Hilario's Paper

Remembering Schumacher. 12th Philippine Mango Congress, 24-26 February

2010-02-23T10:20:00.010+08:00

LINGAYEN – Tomorrow begins the 12th National Mango Congress, 24-26 February 2010, in Lingayen, the capital town of Pangasinan, at the Narciso Ramos Sports & Cultural Center, NRSCC. Tomorrow officially begins a national effort, wherein "Mango congress seeks to save P400-M wastage" in mango production "because of poor handling and lack of facilities" for processing (Danny O Sagun, pia.gov.ph). That's nothing to sneeze at.

Why Pangasinan as host? The province produces at least 1/3 of the total yearly mango harvest in the Philippines, which runs to 1,000,000,000 (B) kilos, according to Sagun. At 10 pesos a kilo, that's 10 billion pesos a year, or at least 200 million dollars from one fruit alone. For Pangasinan, that means about 67 million dollars. However, since about 10% of the total harvest goes to waste, we have to deduct 6.7 million dollars a year, and that's a lot of money for Pangasinan alone. I must congratulate Governor Amado T Espino Jr for offering the use of the NRSCC for free - the province's contribution to the national endeavor for a newer & better industry based on the Philippine mango. How sweet!

Really, how sweet is the Philippine mango? You can ask the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA, and the Australian Agency for International Development, AusAid. The USDA and AusAid are funding surveys in the Philippines to find out what we already know. So far, they have found that, no, our mangoes don't have weevils in the Philippines (ANN, author not named, 2009, cagayandeoro.da.ph). We are clean.

Virginia Dela Fuente, President of the Philippine Mango Industry Foundation, says the congress aims to "improve and stabilize the mango industry, including growers and other players." They are planning to put up village-level processing plants. She said, as a matter of fact, already there are 3 similar processing centers in Pangasinan itself but these are not being used as they should be. What have we in Pangasinan been doing? Nothing to brag about.

The Philippine mango is nothing to sneeze at. Agriculture Secretary Arthur Yap has been engaged in "an export offensive to reinforce the Philippines' stature as the source of the best and sweetest mango in the world" (ANN as cited). Why do the USDA and AusAid want to know if our mangoes don't have weevils in the seed and in the pulp? Only one reason: They want to buy the sweetest mangoes in all the world.

Pangasinan. Everything about my province interests me greatly. I am attending the congress as a member of the delegation from Asingan (I'm from Sanchez, in case you ask), thanks to Bantog Samahang Nayon Multi-Purpose Cooperative and the incomparable and unconquerable Moding Gabriel; the indefatigable Neneng Manuel arranged things for me. I am also attending as a correspondent of American Chronicle (online). For me, nothing beats the mango grown in Pangasinan. More so, I come as a believer in village-scale technologies, because they are appropriate technology in the mold that Ernest F Schumacher was thinking when he wrote his book Small Is Beautiful (1973, amazon.com). I have lost my copy of his book but not Schumacher's ideas.

What Schumacher proposed was "smallness within bigness" (Wikipedia); it was not to break down the big but to build up the small. The big boys can help themselves, but the little lads have to be helped to help themselves. As those 3 processing centers languishing in Pangasinan tend to show, we have to awaken in our village people their sleeping spirit of self-help. God - along with government - helps those who help themselves.

That's what I can contribute to the 12th national mango congress - Schumacher's idea that it is people that matter, and since there are more small people than big, small is beautiful. Especially now that climate change is here, and we have to conserve energy whether we like it or not. (For more on climate change and what we can do, you might want to visit my blog, iNews, Earth.) When we have made village-level technologies work for mangoes in the Philippines, that would be one of the sweetest news of all.

Technorati Tags: mango congress,Philippine mango,mango harvest,no weevils,Pangasinan,Narciso Ramos,mango wastage,USAID,AusAID,Virginia dela Fuente,Philippine Mango Industry Foundation,sweetest mango in the world,Bantog cooperative,Asingan,small is beautiful,Ernest F Schumacher,smallness with bigness

Blog delete. Crop Science Philippines

2010-02-22T12:53:00.021+08:00

As of today, 22 February 2010, most of the entries in this new blog were contained in my blog "Crop Science Philippines" that I have already deleted as I had warned. Here are the reasons:

(1) I have no reason to maintain that blog in my name, now that I am no longer connected with the PJCS or the CSSP. “Crop Science Philippines” was dedicated to the abstracts & editorials of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science, PJCS, the official publication of the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, CSSP. When I was Editor in Chief of the journal, I created the website at this site (since deleted): http://cropsciencephilippines.blogspot.com/.

(2) When I was Editor, I spoke as Editor; now that I am a Mister, I put away croppish things. Actually, I wanted to go beyond crop science. “Hilario's Paper,” this new blog, is designed to include all science Philippines, not only crops.

(3) This new blog would also welcome press releases as they come.

(4) Note that unlike before, I have posted the entries according to the dates of the abstracts, when the papers were originally published in the journal. That is why you have posts that are dated, for instance, 1977, when there was not even the Internet yet. I just want you to know that when you search for dates, you will get them exactly.

And by the way, let me tell you that I enjoyed almost every minute of those times when I was Editor of that journal. Because I knew I was in my element, being writer, editor, proofreader, desktop publisher, sometimes typist, sometimes rewriter, and even photographer all at the same time. How do you like that?! I was being paid to do what I enjoyed doing.

For that experience, if I may repeat the record, I was rewarded with 2 singular achievements that would be hard to surpass by anyone:

(1) The journal was late by 2 years when I came in; in 3 years, I made it up-to-date. Beat that!

(2) The journal was not ISI; within the year after I made it up-to-date, it had become accepted as an international journal, listed in the American Web of Knowledge ISI journal list. And that!

Crop yields drop? Climate change is not the problem. You are!

2010-02-07T17:04:00.009+08:00

30 September 2009, Leyte Samar Daily “Crop yields decline due to climate change” (With editing by Frank A Hilario, original material quoted at Agriculture Philippines, agriculture.ph.com).

Global warming was to be blamed at large for losses in the production of most high value vegetable crops in the Visayas region. This was disclosed by the High Value Vegetable Crops (HVVC) Eastern Visayas Regional Coordinator of the Department of Agriculture Dr Veronica Beringuer.

Beringuer stressed that changes in the weather patterns due to climate change have affected the production cycles of priority crops in some areas in the Eastern Visayas during the first quarter of this year. The Department of Agriculture classified mango, banana, pineapple, vegetables and coffee as the five priority crops. “Because of climate change, farmers have losses in their farms because their areas are also vulnerable to destructive typhoons and bad weather. It seems that climate change is the number one cause of low production,” Beringuer said.

Mango, which is one of the leading crops in the region in terms of production, was most affected by climate change. During the first quarter, it was recorded that mango production had dropped to 12.45% from last year’s 24%; pineapple with 1.07% from 3% last year’s growth rate; coffee with -9.4% compared to last year’s 6%. Vegetables also posted declines in production.

“One process to boost the production in mango is through flower induction. However, since this year had the most rainy seasons, the chemicals that were used in the process were drained because of rain,” Beringuer disclosed. Click here to read more …

Notes & comments by Frank A Hilario

We need an attitude change toward climate change! The technology used for inducing the flowering of mango is the spraying of potassium nitrate, KNO3, the chemical that is washed away by rain. Now, because of climate change, too much rain at the wrong time, shall we simply abandon the technology, or just keep on blaming the bad weather?

You have to do some creative thinking, not only critical thinking: “The flower-inducing chemical that is sprayed is drained by the rain, so the fruiting is lesser.” I always say: If you can’t solve a problem, change the problem! That’s what I call a paradigm shift. Even farmers have to learn to make a paradigm shift. Or their advisers, or their consultants.

But first, what’s the problem? The problem you want to solve is not climate change (you can’t solve it now); it’s as foolish as you singing to the rain, “Rain, rain go away, come again another day.”

The problem that is solvable right now is the washing off of your KNO3 by the rain. Solution? One solution is Amway aggie products. I have written about them (see my “Gifted at 69. Amway’s Power of 3, My Way’s Power of 7,” 24 February 2009, Blogmindster, blogspot.com).

More specifically, you still spray as you have always done; but, to prevent your KNO3 from running off with the rain, use a sticker, a spray adjuvant. It doesn’t have to be Amway, but there’s Amway’s APSA 80, and this has proven to work. To order your APSA 80 or any of Amway’s Power of 3, try Amway.com.ph or Agriculture Philippines or Sulit.com.ph. If you have a better idea, let me know. Email me at frankahilario@gmail.com or post a comment below.

What can you do about the other crops? First, you can learn not to rely on a single crop for your livelihood. In a sense, you should thank climate change because it is now teaching you that monoculture is not to your best interest. Multiple cropping is your best bet.

But if you insist on a single crop, then change your crop, or change your variety. For instance, for vegetables other than your own, visit your nearest source of East West Seeds, or visit their website: East West Seed Company, the largest hybrid seed producer in the Philippines. It produces seeds of Chinese celery, coriander, basil, kangkong, lettuce, heading mustard, cabbage, Chinese kale, pakchoy, cauliflower, leaf mustard, caisim, ridge gourd, pumpkin, sweet melon, bottle gourd, bitter gourd, cucumber, watermelon, wax gourd, snake gourd, melon cucumber, eggplant, sweet pepper, hot pepper, tomato, papaya, yard long bean, glutinous corn, okra, beet root, radish, carrot, and onion. The East West Seed Group is actually an international company, with branches in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Technorati Tags: global warming,crop production,vegetable crops,Eastern Visayas,Veronica Beringuer,priority crops,low production,chemicals washed off by rain,potassium nitrate,flower inducer,paradigm shift,if you can't solve a problem change the problem,APSA 80 sticker,monoculture,East West Seed Company,multiple cropping

Ramon Lazaro: Herbicides for erosion control? Paraquat

2010-02-07T09:14:00.000+08:00

Ramon Efren R Lazaro, "Research scientists note role played by herbicide in soil-erosion control," UPLBRDE News, 27 January 2010, rdenews.uplb.edu.ph

The use of herbicide has been found by a group of scientists to prevent soil erosion, preserve soil structure and ensure the replenishment of its fertility.

