sourcing their raw material needs. At the same time, he requested them to convert the byproduct of Xylose manufacture (molasses) into fertilizer that can be used to fertilize coconuts.

Dwarf papaya is very fruitful

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines -- There’s a new hybrid papaya that promises to be a good money-maker for farmers. It is called Red Royale and it is dwarf and very fruitful. It was developed by plant breeders of East-West Seed Company who had worked on it for the past several years.

After observing trial plantings in farmers’ fields in different parts of the country, the plant breeders of the company are convinced that it is now time to release for commercial planting by the farming public.

Procopio “Carpo” Marges of Brgy. Medina, Magallanes, Cavite is one of the farmers who were chosen to plant the new variety on a semi-commercial basis. On December 9, 2010, he planted 215 seedlings in his farm. By June 2, he was already able to harvest the first ripe fruits.

That means the first ripe fruits were harvested in just about seven months from planting. That means it is earlier by one month than the other hybrid papayas available in the market. Usually, the first fruits of the other hybrids start to ripen eight months after planting.

Red Royale is really dwarf. Some of the fruits are less than a foot above the ground. And the fruits are closely bunched. There is practically no gap between the fruits. Easily, one tree is laden with 20 or more fruits.

Usually, the fruits weigh 2 to 2.5 kilos each but there are those that weigh three kilos. The red flesh is thick, sweet and firm.

Marges who has been planting hybrid papayas in the last three years said that Red Royale does not require any special treatment. He has been growing it just like the earlier varieties such as Sinta and Red Lady. He did not fertilize his plants with chemical fertilizers. All he did after the plants were established was to put guano and old chicken manure around the base of each tree.

Being dwarf is a big advantage. Red Royale is less susceptible to damage by strong typhoons.

As per the experience of Marges, papaya is a profitable crop to grow for as long as the variety is not susceptible to diseases, particularly the papaya ring spot virus. The plantation should also be well drained.

Marges estimates that within one year from planting, he could harvest at least 20 marketable fruits from one tree. That would mean 40 to 50 kilos per tree. At P15 per kilo, that would mean a gross income of P600 to P750 per tree.

Usually, most of the trees will remain productive up to the 18th month from planting, according to Marges. At least 10 more marketable fruits could be harvested from each tree. Of course, under ideal conditions, the trees could even remain productive up to two years or longer.

Marges does not only make money from the fruits of his papayas. In between the dwarf trees he has planted Django pepper of the “pangsigang” variety. This is also a very productive hybrid from East-West Seed. The fruits normally fetch P50 per kilo. However, during off-season the price could reach more than P100 per kilo.

One very successful planter of Django is Benito Magaling of Lipa City. Three years ago, he planted two hectares of rented land to this pepper. From September to January the following year, he was harvesting two tons of fruits every day from the two hectares.

He divided the two hectares into seven lots so that each lot was harvested each day successively. Each day, he harvested two tons which his big buyers bought at P50 per kilo. That means P100,000 gross each day.

How did he harvest the two tons each day? He hired 20 women pickers who harvested just 100 kilos each. In half a day, each would be able to harvest her quota and paid P170 for the service.

Back to Red Royale. Dr. Balatero confided that it took them several years to develop the new hybrid. It started with the collection of various papaya strains with desirable characteristics such as resistance to diseases, fruitful with good eating quality and more. These were crossbred followed by meticulous selection and observation, trial plantings and taste-testing

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Pummelo has lots of advantages

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines -- When people think of growing fruit trees, the first thing that usually comes to their mind is mango. Our carabao mango variety tastes great when ripened at the proper maturity. So that’s probably the reason why people always want to plant mango.

The problem with mango is that there are lots of problems that confront the grower. And these problems are usually expensive to solve. For one, producing quality mango fruits requires a lot of chemicals. This is because the fruits as well as other parts of the tree are susceptible to diseases, especially anthracnose. There are also insects that damage the leaves and fruits.

In mango, you have to induce flowering with the use of chemicals. And if the flowers are overtaken by rain, they could be totally destroyed by fungus.

Another problem with mango is that the ripe fruits have a short shelf life. Ripe mangoes could be kept for just a few days without refrigeration. On the other hand, pummelo fruits could keep for a month without refrigeration. With cold storage, the fruit could last for six months.

Because of the many problems in mango production, some large plantations in Negros Occidental and Davao del Sur have cut down their mango trees that are at least 15 to 20 years old. Perhaps, the owners have found out too late that producing mangoes requires a lot of expensive inputs.

When people ask us what fruit tree to recommend besides mango, our first choice is pummelo, especially in areas where there is a defined wet and dry season. Pummelo loves the sun but it should be adequately provided with fertilizer (organic or otherwise) and enough moisture, too.

There are of course all kinds of pummelo varieties. There are varieties with superior taste – sweet, juicy and the flesh easily separates from the rind. But there are also many inferior varieties. Some are sour, bitter and the flesh adheres to the rind. You have to choose the best-tasting variety, especially if you plant for commercial purposes.

There are other advantages offered by pummelo over mango. For one, the price of the fruit in the market is higher than mango. In the upscale supermarkets, the going price is P120 per kilo.

