By ZAC B. SARIAN
MANILA, Philippines – The right farming technologies are very important for farmers to succeed in their projects. The wrong technology, even just one, could lead to disaster. It could mean lost time, lost opportunity, lost investment. It could mean total failure.
Just like the need to disseminate the right technologies in producing hybrid rice. As per the experience of those who have been receptive to new technologies, they have proven that hybrid rice yields could easily double or more than double the yield from ordinary varieties. If they adopt the right technology.
But there are still those who commit grievous mistakes. Hence, there is need for an intensified dissemination of the fine points of hybrid rice growing.
Many are still reluctant to plant hybrid rice. The trouble is that these farmers still cling to their old techniques.
For instance, they are not used to plant just one seedling per hill when planting hybrid rice. They have doubts in their minds on the wisdom of planting just one 18-days-old seedling per hill. That’s because they have been used to planting ordinary varieties at the rate of three to four seedlings per hill.
In our talks with people who have been planting single hybrid rice seedlings per hill, we have been assured that it is not difficult to follow the recommended steps. Even lady farmers have found it easy to grow hybrid rice, particularly in places where it is not flooded all the time.
Emily Gagilonia of Brgy. San Andres, Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, is one lady farmer who has been successful in growing hybrid rice in the last two years. Yet, she continues to join farm tours and seminars because there are always new things she can learn to improve her knowledge.
Emily was one of several lady farmers who attended the farm tour and seminar on hybrid rice farming in the farm of Roman Jimenez in Brgy. Bical in Muñoz City.
She related that last December 22, she planted hybrid rice on 4,500 square meters. After 115 days she harvested from that area 5.7 tons which is more than the usual harvest from a hectare planted to ordinary variety. Immediately after harvest, the newly harvested palay was bought by a trader for P76,908. And how much did she spend to produce that 5.7 tons?
She spent a total of P16,885 for the seeds, land preparation, planters, fertilizers, diesel used by the irrigation pump, harvesting, threshing, herbicide and other incidentals. That means that Emily netted P60,022 from that 4,500 square meters in less than four months of growing hybrid rice.
What are some of the pointers being emphasized by the hybrid rice experts? The Bioseed technicians have observed that some farmers are applying too much nitrogenous fertilizers, particularly urea. Some are applying as many as 15 bags of urea per hectare. And they are applying the same even at the booting stage of the plants.
That is not good, according to Estrella Hidalgo, a senior agriculturist who has been active in advocating hybrid rice production. Too much vegetative growth results in poor grain filling. What is needed is balanced fertilization. At booting stage, more phosphorus and potassium are needed. One other bad effect of applying too much urea is that the soil will get too acidic.
One activity of Bioseed technicians to teach the proper use of fertilizers is what they call “soil test camp.” Here, they demonstrate how to take soil samples and test them for their nutrient contents. That’s a way to determine what element is lacking in the soil or what is in sufficient amounts. That way, they will know what fertilizer to apply.
What is important, according to Estrella Hidalgo, is to apply the right amount of fertilizer at the right stage of the plants’ growth. It’s a no-no, for instance to apply urea at the booting stage of the rice plants.
The technicians also teach the farmers the right time to harvest their crops. In the case of Jollirice, they say, the crop should be harvested only when the grains are fully mature, i.e., at least 115 days after transplanting.
By then the grains would be fully developed and would be heavier. Too early harvesting can result in more broken grains.
There’s also one important observation we gathered from 61-year-old Februnio Abad of San Mauricio, San Jose, Nueva Ecija. This is about drying palay. He said that it is much better to dry the palay in the sun by using canvas (trapal) than by spreading the same on a concrete solar dryer or drying on the highway. When palay is dried on cemented floor, the grains are bruised somehow and that results in poorer milling recovery. The grains dried on canvas usually have a better milling recovery, according to Abad who is a candidate in the search for most outstanding hybrid rice farmer of the year.
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WOMEN VEGETABLE GROWERS FORM GROUP — Many of the women who took the three-month hands-on training in growing high-value vegetables in Tarlac have formed their own group so they can work together and be able to produce the vegetables needed by the SM Supermarket in SM Tarlac. The training was under the auspices of the SM Foundation in collaboration with Harbest Agribusiness Corporation.
Princess Bañaga, mall manager, lectured on how to merchandise and promote their products. The BDO Unibank has also been asked to send an accountant to brief the women farmers on proper accounting and bookkeeping for the sustainability of their business
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