A research team, headed by Gil Magsino of the University of the Philippines at Los Baños, said one way of controlling soil erosion is through the use of agricultural technology to conserve soil health and prevent its erosion, especially during storms and floods.

“Soil is the most important element of human existence, for it is where agriculture is based. It is a well-known fact that degraded land or sloping areas are more prone to flooding. Eroded soils pollute the environment,” Magsino said.

Magsino made the remarks as the scientific panel reported the results of the fourth year of the five-year study entitled “Sagip-Lupa: Soil Conservation Technology and Weed Management.” The study tracked herbicide use over four years in demo sites in Benguet, Batangas, Quezon, Isabela and Nueva Ecija, and concluded that the use of herbicides dramatically reduced soil erosion by minimizing hand weeding and tilling. More ...

Notes/Comments by Frank A Hilario

(1) My link brings you to the UPLBRDE website; the article is complete there. The original article was published in BusinessMirror, but I only got an error message when I accessed it. I wanted to give credit whom credit is due.

(2) Herbicide used was Paraquat. The study was conducted in Benguet, Batangas, Quezon, Isabela and Nueva Ecija. It was a 5-year study by scientists of the University of the Philippines Los Baños led by Gil Magsino.

(3) Note the statement that the researcher "concluded that the use of herbicides dramatically reduced soil erosion by minimizing hand weeding and tilling" - that is logical, but that is only one way of looking at the results. Another way of viewing the findings is this (if you think out of the box): If you minimize hand weeding or tilling, you minimize soil erosion - all things being equal. As less as you disturb the soil, as less as you will minimize soil erosion.

In this blog, you will find several studies on tillage that show that tillage leads to soil erosion. For instance, RA Oliveros et al (in 1981 yet) compared zero tillage and conventional tillage in corn. Use the Search This Blog to find out more for yourself!

Technorati Tags: multiple cropping,zero tillage,minimum tillage,conventional tillage,cultivation,herbicides,erosion control,Gil Magsino,Sagip-Lupa,minimize soil erosion

Mendoza: Climate Change Crisis & The Food Crisis

2009-12-29T19:40:00.000+08:00

Climate Change Crisis & The Food Crisis
Teodoro C Mendoza, Faculty of Crop Science, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños. tcm_uplb77@yahoo.com

This is a lengthy text excerpt of a paper discussed during the dialogue on Climate, Justice, Poverty, and Human Rights: A Governance Dialogue held at UP SOLAIR, UP Diliman, QC, on 17 December 2009, sponsored by the Climate Change Congress of the Philippines and Asian Institute of Management - Policy Center. None of the tables & illustrations in the original is included here. You can email the author for more information.

The Philippines need not fear hunger in the new millennium despite the climate change crisis. However, achieving the goal of food sufficiency needs a lot of adjustments from the way we eat to the way we produce food. On consumption, we need to diversify our food sources by eating brown rice; mixing up to 30% corn, cassava, other root crops; eating more veggies and fruits; reducing meat consumption; and eating more fish and plant-derived proteins (legumes). On production, we need to go back to the basics: Localize food production; “Grow your own veggies; learn food preparation; cooking methods to make “veggies” acceptable. Fast-track the adoption of biofarming – biodiverse, integrated organic farming based on agro-ecological principles and methods (use of open-pollinated varieties (OPs), locally adapted seeds on-farm nutrient cycling, no burning of crop residues, farmer-produced organic fertilizers, and the practice of ecological pest management (EPM); and adopt / promote compost toilets.

We also need supportive laws / policies, namely: Fast-track passage of the CARP Extension with Reforms (CARPER) bill and other long-term ownership / stewardship arrangements; pass a law on land use to complement the Strategic Agriculture and Fisheries Development Zone (SAFDZ) under the Agriculture and Fisheries Modernization Act (AFMA); immediately reforest critical watersheds; plant trees on key lines (roadsides, riversides, perimeter or boundaries); and integrate trees in monoculture farms.

Introduction

The massive destruction and flooding caused by typhoons Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi had made Filipinos the highest in terms of awareness in the world regarding climate change (78% awareness). While the climate change crisis is widely accepted, its effects on food supply are not yet well accepted by the “super many” or perhaps, we are still in the “denial stage” (see Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ theory of the five stages of coping: denial anger, bargaining, depression, acceptance - Editor). Pieces of evidence for this claim include: 1) People complained on the increase in the price of vegetables after strong typhoons that hit our vegetable bowl – Benguet, Mt. Province; 2) People are now complaining on the doubling of the price of sugar. The severe decline in sugar production in India due to drought had jacked up the price of sugar in the world market. 3) The increases in the prices of meat and other commodities, in part, are also due to the climate change crisis.

Rice is a different case. It is a well-guarded commodity in terms of supply and its domestic price. Rice is the world’s most important food crop. A primary source of food for more than half of the world’s population (more than 3 billion Asians), rice accounts for 35 to 75% of the caloric energy consumed. This explains why the demand for rice is high. It is planted on about 154 million hectares annually or on about 11% of the world’s cultivated land (Khush 2006). Many Asians including Filipinos feel that they have not eaten yet if they have not eaten rice. Rice is a barometer of food security and it influences political stability in the country. We are planning to import 3.0 million metric tonnes this 2010, making us again the largest buyer of the grain, which may propel spikes in prices. There are many factors that are causing our inability to supply adequate rice for our own needs. The high yield per unit area made possible by planting high-yielding varieties and applying manufactured fertilizers using cheap oil are now negated by floods, typhoons, drought, and other adverse climatic phenomena. Unknown to many, the combined effects of typhoon Ondoy, Pepeng and Santi had decreased production by as much as 1. 8 million metric tonnes. El Nino has been predicted by PAGASA earlier (September 2009) and is now affecting 4 provinces (December 2009). Hopefully, it will not be as severe as the El Niño in 1995 which caused as much as 27% yield reduction in rice and 15% in corn (David et al 2008).

Going back to the price of rice and other basic food items: Allowing prices to approximate their CPI adjusted market price, rice should now fetch about P70 / kg, pork at P 295 / kg and broiler at P 253 / kg (Mendoza 2008). At this point, you are shocked! But consider the farmers’ situation. While the prices of oil, fertilizers and other inputs of production are not controlled, the prices of farm products are subject to price controls. As a consequence, life in the farm is not only more miserable due to climate change but also because farm income is so marginal even in good-yielding years. Keeping the basic food prices low is good for the consumers, not the farmers. The disproportionate increase in input-output prices and the losses due to calamities (flood, drought) are resulting in mass poverty in the rural areas. Labor in the farm is grossly underpaid because the farmers cannot pay their just wages since their produce is grossly underpriced. Consequently, farmers cannot send their children to school. There is net out-migration leading to overpopulation in urban areas.

As pointed out earlier, the climate change crisis is leading us to a food crisis. What is not also accepted or known by the super many is that we are fast approaching a health crisis. Similarly, health is a complex issue. The root cause is in the way food is produced and the consumption preference of the super many. Consider the following:

a) The chemical-intensive agricultural production systems which supported high yields to support a population of consumers led to increased amounts of pesticide residues in food, and nitrates in water.

b) Meat lovers are prone to heart diseases (hypertension, high blood, heart attacks or cardiac arrest), cancer (prostate, breast, uterus, combined with smoking, cancer of the lungs, esophagus, stomach). That is because the confined animal feeding systems in livestock has led to too much antibiotic residues in meat. Animal tissues serve as bioaccumulation “sinks” for pesticides. Currently, meat contains 14 x more pesticides than plant food. Factory-farmed animals contain 30x more saturated fat than free-range animals. Compounded by our low intake of vegetables (30 kg / cap / year vs 120 kg the optimum amount), consuming well-milled rice (120 kg / cap / year) and preference for sweet foods, inadequate exercise and sleep added together will explain why many are getting obese, have high blood sugar and they ultimately become diabetic (types 1 and 2).

Still unknown to many, pesticide residues in foods are affecting the endocrine system. Pesticides are sex benders, which has resulted in the phenomenon of many middle sex (leading to the phenomenon of “same sex partners”). Many children are affected by autism and other behavioral abnormalities (early puberty or delayed maturity).

Food is the major source of greenhouse gasses

That the climate change crisis has been brought about by human activities is now well accepted. But also unknown to many, the greenhouse gases causing global warming are emitted primarily during the process of producing the food that we eat. From production to the time it is eaten, our food emits about 44-57% (Grain 2009) of all greenhouse gases causing global warming and climate change as itemized below:

• Agricultural activities are responsible for 11 to 15%.

• Land clearing and deforestation cause an additional 15 to 18%.

• Food processing, packing and transportation cause 15 to 20%.

• Decomposition of organic waste: 3 to 4%.

• Total emissions of the food system: 44 to 57% of total global greenhouse emissions.

The huge GHG contribution (44-57%) of the food system is primarily because our agriculture has been industrialized (mechanized), become chemical inputs-dependent (fertilizers, pesticides), specialized (monocropping to suit machines), de-localized, and globalized (requiring huge energy costs in packaging and transport). Now, a typical family in an urban area (urbanization and specialization in work) consumes a high proportion of processed & plastic-packed or canned foods. Collectively called industrialized food systems, to produce our foods we consume too much energy (oil) in every processing stage. Also unknown to many, the nitrogen fertilizer is the single item contributing the highest GHG (up to 30%) in our food system. This is because nitrogen consumes 2.15 liters diesel oil-equivalent to manufacture, transport, and apply it in the field, and emits 1.5% NOx with 298 GWP, thus emitting 12 kg CO2 eq per kg nitrogen. On the average,100 kg N / ha is applied in rice and corn 200 kg N / ha in sugarcane.

Thus, the most difficult challenge of climate change from here on is how to change the way we live to avoid the terrifying cataclysm as predicted by Bill McKibben (2008). Climate change is caused by our current lifestyle. And we should not expect that climate change will fade away maintaining our lifestyles as usual. It is difficult to change overnight but we have to change quickly as we could. Climate change means lifestyle change. We have to change the way we think, behave, eat, enjoy (recreation, past time, spending our time, money etc). We need to eat in order to live. But we do not eat only in order to live. Enjoy your meal but how do you enjoy your meal knowing that it contains so much pesticide residues?