One more advantage of pummelo is that it has a shorter gestation period. Commercial production could be attained four years after planting whereas in mango one has to wait seven to eight years before commercial production is achieved.

There are also more trees that can be planted in one hectare. The pummelo could be planted 7 or 8 meters apart whereas in mango the latest recommendation is to plant the trees 12 to 14 meters apart.

Another advantage is that instead of just one harvest, there could be a second harvest within the year for pummelo.

Of course there are also some problems in pummelo. One of them is fruitfly damage. This is serious if no solution is applied. The solution is to bag the fruits. Bagging will also control rind borer damage.

Gummosis is a frequent problem in farms where the trees are not adequately fertilized. This is characterized by the gummy exudates on the trunk and branches. The solution is to scrape the gummy substance and paint the affected parts with fungicide. Also apply complete fertilizer.

Also, one has to learn to apply the right fertilizer at the proper time. For instance, applying too much nitrogen when the fruits have developed midway could result in fruits with thick rind and with poor eating quality. Add micronutrients and more potash to make the fruits sweet and juicy.

Harvest the fruits when they have fully matured. But don’t allow them to overmature on the tree. This could result in dry flesh. After harvesting, the fruits are usually wiped with water with a little fungicide to prevent any fungal growth on the rind. The wiped fruits are then allowed to dry under a roof. The harvested fruits may be aged or kept in storage for at least one week so that they will attain their maximum sweetness.

To make sure that you plant the right variety, buy your planting materials from reliable sources. If possible, you should taste the fruit of the variety you are buying before ordering your planting materials. Planting materials may be grafted, budded or marcotted. Don’t plant seedling trees as the quality of the fruits is not assured. Seedling trees also take a long time to bear fruit. It’s easy to recognize seedling trees. They have a lot of sharp spines.

Farming can be very frustrating

By ZAC B. SARIAN

MANILA, Philippines -- Farming means hard work and while it is often gratifying, it can also be very frustrating.

It can be frustrating if it is not well planned. Just like what happened to a friend who has the money and the land but does not have much experience in planning a farming operation.

One day, he read about the wellness value of guyabano. So he went around and immediately bought 300 seedlings which he brought to his farm. He has two farmhands who were tasked to plant the seedlings. The problem was that the workers were inexperienced in planting fruit trees. They were used to taking care of tilapia and hito but not plants.

The workers took a long time to dig the holes for planting. Meantime, they didn’t bother to water the seedlings every day. As a result almost half of them withered and died.

Naturally the businessman farm owner who visited the farm only during weekends was really frustrated. He had paid good money for the seedlings which just withered away.

The lesson? He should have made sure that he had the right persons to take care of the planting. Perhaps, he could have bought just 20 or 30 seedlings that his men could have taken care of initially. Later, he could have bought more plants after seeing the result of his initial planting.

One other friend who combines business in the city and farming in his hometown in Central Luzon was really downhearted when his new farm worker just let the carabao on the farm devour his prized young Mama Sita banana. Then another frustrating experience was when another farm worker decided to resign without advising him beforehand and there was no other man to take over the chores of watering the fruit trees and vegetables that have to be watered every day. Naturally, many of the young trees and vegetables were really stressed. As stressed as the farm owner himself.

A lady we had known for a long time has a big family farm in western Pangasinan. We know she had been buying a lot of grafted mango seedlings and other exotic fruit trees.

When we met her lately, we asked her about her farm. She shook her head and said she should have known better. Many of the young mango and other trees that she planted perished because she had not fenced them. She said many of the young trees were eaten by the cows.

Anyway, she said she has learned her lesson. One should not plant more trees than what she and her workers could take good care of. Even if one would plant only a few trees if they are well taken care of, that would be much better than planting hundreds of them that are not given proper care, she said.

Another frustrated fruit farmer came to us recently. He said he had cut down his pummelo trees because of their poor eating quality. The seller had assured him that they were the Davao pummelo (he understood it to be Magallanes). It was only after four years that the variety he bought was of the inferior kind. He had lost four years in the process. It was a losing and definitely a frustrating experience. The lesson is that it is best to taste the fruit of the planting materials before buying, especially if it is for a big plantation.

One pilot had also complained to us one day. He has a farm in Lipa City and he was telling us that farming is not really enjoyable and fulfilling as we have portrayed in our articles about successful farmers.

His problem was that he had a very lazy farm worker. Instead of taking care of his fruit trees, fertilizing, watering and weeding them, his farm worker spends most of his time attending to his own fighting cocks.

Well, it is really frustrating if you don’t have reliable farm workers.

Another investor told us of his own frustration with his brother in law. This guy happens to be a contract grower of broilers in his hometown in Cagayan Valley. Since his wife who held a high position in a bank was transferred to another province, he the husband decided to relocate with her. Then he asked his brother in law to operate the contract growing operation.

The brother in law is experienced in raising broilers so our friend thought there would be no problem. But there was a big problem. The brod-in-law had his own agenda. He added a hundred chicks of his own to the birds in one house. This means that his 100 chickens had a free ride. They partook of the feeds intended for the birds of the integrator. Naturally, the legitimate chickens did not attain the right weight so the margin was very small.

The lesson, according to our friend, is that in agribusiness it is hard to trust even your relatives. You have to be a hands-on operator.