Lifestyle change starts from our food consumption. In a food-systems perspective, it means we have to change the way we grow, produce, process, distribute, prepare, and cook our foods.

Adapting to the climate change-induced food crisis requires that we go back to the basics … learn to grow, produce, process, store, and cook our own food. Pre-industrial agriculture era, 80-95% of the people produced their own food. The advent of industrial agriculture made 2-3% produce the food for the whole US, Europe or any of the First World countries, and about 20% in the Philippines, or about 30% average for the developing countries. This means 97-98% or 70-80% in the developed and developing countries, respectively, are net food consumers. Consequently, this explains why food has to be packaged, processed, stored, and transported over long distances before it is eaten (incurring a high energy bill). This has occurred for the last 100-150 years, which means for the last 9,900 years, human beings lived modestly and Mother Earth-friendly. Others argue, time has changed and we are now many. But it is simply because of the abundant supply of cheap oil which led to its overutilization, which in turn has emitted huge amounts of greenhouse gases.

How shall we feed everybody? The climate change-induced food crisis requires that we adopt Household – Village – Localized Food Systems. We cannot produce all our food. Of course, no human is an island. We produce what we can, share our excess with our friends, neighbors, buy the rest, which are also locally grown.

Along with household-based & localized food production is household / localized nutrient losses otherwise calling for waste management. Technically, this is called the input-output system – the “nutrient cycle” or integrated household waste management. Every household, or every farmer must produce the compost or organic fertilizer to support the nutrient needs of his crops (biofarm approach is described below). The most nutrient-rich manure is human manure since our digestive system can only assimilate 20-30% of the nutrients in the food that we eat. Consuming much water to wash down or flush our toilets which in turn, simply go into our waterways that we ultimately drink, the nutrients in human manure should be recovered back. This requires re-designing and rebuilding our comfort rooms into humus-producing compost toilets.

Promoting the adoption of BIO farm or Life Farm

In our farms, we need to fast-track the adoption of biodiverse, integrated and organic (BIO) farm or life farm as opposed to “chemical or poison farm”) employing agro-ecological principles and methods.

Ø Use of open pollinated, farmer-produced and saved seeds (including hybrids) which are locally adapted (considering soils and microclimate).

Ø On-farm nutrient cycling, no burning of crop residues, use of farmer-produced composts or organic fertilizer. Humus produced in compost toilets must be transported in the rural areas.

Ø Practice of ecological pest management (EPM) which prohibits the use of pesticides. EPM uses diverse seed types adapted to the place, grown in healthy soil (fertilized with humus), in diverse cropping systems where refuges or alternate habitats or food sources and not only crops are abundant. No spraying pesticides under this environment leads to balanced ecosystems where friendly organisms dominate (truth or goodness prevail).

Agriculture is harvesting energy from the sun through the plant leaves and transforming the solar energy into sugars and cellulose that can be directly eaten as food or fed to animals which are then eaten as meat and other animal products by humankind. This is how the sun’s energy enters into the food chain. The modern agriculture that was implemented over the last 150 years has transformed our energy self-sufficient agriculture into voracious energy-consuming systems (fertilizers, use of tractors, oil-based agrochemicals). This must be replaced now with organic farming methods (BIO-farms, Mendoza 2008) which require lesser amounts of energy in growing crops. It is consistent with the declining fossil fuel oil supply and in reducing the current concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Small-scale farms adopting organic - biofarming methods could sequester back CO2 @ 220 to 330 billion tonnes. Rebuilding soil fertility to pre-industrial levels would recapture 30-40% of current excess of CO2 in the atmosphere at 718 billion tonnes (Grain 2009).

A BIO-farm (Mendoza 2008) has 2 important requirements, namely:

1) Bio-farming is decision-intensive, hence, the farmers should own the land to enable them to make independent decisions and motivate them to rebuild and restore soil fertility @ impoverished soil >>> low yield >>> impoverished farmers >>> malnourished farm families. Smaller, more diverse farming systems require a level of husbandry that demands knowledge, skills, regular monitoring, and commitment.

2) The farmers need seed support as they have lost their indigenous / traditional seeds through long years of monoculture farming practices. The FAO estimates that 75 per cent of the genetic diversity of agricultural crops has been lost over the past 100 years (FAO 1997).

In addition, we need to pursue integrated nutrient cycling. The foods eaten in the urban areas represent huge nutrient losses in the rural farms if they are not returned back. Returning them back in the farm will solve the waste disposal crisis in the urban areas and the nutrient scarcity in the farms if we are to stop using chemical fertilizers.

Pursuing Mother Earth-friendly / ecology-based food consumption

Localized food production or ecology-based and Mother Earth-friendly food production requires Mother Earth-friendly / ecology-based food consumption. What are the requirements ?

(1) Diversify. We need to diversify our food sources. It is hard for the many to accept as it is culture- or value- laden that eating root crops or other caloric energy sources is associated with extreme poverty. Climate change should change this value-laden outlook! We do not have enough water (rice needs 3,000 – 5,000 kg water to produce 1 kg rice @ 118kg / cap x 3,000 h x 90 x 10⁶ population = 384 billion liters of water). Water is in excess during flooding months but insufficient during the months where we should grow more rice (no typhoon, plenty of sunlight) to supply our current consumption. We do not have sufficient lands to plant (2. 7 M ha physical area) and irrigate (1.3 M ha currently declared irrigated areas).

For everybody to eat rice, we need to reduce rice intake from 65% of our caloric intake (118 kg / person) to 40-50% of our caloric energy intake by:

a) mixing corn (20-30%) or root crops – cassava, camote, and gabi.

b) eating brown rice, which translates to 30-50% reduced rice requirements for the country, 8-10% increase in milling recovery 20-40% reduced rice intake. With this, we can be self sufficient up to year 2015 at 100% intake.

c) Increase the consumption of vegetables and fruits. The ideal fruit intake is 120 kg / person. Filipinos eat only 30 kg fruits and vegetables. The Japanese eat 60 kg rice and 60 kg veggies while we Filipinos eat about 118 kg rice and only 30 kg veggies.

(2) Reduce meat consumption. The thermodynamic conversion of grains to meat protein in animals is too wasteful as we recover back only 16% (pork) to 25% (broiler) of the feed grains. On the average, 6 kg of plant protein is required to yield 1 kg of meat protein (Pimentel & Pimentel 2003, Smil 2000). A 50-gram pork eaten to satisfy our RDA protein for 1 day translates to 5 effective food days (EFD). Eating meat (50 gm) only once a week shall extend our meal by 30 days. (Personally, I still eat meat – native chicken, goat, carabeef when my body needs it! Average once in every 1.5 months or 1 in 45 days; annually, it is extending my meal for 45 years). If we are to become vegetarian, the world can support 40 billion people, but only 2 billion if we are all to eat meat like the Americans. Globally, 760 M tonnes yearly are fed to animals – an amount equivalent to 14 times the global food deficit (FAO 2006).

If we are to eat corn (2 million out of 7 million metric tonnes we produce yearly) instead of feeding them to livestock, then we do not need to import 3 million metric tonnes rice. This shall translate into P90 billion savings at P30,000 / metric tonne, or P150 billion once the price of imported rices jump to P50 / kg. The commodity future price of rice at $1,000 / tonne had been breached. Thailand sold 20,000 tonnes of rice to Hong Kong at $1,000 / tonne last year 2008. The Philippine government imported rice at an average price of 1,136 / tonne last year. The Philippines is now the world top rice importer (Philippine Daily Inquirer, April 16 2008). Philippines shall be importing 3.0 Million metric tonnes of rice this coming year (2010) (Philippine Daily Inquirer, November 24 2009).

Again, that “meat consumption” is the major cause of GHG emission causing global warming and climate change can be shown by the following estimates:

>>70% of all agricultural lands is devoted to pasture and forage production; 15-18% of GHG is attributed to land use change / deforestation. Then, 13% of all GHG are emitted due to land use change / deforestation in order to raise animals.

>>50-60% of all grains is fed to animals in CAFO (Confined Animal Farming Operations). Thus, accounting for 50-60% of all oil-based manufactured inputs (fertilizers, pesticides) emitting CO2, CH4. Animals produce manures that liberate CH4 and NOx during decomposition. Enteric fermentation in ruminants emits huge amounts of methane. Processing and distribution of animal products contribute much CO2 emission.

As a whole, about 60% of all emission in the food system (about 57%) is due to animal production and meat / milk processing (FAO 2006). This translates to 30-36% of all GHG emissions causing global warming / climate change. This doubles the 18% of GHG of the 850M vehicles.

We in the Philippines are simply lucky as we are endowed with large coastal and marine waters (220 M ha) and fresh water (1.0 M ha) where fish can grow and multiply for the protein part of our nutrition. But again, good governance and people's cooperation in protecting the sea (such as preserving the remaining mangroves and plant more as they serve as fish breeding grounds) is the key to the revival of our seas teeming with fish. Bringing back the watersheds that supply free-flowing fresh water to the river during summer months favors the breeding and fingerling production of many fish species in the resulting brackish water of riverbanks.

Climate change supportive policies to avert FOOD crisis

Climate change should also be complemented by the following supportive policies to avert a food crisis, and they are as follows:

(1) Pass the law on land use. During the Aquino government, the bill for the Land Use Code (LUC) was filed (1993). This bill has been totally forgotten under the GMA governance. The Land Use Code is necessary to stop land-use conversion and to nullify the adverse effects of the Local Government Code (LGC) which empowered the local government officials to reclassify their lands in their municipalities. Mostly, irrigated prime lands were sacrificed that debit the gains of irrigating previously rainfed lands. The passage of the LUC should complement the AFMA in preserving and protecting the identified strategic areas for food security (SAFS).

(2) Pursue reforestation. With a sense of urgency, pursue reforestation of critical watersheds, plant trees in key lines (roadsides, riversides, private lands perimeter boundaries) and integrate trees in monocultures. Tree planting must be done in places such as roadsides - conserve water, moderate noise, absorb CO2, collect dust ; riversides – 30 meters for small rivers, 50 meters for large rivers (Pampanga, Agno, Cagayan River etc), Redesigning of roof tops of buildings / houses into roof top gardens is a good idea.

Our ideal forest-to-open lands ratio is 60:40. This translates to 17 M ha which we had in the early 1900s when our population was only 7 million. We are about 92 million (2009 estimate). Our ideal forest cover has been estimated at 16. 8 M ha (Mendoza 2009,) 18 M ha (Saplaco 2009 personal communication) for the following: to irrigate fields = 5.0 M ha, to sequester CO2 emissions = 5. 4 M ha, for housing, buildings, domestic water, industries etc = 6. 42 M ha: Total = 16. 8 M ha. Trees planted perform various ecosystems services wherever they are planted.

The target Protective Forest Cover (PFC) of 17.0 million ha can be achieved by doing the following :

>>Total log ban of virgin forest cover (VFC) = 1.0 m ha

>>Reforest declared forest areas where only grasses, shrubs, small trees are growing

10 M ha x 0. 75 VFC = 7.5 M ha

>>Integrate tree planting on current agricultural areas = 6.5 M ha

Coconut lands: 3 M ha x 0.5 VFC = 1.5 M ha

Upland corn: 3 M ha x 0.5 VFC = 1.5 M ha

Kaingin / mixed farm: 5 M ha x 0.5 VFC = 2.5 M ha

Rice lands: 3.0 M ha x 0. 3 VFC = 1.0 M ha

*VFC (virgin forest cover)

>>Massive tree planting on roadsides, riversides, rooftop of buildings (Forest Equivalent) = 1.0 M ha

>>Build botanical gardens / parks for every village / town (Forest Equivalent) = 1.0 M ha

Increasing population will mean more competition for water supplies - for agricultural production or for domestic / industrial uses. Irrigating farmlands use the largest water bill (95% of the developing countries’ water withdrawals). A water policy that puts emphasis on efficient use of water for agriculture is thus crucial. It is necessary to have a water policy framework that integrates water resources management, improved rainwater harvesting and water storage and diversification of irrigation techniques which leads to water saving and more water productive systems. Improving irrigation infrastructures as risks coping mechanism due to climate change needs no further debate. Maintenance of existing infrastructure and repairs of damaged irrigation facilities deserve quick attention. Rainwater collection / storage for every houses / buildings must now be practiced by everybody. Construction of small water impoundments or small farm reservoirs, and small dams are an option to huge multipurpose dams. Other important practices include stopping the use of plastic / styrofoam, recyclable-are recycled / biodegradable for compost. Bring “bayong” or bags when going to market.

3) Food sovereignty. Re-orient the food security principle in the past millennium into food sovereignty. Food sovereignty is the right of peoples to healthy and culturally appropriate food produced through ecologically sound and sustainable methods, and their right to define their own food and agriculture systems. It puts the aspirations and needs of those who produce, distribute, and consume food at the heart of food systems and policies rather than the demands of markets and corporations. Food sovereignty prioritizes local and national economies and markets, empowers farm family-driven agriculture, and protects food production, distribution and consumption based on environmental social and economic sustainability (Grain 2009).

The food crisis propelled by climate change is changing the market-based (commodity speculative buying, storing and marketing of food products) securing of food. Money-rich, food-deficit countries are now engaged into virtual “land grabbing” by buying or long term-leasing lands in the money-poor developing countries governed by rent-seeking leaders. Private corporations or states are “land grabbing” or acquiring (lease, concession, outright purchase) large areas of farmlands (>10,000 ha), in another country and on a long-term basis (often 30-99 years), for the production of basic foods that will then be exported.”Farming abroad” is now seen as the new food supply strategy by import-dependent governments (Grain 2009).

The food crisis is more complex as Philip McMichael (2009) explains:

The food crisis stems from a long-term cycle of fossil-fuel dependence of industrial capitalism, combined with the inflation-producing effects of current biofuel offsets and financial speculation, the concentration and centralization of agribusiness capital stemming from the enabling conjunctural policies of the corporate food regime. Rising costs, related to peak oil and fuel crop substitutes, combine with monopoly pricing by agribusiness to inflate food prices, globally transmitted under the liberalized terms of finance and trade associated with neoliberal policies.

The Asian Development Bank Chief said “The Era of Cheap Food is over!” There is an “unforeseen and unprecedented” shift…. the world food supply is dwindling rapidly and food prices are soaring to historic levels (Elisabeth Rosenthal 2007, International Herald Tribune). As a whole, climate change is propelling a food crisis in the whole world in general and occurring faster and widespread in the Philippines (2 out of 10 Filipinos are hungry), in particular. From here on, achieving food self-sufficiency will remain as the main challenge in the new millennium.

References

Badgley Catherine, Jeremy Moghtader, Eileen Quintero, Emily Zakem, M Jahi Chappell, Katia Aviles-Vazquez, Andrea Samulon & Ivette Perfecto. 2007. Organic agriculture and the global food supply. Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems 22 (2) : 86–108

BP. 2007. Global Statistical Review of World Energy, June 2007. bp.com

Bradley Fern Marshall & Barbara W Ellis (ed), Rodale’s All-New Encyclopedia of Organic Gardening. Emmaus, Pennyslvania: Rodale 1992

Buringh P. 1989. Availability of agricultural land for crop and livestock production. In Food and Natural Resources, D Pimentel and CW Hall (ed). 69-83. San Diego: Academic Press

Chakrabortty Aditya. 2008. Secret Report: Biofuel Caused Food Crisis. World Bank unpublished report

Change, M L Parry, O Fcanziani, J P Palutikof, PJ van der Linden and C E Hanson, Eds, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, 717-743

CIA. 2006. Philippines. World Factbook. 11 July 2006

Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

Defra. 2005. The Validity of Food Miles as an Indicator of Sustainable Development: Final report, Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs

Doyle A. 2007. Food, biofuels could worsen water shortages. Reuters

Easterling, William, Hurd, Brian, and Smith, Joel. 2004. Coping with Global Climate Change: The Role of Adaptation in the United States. Pew Center on Global Climate Change

FAO. 1997. The State of the Worlds Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, Food Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, Rome

FAO. 2006. Livestock’s Long Shadow. fao.org

Grain. 2009. The International food systems and the climate crisis. Climate Crisis Special Issue. Seedling Oct 2009. grain.org

Hamer Ed & Mark Anslow. 2008.10 reasons why organic can feed the world. The Ecologist. theecologist.org

Holt-Giménez E. 2007. Exploding the Biofuel Myths Food First / Institute for Food and Development Policy, foodfirst.org

IAASTD. 2008. The International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge, Science and Technology for Development. agassessment.org

IPCC 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Parry, Martin L, Canziani, Osvaldo F, Palutikof, Jean P, van der Linden, Paul J, and Hanson, Clair E (eds) ] Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom,1000 pp

Lasco RD. 1998. Management of Philippine Tropical Forests: Implications to Global Warming. World Resource Review 10 (3) :410-417

Leu Andre. 2007. Organic Agriculture Can Feed the World in Organic Farming, Winter 2007, citing Jules Pretty 2006

Mae-Wan Ho. 2008. Organic Cuba without Fossil Fuels. SIS Press Release 21/01/08

McMichael, Philip. 2009 A food regime analysis of the ‘world food crisis’. Agric Hum Values (2009) 26:281–295

Mendoza TC. 2001. Pursuing Debates in Food Security in the New Millennium. SEARCA Professorial Chair lecture. Department of Agronomy, College of Agriculture, UP Los Baños, Philippines June 2001. Available email, tcm_uplb77@yahoo.com

Mendoza TC. 2001.CO2-Greenhouse Gas-reducing Potentials of Some Ecological Agriculture Practices in the Philippine Landscape. Philippine Journal of Crop Science 2001, 26 (3): 31-44

Mendoza TC. 2008. Simultaneous Food & Biofuels Production & Its Implications on Food Security. Discussion paper presented during the 30th National Academy of Science and Technology Conference held July 9-10 2008, Manila Hotel, Manila, Philippines

Mendoza TC. 2008. Why food prices increase & What can be done. Philippine Journal of Crop Science 2008: 33 (1): 87-101

Ofon Abah. 2008. Globe and Mail, Canada. theglobeandmail.com

Paningbatan EP. 1994. Management of Soil Erosion for Sustainable Agriculture in sloping lands. Philippine Agriculturist 77 (1): 117-138

Pfeiffer DA. 2003. Eating Fossil Fuels. fromthewilderness.com

Rodolfo Kevin. 2008.”Peak Oil”: The Global Crisis of Diminishing Petroleum Supply, and Its Implications for the Philippines. Asian Studies Journal 41 (1): 41-101

CS2. Manila as Climate Change City

2009-10-30T18:44:00.000+08:00

MANILA - Today, on my initiative, Manila will lay claim as the Climate Change City of the World. And I'm only half joking.

26 September 2009; in Marikina, when it rained, it didn't pour - it spilled, too much water too soon, a month's supply of rain in 6 hours. It looked as if Mother Nature had gone berserk, and in fact she had. We made her insane.

Today, how do I explain Climate Change? It's Mother Nature, her temperatures rising.

Temperatures Rising
She can't take it anymore,
children.
We shot the arrows into the air;
Our Mother was stung,
we know not where.
Take that! Carbon dioxide,
one heat-seeking missile.
And that! Nitrous oxide,
two heat-seeking missiles.
And that! Methane,
three heat-seeking missiles.
~!@#$%^&*()_+{}:"<>?
Finally, she got the idea.
She got mad.
So, she made the planet hotter,
the waters on the islands
and in the seas rise faster
into the air.
She loaded the clouds more,
snapped her fingers,
and down went the heavier rains
in lesser time
than the lands could take it.
Take that!
And that!
And that!
She couldn't take it anymore.
We can't take it anymore.

Mother Nature is mad; Homo sapiens is madder, for making her mad.

Extreme sports, extreme videos, extreme crimes, extreme affairs, extreme exploitation and extreme arrogance - we are in The Age of Extremes. But those are nothing.

The assaults on the Twin Towers and Pentagon were nothing.
The war in Iraq is nothing.
The military rule in Burma is nothing.
Hunger in the whole of Africa is nothing.
HIV/AIDS in the whole hedonistic world is nothing.
The assault on gender freedom is nothing.
The attack by the White House on Fox News is nothing.
The runaway population is nothing.

Temperatures rising is everything.

Coolly, I am reading the September 2009 issue of the Aggie Green & Gold, the official quarterly publication of the College of Agriculture, CA, of the University of the Philippines Los Baños based in College, Laguna, some 60 km south of Manila. On page 6, LHF Vergara reports on the 1st CA Symposium-Workshop on Climate Change that was held 06 July 2009. I note: It took the College to first notice temperatures rising, or the College is interested in climate change but the University is not? It must be that the farmers are affected but the professors are not.

In the plenary session, Professor of Statistics and Co-Chair of the University Interdisciplinary Program on Climate Change, IPCC, Felino P Lansigan said that the global temperature had increased by 0.2°C in the last 10 years. He said:

Here in Los Baños alone, a 0.5°C increase was recorded, making low-lying areas vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Temperatures rising, waters rising, clouds dropping rains too much too soon. That's climate change.

In the same occasion, Dean of the School of Environmental Sciences and Management and Chair of the University's IPCC Ma Victoria Espaldon talked about 'a number of finished studies and projects as well as plans on how to catch up with climate change.'

I'm not entertaining any planning; I'm entertaining any doing. We can't plan to catch up with climate change; it's already here, and it surrounds us. We must do something, anything.

During the second session of the Los Baños symposium-workshop, the Agricultural Systems Cluster of the College proposed technology interventions in response to climate change. But the report stopped short of mentioning those interventions, except to say 'information and technology transfer' (I suppose, where the experts tell the non-experts what they don't know and exactly what they have to do), and 'development of models for appropriate production systems' (I suppose, computer modeling of the growing of crops and raising of poultry & livestock species that can tolerate soils and weather that are becoming badder and badder). I want to go beyond suppose.

In the same issue of the Aggie Green & Gold, among other people, Teodoro 'Ted' Mendoza, Professor of Crop Physiology, is reported by LB Lanosia Jr & EC Ros as having been appointed UP Scientist I, the title being actually an award:

A specialist in crop physiology, he has authored 53 technical papers and designed courses which are currently offered at UPLB. He is also a recipient of international awards for (the last) eight consecutive years and other numerous citations.

Remarkable enough, but more than that, Ted Mendoza is to me the true-blue 1st Climate Change Scientist of the University of the Philippines, period. He has written audaciously about it; for instance, I published one of his papers, 'Are Biofuels Really Beneficial for Humanity?' in the Philippine Journal of Crop Science, December 2007 issue, when I was Editor in Chief of that journal. (The answer: It depends.) He estimates that he has written 40 papers published in refereed journals here and abroad related to climate change. He has also been invited to speak in many public forums on such topics.

And he has put his foot where his mouth is. What he did in the middle of this month prompted my new blog, The Moncada Initiative, which is dedicated to Big-Ani (big harvest), his current pet project, where he is Consultant, which is dedicated to climate change agriculture. (For more details on the project, click these links: 'Moncada Initiative. BIG-ANI as climate change farming' and 'Pro-Rich! The poor we have always with us.')

For climate change, Project Big-Ani begins with organic fertilizer. That's what Ted Mendoza has come up with that the farmers can do in the farms.

What about us in the non-farms? Now, I have been searching here and there in the World Wide Web about what you and I and they can do about climate change. I just stopped at the point where some experts are saying we don't have much lead time and that if we had just a little time to mitigate climate change, we need to capture carbon dioxide a thousand times faster than we have shot it into the air already.

For this purpose, soil carbon has been proposed as the way to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rapidly. Soil carbon is 'the fastest way of sequestering carbon,' Tim Flannery said (as quoted by Michael Kiely, 03 July 2009, thefifthestate.com). We only have a short while to solve the problem. 'Unless it is resolved in the next two decades, it will destroy our global civilization.'

I half-believe him; the problem is that he didn't tell us how we could do it; and the rest of the article merely talked about the Carbon Coalition and the selling of carbon credits.

Not so fast, Carbon Coalition! If you're talking about planting native perennial grasslands plus new methods of growing crops plus new soil treatments plus regrowth of native vegetation as your soil carbon plan to sell for carbon credits, you're not so fast.

But if by 'new soil treatments' you mean organic fertilizer which results in an organic matter soil (OMS), I'm listening. But if you're looking for the fastest single solution to climate change, I'm sorry I don't think soil carbon is the one; I rather think OMS is better. In any case, soil carbon is only part of an organic matter soil, and it comes without saying, no big deal.

OMS likes it hot! I mean, if you create organic matter soil in all hot spots, those cultivated as well as the deforested lands and open fields all at once - even without planting native grasses, even without new methods of growing crops, even without reforestation - you have already created a carbon sink that is as massive as you can't imagine.

You can make OMS in 3 weeks or less; ask Ted Mendoza if you don't know how. You can use plant refuse; there's plenty of sawdust, or coconut husk, or coir dust, or rice hulls, or rice straw, or pig manure, or poultry manure, wild grass or any vegetation growing or not. Think of all that garbage that comes out of your home or office. Collect them as organic matter and apply that on all those thirsty and hungry soils and what have you got?

(a) A mulch that stops water evaporating from the land.
(b) A rich, organic fertilizer for growing rich crops.
(c) A carbon sink; that organic matter traps the C that O needs to make CO2.
(d) Cooler surroundings. Instantly. No time to wait.

I'm extremely careful saying ' organic matter soil' and not 'soil organic matter' - the point is that that organic fertilizer should be produced right on top of the soil, not in a compost pit or pile, to make the topsoil an organic layer instantly. When organic matter decays, among other things, the water oozes out; when that organic matter happens to be on top of the soil, that water stays where it is; it neither evaporates to the atmosphere nor percolates to the deeper parts of your compost pit. That water is crucial - it has those plant nutrients released by the decay of that organic matter.

So, it's just a matter of quickly adapting Ted Mendoza's Big-Ani organic fertilizer - or adapting any organic fertilizer for that matter - as mulch on the topsoil of all those deforested lands, grasslands, croplands, open lands, gardens and backyards.

And after that, it's just a matter of quickly populating all those organic matter soils with crops, any number of species of plants.

That is to say, you harvest carbon dioxide from the air by putting it in growing plants (photosynthesis) and keeping it on the soil (organic matter soil) all at the same time. Repeat as necessary. It's called the cycle of life and death; it's called loss and renewal.

So in fact, when you create a quick organic matter soil and plant a quick crop, you have a quick double carbon sink: (1) all those plants growing and (2) all that organic matter on all those soils in all those sites growing all those plants. Simultaneously, with very little sweat, you are sequestering carbon on both dead and living matters - you zero in on death to maximize life.

Thus, crops plus organic matter soils make carbon sink times 2. In short, CS2. By nature, CS2 is the fastest carbon sink on Planet Earth. (CS2 is also the fastest agent for soil erosion control you can find anywhere.) The concept is Manila's claim to fame today.

For CS2, remember not to leave any open or degraded or denuded lands without organic matter and without some greens growing.

Quick crops plus quick organic matter soil is the key.
Quick question: To fight climate change, are we using our gray matter quick enough?

Pro-Rich! The poor we have always with us

2009-10-29T19:31:00.000+08:00

MANILA - Today, I'm pro-rich farmers. Time for us to change; why, even the climate is changing! As for me, I stopped being pro-poor farmers a few minutes ago. I'm tired of poor farmers. I'm tired being pro-poor. Pro-poor is hard work.

At 69, with a big family of 12 and for the last 50 years stagnating at upper poor, you can't blame me. I myself am tired being upper poor. Being upper poor, you feel obligated to teach the poor to work harder.

In the village of Sanchez in Asingan, Pangasinan, my father Lakay Disiong was an upper poor farmer. His two sons who were both BS Agriculture graduates advised him to use chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and he grudgingly relented. One son (that would be me) graduated from the University of the Philippines' College of Agriculture (UPCA); the older son (Emilio) graduated from Araneta University. Araneta, of course, is nothing compared to UP - according to those who graduated from UP. Well, the UP son and the Araneta son both didn't finish when they should; I needed 5-1/2 years to finish a 4-year course; my brother didn't do any better. I got Extremed in-between; I mean, I was kicked out of UP! So was my brother. Does that explain why we were such poor advisors of farming to our own father? (I discovered my love for writing in history while I was still in high school; a degree in Agriculture was not in my dreams.)

I was a farmer's son but what I did mostly was spray the insecticides and the weedicides. My father did not make me plow the field, and I wasn't interested in doing it myself. I was more interested in reading books. The nearest thing to heavy work I did was harrowing: A carabao pulled a wooden harrow and I rode on the animal.

I remember my particular delight when I was spraying the weed killer 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D) - I would spray-soak the weeds until the liquid ran down the plant parts, and watch the leaves die - they would wilt before my very eyes. With 2,4-D, I had dramatic power over the weeds. The pleasure was entirely mine.

I remember those years when I was in high school. I would pasture a carabao or two (yes, we often had two of those) in the open fields about half a kilometer from our house; I would let them loose, and then go looking for frogs. My father knew how to cook a delicious dish out of them; ah, that frog's soup! I would bring out my boy-made pana (spear), which I fashioned out of a thick cloth line, about 1 meter long, with a flattened head shaped into a hook. Yes, I was that mechanical enough. My father would not buy me toys. I was a loner, so I had to entertain myself or make my own toys and tools.

My frog's spear was deadly. Once a hole was in sight, my spear would go poking into its innermost recesses. If I heard a crunch, that meant there was a frog living in a hole; now my spear had gone through its body, and it was dying. That would be repeated with so many holes. Thrust, crunch, sure death. Death? Sure. But all I could think of was the delicious meal that would follow so many sure deaths. Even then, I understood that life was a cycle of death and renewal. The frogs' deaths were my renewal.

My father also had a bubon (fish well), a hole in the ground that would fill with irrigation water; when he drained the ricefield, all the water went out of the paddies and all the fishes into that well, still full of water, where they would be as easy to catch as taking candy from a baby. The fishes were my father's game; the frogs were mine. Nature grew the fishes and the frogs that would make delicious, healthy meals. Mother Nature knew best.

As a young boy with a very active imagination, I was interested in girls but not in figures, so I remember my crushes but don't remember how much money my father made from his planting rice. I remember we had one of the biggest granaries in the village in our backyard a distance away from the back of our house. Lakay Disiong was much more industrious a farmer than the others I saw, and he had two sons as backup for his modern agriculture, but why didn't he become filthy rich or, at least, rich? Not that I would have loved being a rich man's son myself.

I'm reminiscing the 1950s, my teenage years. As I see it now, Lakay Disiong didn't become the rich man he would have wanted because he was not a good businessman. For instance, he had money enough for my cousin to go to Mindoro and buy quite a few head of buffalo and ship and truck back home to Asingan and sell in Urdaneta, then and now the cattle market of Pangasinan. (That is the reason why I almost always had two head to pasture - one was for sale, after a little fattening from being pastured on good and free grass in the ricefields or on the riverbank of the Agno River, which was about 1 kilometer from our village.) My father didn't know about keeping enough records and keeping too much faith. My cousin, bless his soul in Heaven, gave him not accounting but his accounts of what happened to the animals and the money. I didn't know this at that time; what I didn't know didn't hurt me. But it was hurting my father, and I didn't know that either.

So, 50 years or so later, I'm not surprised that the Philippines is still agricultural and not yet industrial. With land flowing with milk (many rivers and streams) and honey (countless delicious tropical fruits), we Filipinos are still poor. (Ted Mendoza adds abundance of sunshine.) At our best, we Filipinos are very intelligent, very industrious, very creative, very persistent, and very meticulous - but we are also still very poor. While we are also very good at carping (or crabbing), I don't think that explains why the Filipinos as a people have not become as rich as the Japanese, or the Singaporeans, or even the Malaysians. Aside from the remonstrance of the Roman Catholic Church ('Seek first the kingdom of God, and everything will be added unto you'), I think it's just that we Filipinos have not learned the arts and sciences of credit and marketing.

For credit, we still prefer the moneylenders, the five-sixers, those who demand six for a loan of five, the interest you pay every single day as long as you have not paid back the principal.

And we are poor entrepreneurs too. The Spaniards stayed 350 years in these islands and didn't teach us entrepreneurship. We only think small, too small. The Americans stayed 50 years and didn't teach us better either.

Marketing, of course, is not only selling; it is also buying. And buying, of course, is not only purchasing - it's making sure you're getting good produce or product. And you cannot get good produce if the farmers don't know good agricultural practices.

Perhaps good farmers make bad marketers, that is why the poor Filipino farmers can't ever be rich.

And chemical agriculture makes bad farmers. The chemicals surely killed all the other frogs I could have hunted with my cloth-line spear; the chemicals were deadlier than the male species that I was. The chemicals also killed the fishes of my father. Before all that, the farmers were poor but they had rich food.

Today, you want rich foods; you want a rich economy - then by all means, you have to be pro-rich; you have to grow rich farmers!

That's why we were there in Moncada, Tarlac Province, on 17-18 October 2009, the staff of the PEACE Foundation, and Professor of Crop Science Teodoro 'Ted' Mendoza of the University of the Philippines Los Baños, and I. We were beginning to implement a project by the short name of BIG-ANI (big harvest), Ted being the proponent and now Consultant to the project, and I the historian. It was Ted who taught the farmers how to make their own organic fertilizer.

Let me not forget to mention that the Department of Agriculture under Secretary Arthur Yap is the one funding the Big-Ani Project. Thanks, DA!

The staffs of Big-Ani were there:
Dennis Abuton, Project Manager
Roly Peña, Agriculturist
Che-Che Mogueis, Community Organizer
Dina Alvarez, Finance Officer
Maria Cristina Bejeno, Bookkeeper
Arceli Eugenio, Farm Technician-Moncada
Cristina Gatche, Farm Technician-Gerona
Ofelia Bancifra, Farm Technician-Tarlac City.

There were 38 farmers who attended the 2-day training-workshop; my shot shows one of the farmers sprinkling a microbe-enriched pitcher of water on the pile of matter; the liquid activator will in 3 weeks turn that pile into compost, rich organic fertilizer. This fertilizer will grow a rich crop; this is the cycle of life and death, and life from death.

The village of Tolega Norte in the town of Moncada was the venue. The DA Regional Office of Region 3 was the first to agree to support Big-Ani; these farmers were going to be trained to establish their own organic, integrated farms and be a model for others.

The farmers came from these Tarlac places: Moncada, Gerona, Paniqui and Tarlac City.

Moncada farmers:
Banaoang East: Adar G Duque and Francisco A Vigilia. Banaoang West: Porferio T Granil and Judy C Facun. Santa Lucia East: Roland B Acosta and Ritchie B Acosta. Santa Lucia West: Rhoda L Arlantico, Jennifer S Esposo, and Arnel Q Arlantico. Tolega Norte: Vicente B Lacbayan, Rowel D Eugenio, Roy Bragado, Mercedes B Cuchapin, and Josefina L Marcos.

Gerona farmers:
(Old) Carbonel: Francisco G Joaquin, Wilson D Dela Cruz, Rosemarie F Dela Cruz, and Emelita T Punzalan. Bularit: Homer C Bucad, Gerry A Villamayor, Noly M Corpuz, and Mercy J Corpuz. Mabini: Jennifer M Aquino and Lisa S Gamboa.

Paniqui farmers:
San Isidro: Ofelia I Bancifra, Efren B Gabriel, and Ricardo E David. Apulid: Perlita N Gabriel. Poblacion Norte: Diego Delos Santos. Salumague: Rufino M De Vera.

Tarlac City farmers:
Mabilog: Noel A Mallari, Edwin Cabilangan, Neftaly Mallari, Dominador Galano, Noly A Mallari, Ernesto Ambrocio, Jesus Maristela, and Erick Naguiat.

(For a report of what happened during the training workshop, click the link to read my 'Moncada Initiative. BIG-ANI as climate change farming.')

All these 38 farmers were in the same boat that my father Lakay Disiong was in 50 years ago: high yield, low income. And why is that? Because of chemical agriculture, farming has been having high total cost and low net returns.

What we brought to Tolega Norte Ted Mendoza calls biodiverse agriculture; he also refers to it as biofarming; I call it climate-change agriculture. No quarrel. As far as I can tell, the concept 'biodiverse' refers to the rich variety of crops and livestock recommended to be grown; 'biofarming' focuses on the use of biological materials such as microbes (fungi and such) to hasten the decomposition of organic matter into organic fertilizer; and 'climate-change' emphasizes the avoidance of chemical agriculture and underscores organic farming as a clean option to chemical agriculture and to help mitigate global warming. In fact, Big-Ani is all that, and more.

Big-Ani was going to teach these farmers organic farming plus cooperativism plus marketing. Goodbye to chemical agriculture; goodbye to helplessness; goodbye to high cost of farming; goodbye to usurious moneylenders; goodbye to non-value-adding of produce; goodbye to unprofitable marketing; goodbye to unfair distribution of the benefits of agriculture. That's the big idea.

We know it's a tall order, but that's exactly why we wanted to do it: we wanted to do the impossible. If doing something good is good, what about doing something better that challenges your very best?

In the Philippines, chemical agriculture as a panacea for rice farming was institutionalized during the unforgettable Martial Law years of President Ferdinand E Marcos. He had 'Masagana 99' (Bountiful 99), a rice production project with a name that signified high yield, Great idea! 99 cavans (4.9 tons) to a hectare compared to the 20 cavans average at that time. Now-Representative Salvador 'Sonny' Escudero was Marcos' Secretary of Agriculture. Of that success, Escudero said (Amy R Remo, 26 April 2008, inquirer.net):

The secret with Masagana 99 was the very liberal credit and extension work. We provided farmers with full credit support. We were in full control of our agricultural technicians, whom we regularly educated.

I'm glad the secret wasn't the genius of Marcos! If they were liberal with credit, so should we. We have to give liberal credit to whom liberal credit is due.

Masagana 99 was chemical agriculture. Can we learn from the enemy? Actually, Masagana 99 had only 1 open-secret element, and this was access: access to technology, access to credit, access to price support for rice, access to low-cost fertilizer. The modern technology for the growing of rice came from Los Baños (IRRI and UP Los Baños); credit, price support and low-cost fertilizer came from the government. This was government for the people, for the farmers. Marcos knew what he was doing, and he was good at it, even in agriculture. He had very good advisers, the likes of Dean Dioscoro L Umali and Emil Q Javier of UPCA. He knew who knew more than he did. He was a brilliant manager; he was a genius.

Masagana 99 was then, Climate Change is now. We must stop using chemicals whose manufacture gives off greenhouse gases that make climate change worse. We need climate-change agriculture now! The intelligent response is not another Masagana 99 but something like Big-Ani, avoiding the chemicals and making use of friendly organic materials all available locally, the spirit of cooperation among Filipinos, and the camaraderie among farming families in the villages.

We are thinking of training farmers to become the successful ecological agriculturists that we have not been, in their God's little acres applying organic fertilizers, planting multiple crops, growing trees, raising fish, caring for poultry and livestock, harvesting and storing their produce properly, adding value to them at the appropriate hour - enriching themselves as they do the soil, the surroundings, their villages, their country.

So, I repeat: I'm pro-rich, not pro-poor. I want the poor farmers to be rich! Healthy rich. Getting what they deserve for their labors, multiplying their wealth without prejudice to anyone. Eating organic food, if it be meat; not breathing in mists of insecticides and weedicides; not poisoning the waters in the fields so that fish can go forth and multiply like they used to in my youth. Among other little dreams, I want even my shy grandsons to be able to hunt frogs in the field with their own ingenuity; and I want my granddaughters to taste pesticide-free fish caught fresh in clear water among the growing rice seedlings in verdant fields.

Is that too much to ask?

Moncada Initiative. BIG-ANI as climate change farming

2009-10-21T23:52:00.000+08:00

MONCADA, TARLAC, Philippines - In the last 2 days, from Saturday, 17 October to Sunday, 18 October 2009, we went through a training-workshop on a new concept of agriculture I would like to call Climate Change Agriculture - emphasis on climate change, whether we like it or not. You're looking at manure.

The original project concept came from Teodoro 'Ted' Mendoza, Chair of the PEACE Foundation and a professor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños; I helped package it; I was there to begin to document the process. Region 3 of the Department of Agriculture, DA, had endorsed the proposal and that is why the PEACE staff was there to implement The Moncada Initiative (my term). The DA was doing something right.

We were in Moncada to conduct the first training-workshop. A total of 38 farmers were waiting for us; we were expecting 30. The PEACE staff had done a good job convincing them to attend for their own good.

I came along to write the history I sensed they were going to make. Some people make history; some people have to write it. (Ah, about making and writing history. I remember when we were in college, at the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, UPCA, in Los Baños in the early 1960s; we were having our snacks at the Coop on campus; we were bragging about who will write the greatest what, we meaning Nestor Pestelos, Rem Torres, Aniceto Llaneta and I, our very own Gang of Four. 'I'm going to write the greatest Filipino short story,' I said. Nestor said, I'm going to write the greatest Filipino novel,' and instantly I said, 'And I'm going to write about it!' I have always been good at dreaming - and repartee.)

Into the Moncada Initiative, the farmers were going to learn how to turn dung into minerals, manure into nutrients, rice hulls into carbon - and mix them all together, to create mounds of black gold: the Big-Ani fertilizer, I'd like to call it that. And that was only the start of something great. After this, they themselves would have to go searching and collecting organic matter of all sorts in and out of town, and I hope they didn't mind dirtying their hands. I didn't - look at the picture.

We were there for a demo. Not the protest kind but the progress kind. We brought them a new concept contained in a project proposal submitted last January, now approved, with an original concept and title, BIG-ANI, an English-Tagalog name which translates to BIG HARVEST, we hope. In any case, Big-Ani is also an acronym for Biological, Integrated, Good Agriculture with Necessary Institutional Support. Biological because living organisms (plants, fungi and microbes) are made active participants in enriching the soil and protecting the crops and therefore insuring good harvests. Integrated because climate change agriculture does not consist only in growing crops but also in raising animals, producing healthy foods and not abusing the environment. Good Agriculture refers to good practices such as cropping with the multiplier effect (multi-cropping), minimum tillage, feeding poultry & livestock with natural food and not giving them growth hormones, cadmium etc. Necessary Institutional Support refers to advocacy and sponsorship by public and private institutions and individuals. We are all in this together. The Filipino is worth fighting for - but we can't do it alone.

The name Big-Ani also suggests bighani, which is Tagalog for charm, seduction, lure. With Dennis Abuton as Big-Ani Project Manager, we designed Big-Ani to seduce conventional farmers into switching to a whole new universe of agriculture, in which the organic fertilizer is the entry point. We were going to show them that the Big-Ani fertilizer was doable, viable, desirable - and would open windows to more rewarding opportunities in farming.

The first day, Ted Mendoza the Professor spent many hours of the afternoon under the unkind heat of a ceiling-less grade school classroom in the village of Tolega Norte as the Moncada sun bore down on Earth in the west, telling them about global warming, how the Philippines would be submerged if it came to that, how things would become worse and not get better until we did something to mitigate climate change. I was sure this was all Greek to the farmers; even so, I noticed that the farmers weren't sleepy. I was.

Note that we were in Moncada amidst the havoc to crops and livestock, not to mention to people, that the Super Typhoons Ketsana (local name Ondoy) and Parma (Pepeng) wrought the last few weeks in many areas in the Philippines, not the least where we were. Some of the farmer participants were saying that some parts of Tarlac where they came from or had to pass through were still under water from Ketsana and Parma. Indeed, on the way to Tolega Norte, we saw many of the ricefields were still flooded; some farmers were harvesting panicles of rice blackened from exposure to moisture and decay. Some Tolega men and women were threshing rice on the narrow concrete road while cows and goats stood on our way. Only the road was dry. It would take weeks before the fields would drain, that is, if no more rains come.

The flash floods are reminders from Mother Nature that we have been over-cutting our forests of their vegetation, whose roots and decaying leaves help hold the soil in place; and we have been over-cultivating our lowland soils and destroying the vegetation that keeps them in place, to the point that a downpour creates a river of water and soil that is now going, going, gone …..

And why do the Binga, Ambuklao, Magat, Pantabangan and San Roque dams have to release large volumes of water when there's too much flooding downstream already? Because there's too much water in those dams and unless you release the pressure by releasing the water held in check, the dams would burst and cause more damage. The damages from the floods have been awful. For more of the same, some people blame the dams. Damn if you do, damn if you don't.

In the first place, why is there too much water too soon? One reason is the super-heavy clouds pouring, say in 6 hours the amount of rains that used to pour in 30 days, according to one estimate. Climate Change. The other reason is that the watershed that is supposed to absorb all that torrential rain and only slowly release the water to the dams, has been destroyed by over-exploitation by loggers big and small, including hillside farmers and charcoal gatherers, by legal and illegal means. It rains on the just and the unjust. What comes down must go down, from upstream to downstream, and that's how the sins of the loggers like them are visited on the innocent bloggers like me.

The flash floods are our global warning about global warming. In the course of the 2-day training workshop, Ted Mendoza repeatedly told the Big-Ani participants about my personal insight that I gave to him much earlier when he asked my opinion about hard-headed people and the stubborn global warming:

Climate Change is the Problem; Climate Change is also the Solution.

The first time he quoted me that first afternoon, he asked me to explain and I told the Big-Ani participants, who came from many towns in Tarlac Province, more or less in these words:

Before these calamities, people were not paying attention. Now you're paying attention. If you don't solve Climate Change, Climate Change will solve you.

We need to change our agriculture because of global warming / global cooling. We can't ignore our profligate lifestyles and extravagant agriculture any longer. If we don't control Climate Change, Climate Change will control us.

You might say I have been thinking of climate change agriculture many decades before this. I have always been a wide reader. When I was working for the UP College of Agriculture as a Substitute Instructor in Horticulture in 1966, or 43 years ago, I ransacked the College's library, became much interested reading and talking and writing about organic farming. I read eagerly the writings of organic farming pioneer Americans JI Rodale and Edward H Faulkner, and Father of Organic Agriculture British Albert Howard, not to mention the American lady gardener Ruth Stout. I found that organic farmers use Mother Nature, not abuse her.

Ted Mendoza and I worked for the Farming Systems & Soil Resources Institute, FSSRI, of the University of the Philippines Los Baños in 1985, with Pids Rosario as FSSRI Director. I remember Ted as a sugarcane professor and I noted that he was already writing about trash farming in sugarcane; he was the Team Leader for Sugarcane at the FSSRI. When I became Editor in Chief of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science, PJCS, in 2003 (working on someone's backlog issues starting 2001), I published Ted's paper on 'the many benefits of sugarcane trash farming systems' (click here to read the full technical paper at reap-canada.com). He wrote of mulching the trash on the ratoon cane field with cane tops and leaves that would result in lower costs and higher yields and therefore higher incomes. I buy that. Unlike the economists of chemical agriculture who don't buy the economics of organic farming.

In the December 2001 issue of the PJCS, Ted came out with a paper discussing ecological agriculture as applicable in the Philippines. In Moncada, what he presented was essentially what can be found in his 2001 paper: minimum tillage, green manuring, composting, mulching, no burning of crop residues and weeds, trees on the farm, multiple cropping, crop rotation, intercropping, and crop-livestock integration. In the paper, he used the technical term 'ecological agriculture;' I have no quarrel with that. I just want to emphasize that ecological agriculture is only a part of Big-Ani, which includes cooperativism and marketing. We must help the farmers to grow well and to sell well. Don't forget to eat well.

So here we were in Moncada, Tarlac and Ted Mendoza was preaching the virtues of making your own organic fertilizer from locally available raw materials: cow dung plus carbonized rice hull plus chicken manure, sprinkled with a watered-down odd mixture of harvested-from-the-air free microorganisms, as well as fungi, that together breaks down all those plant and animal wastes into organic fertilizer in just 3 weeks. The magic of rapid composting.

Ted Mendoza asked the Big-Ani participants a rhetorical question, actually to drive home the point that organic fertilizer is the important thing, properly made, whether you make it or simply buy it. In effect, he said:

I am going to show you how to make your own organic fertilizer. But if you find it too laborious for you, because it is laborious indeed, you can buy from me. Instead of spending only about 50 pesos to make 1 bag, you will pay me 300 pesos for 1 bag. If you make your own, your labor is your reward. If you simply buy from me, your convenience is my reward. You have a choice. Which do you prefer?

On the basketball court in front of the village hall the next day, Ted showed the farmers his formula of making organic fertilizer. In my own words, here's how to make your own Big-Ani fertilizer, following the gospel taught by Ted Mendoza, avant-garde Professor of the University of the Philippines Los Baños.

Step 1: Prepare your organic mother.

Ted showed the participants how to prepare a tray out of cheap wood, spread a layer of cooked rice on it, cover it with newspaper tied down, and expose it to the elements, after making sure to put a plastic sheet over the whole thing to protect it against the rain. 3 days later, you are ready to harvest your microbes; mixing the whole mass with brown sugar and a little water, you get your mother liquid. Ted Mendoza calls that the indigenous micro-organisms, IMO; I prefer to call it the organic mother, OM, referring both to the fertility of the intangible (actually, unseen microbes & their power of decay) and the fertility of the tangible that results from the intangible (your black fertilizer, which becomes your rich soil). The organic mother is the liquid you sprinkle on your organic matter, got it?

That organic matter will become your compost. In the garden variety of composting, the plant and/or animal materials decompose naturally, a slow sort of compost. Big-Ani composting is rapid composting. In 21 days, you have excellent organic fertilizer.

Step 2: Gather your organic materials.

In the Moncada demonstration, the materials locally available were very wet cow dung and very dry carbonized rice hull and chicken manure. The carbonized rice hull, CRH, was gotten free from those who were making or refining salt somewhere - the hull is used to fire the stoves to boil the salt out of the seawater. The controlled burn gives you CRH. Big-Ani Agriculturist Rolly Peña was telling me the carbonized rice hull was plenty and the saltmakers didn't know what to do with their growing pile of CRH, so they were happy to give it away. If you can't have CRH, you can use plain old rice hull, Ted says. For chicken manure, you have to look for poultry houses to gather enough from.

Ted was demonstrating how to use the shovel to properly mix the whole pile: shovel in, bring towards you and turn sideways, slash, slash, slash. I suppose if you know how to mix cement with sand and gravel, you know how to mix your organic pile.

In the photo, you can't see it, but my right hand (holding camera) knows what my left hand does - whitened fingers pointing to the blackened mound of cow dung nearly completely mixed with the carbonized rice hull and chicken manure, already with a sprinkling of OM. Am I wearing a gas mask? No. No smell whatsoever. And why is that? Simple. The OM absorbs all the smell from all that manure. Here, manure doesn't smell like muck - it smells like money.

Step 3: Sprinkle your liquid organic mother.

The OM is your liquid activator for rapid decomposition. In Moncada, they mixed the organic mother 1 part OM to 50 parts water. They sprinkled the mix over the pile by pouring the liquid over the hand, palm up, while moving all the fingers about to distribute the water as a sprinkler would. I thought somebody forgot to bring a sprinkler.

Step 4: Mix it up, sack it in and wait 3 weeks.

Don't forget to mix the whole pile thoroughly, very thoroughly. After that, shovel in the pile into the sack. Stacked or not, expect the sacks to heat up. That's the organic mother working for you. But since the heat will only be near the surface of the sack, where there is air, you will have to remix the whole sack-full once every 3 days so that the material will decompose uniformly. 3 weeks and your Big-Ani compost is ready to be spread all over the field.

Step 5: Plan your next batch.

It might help if you have a group and you help each other produce the mother liquid, gather the materials, mix a big batch, and share. You enjoy economies of scale.

Isn't that easy? No, it's laborious.

While I was just watching everything, listening and taking pictures, I was thinking: 'Why, this is all work and no play!'

Actually, you can't appreciate the labor that goes into the making of the Big-Ani fertilizer if you are just reading this. I wasn't doing anything except watching and I could imagine the time, money and effort you have to spend gathering the materials where you can find them, perhaps 5 towns away. What about next time? And yes, you will need to prepare 50 bags of Big-Ani fertilizer for 1 hectare.

For foliar spraying, they also prepared fish entrails and gills, to mix with brown sugar, to get fish amino acids (FAA). FAA is herbal organic fertilizer. The liquid would be sprayed on the leaves for its nitrogen and trace minerals. They also gathered kangkong (water spinach) and young banana stalks, cut them down into fine pieces, mixed with brown sugar. (They could use a juice maker, couldn't they?) The material would make fermented plant juices (FPJ); the filtered FPJ would be sprayed on the leaves to drive away the insect pests.

In Moncada, in preparing the wood tray, cooking the rice and spreading a layer of it over the open tray, and in locating an open space and leaving the whole thing there, Ted Mendoza showed the farmers that they had to protect it also against any food-smelling dog, cat or rat. They had to go into so much trouble? Well, doing good works isn't easy.

On the way back from Moncada, Ted Mendoza was telling me that his IMO (my OM) is excellent for removing all the awful smell from garbage anywhere, which means you can turn garbage into a product that farms and gardens would welcome. I hope the Mayors are paying attention: Mayor Alfredo Lim of Manila, Mayor Sonny Belmonte of Quezon City, Mayor Maria Lourdes Carlos Fernando of Marikina, Mayor Ramon Ilagan of Cainta and the rest. All you have to do is spray the mother liquid, which costs almost nothing because it really comes from thin air! This is trash-to-cash simplified, refuse becoming reward in 3 weeks, leavings becoming returns in 21 days, costs turning into benefits in 4 Sundays, fresh air returning in no time at all. What else do they want?

With OM, you can't refuse refuse. So now, garbage can become a change agent, if you will allow it. Indeed, garbage becomes a climate changer, if you transform it, because it helps reduce dependence on oil-based fertilizers and pesticides, the making of either of which contributes much to global warming because of the carbon emissions resulting from their manufacture.

If we don't resolve Climate Change, Climate Change will resolve us.

Ted Mendoza refers to the whole Big-Ani concept technically as 'biodiverse, integrated, organic agriculture' or 'bio-agriculture' or 'bio-farming,' while I prefer to refer to it non-technically. I call it Climate Change Agriculture because it changes the multiple climates of:
(1) chemical agriculture
(2) killing weeds
(3) health ignorance
(4) environmental abuse
(5) carbon emission
(6) usury
(7) low incomes.

(1) Climate change in chemical agriculture. Farming with chemicals has been the norm since the 1950s, according to Ted Mendoza, and our farmers, as taught by our agriculture graduates mostly from UP Los Baños, have been chemical farmers since then. Rolly was telling me UPLB graduates make the best salesmen of aggie-related chemicals. I am not surprised. Historically, when the Americans, led by Edwin Bingham Copeland, founded and began to run the UP College of Agriculture in March 1909, chemical agriculture was part of the agenda for research. And if research comes, can application be far behind? My brother and I taught our father Lakay Disiong his chemical agriculture in the 1960s, and he was happy with the results: high yields. Decades later, I began to notice that all those frogs we caught in those rainy nights and cooked for a delicious dinner the next sunshiny day, those crabs, those fish were all gone, decimated by the drug abuse of people not unlike the unknowing Hilarios, of all people! Today, with Big-Ani agriculture side-by-side, you can see that chemical agriculture leaves much to be desired.

(2) Climate change in carbon emission. In the December 2001 issue of PJCS (pages 31-44), Ted Mendoza computed that of the 26 billion tons of carbon dioxide loaded into the atmosphere each year, 4 billion tons of that is contributed by agriculture and land clearing alone. If loggers, hillside farmers and charcoal gatherers stopped clearing the forests; if farmers and planters stopped clearing their fields of vegetation, stopped practicing chemical agriculture and started applying the principles of Big-Ani farming, they will be contributing much to the reduction of carbon emission around the world. Not to mention bringing about the side-effect of having more fresh air for us mortals to breathe in.

(3) Climate change in killing weeds. The fastest way to kill weeds is to spray a weedicide; that's chemical agriculture. When you prepare your Big-Ani fertilizer, the weed seeds are killed by the decomposition process - the fungi will eat them and the microbes will bore holes in them and the acids will put an end to any life activity, so that after 3 weeks you have a very black and very rich soil. Ted prescribes 50 bags of the Big-Ani fertilizer to a hectare to completely cover the field. If I were the Big-Ani farmer, I would also do some surface-soil green manuring to completely cover the field with a fresh mulch, that which will decay over time and kill all the weed seeds just dying to germinate once you expose them by plowing the usual way.

(4) Climate change in health ignorance. You can't ignore your health anymore. Big-Ani agriculture is a low-tech approach to a high level of health. If you grow crops using Big-Ani fertilizer, if you control pests and diseases using herbal foliar sprays or the predators of harmful insects and microbes, you can't help but harvest organic rice, organic corn, organic tomato, organic eggplant, organic sweet potato, organic cabbage, organic okra and so on and so forth - farm produce without pesticide residues of any kind. As your crops grow, so does your well-being.

(5) Climate change in environmental abuse. Chemical fertilizers are drugs. Our farmers have been throwing bags upon bags of chemical fertilizers on their fields and farms for years that those soils now have bodies that are victims of drug abuse. They have been drained of life. They have become acidic; they have lost their natural balance of nutrients; they have lost their organic matter and have become easily erodible that with a little rain they will gladly run off with the water. Big-Ani agriculture is the way to go.

(6) Climate change in usury. Today, the poor Moncada farmers told me, you need 10 bags of chemical fertilizer to every hectare. That's about 10,000 pesos; the total cost of farming these days is about 20,000 pesos, including cost of pesticides. Oh my God, you have to be rich to be a poor farmer! So, our poor farmers usually borrow from usurers during lean times (between harvests) just to tide their families over; they pick up their bags of fertilizer from the trader in town and, when the time comes, away flies the products of their labors - they have to sell the newly harvested rice to the money lender or pay the local Merchant of Venice a Shylock price - a pound of flesh for a pound of chemical.

(7) Climate change in low incomes. With high yields have come low incomes - because of the high cost of fertilizers, because of the high cost of pesticides, because of the high cost of borrowing money. With the making of the Big-Ani fertilizer comes just a little investment so that you will spend only 50 pesos to make 1 bag; compare 50 pesos with 1000 pesos to buy 1 bag of chemical fertilizer, and 3 chemical fertilizer elements (N, P, K) compared with 15 organic fertilizer elements as plant foods (N, P, K, Fe, Mn, B, Cu, Co, Mo, Ni, Cl, Zn, S, Ca, Se), and you get the Math of the Moncada Initiative. With chemical fertilizers, you are poorer; with organic fertilizers, you are richer.

Are you listening? We are offering Climate Change Agriculture to the world. It may not look much right now, but if millions of farmers do it, they can minimize the damage of global warming to a significant level.

If we don't minimize Climate Change, Climate Change will minimize us.

PJCS: Making history in science publishing

2009-06-30T14:50:00.000+08:00

YOU CAN SAY WE MADE HAY while the sun shone in Los Baños, Laguna in the Philippines in the early years of this millennium; then we applied it on the field. I'm talking about the Philippine Journal of Crop Science, PJCS, of which I was Editor in Chief from issue April 2001 to issue April 2008. This journal, published by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines, CSSP, was 2 years late in fact when I came in. I applied for the job anyway, because it was impossible to make it ever up-to-date after decades of being late, and I love to do the impossible. Why not? No pain, no gain. No pressure, no pleasure!

It was going to challenge every little skill I had: technical writing and technical editing of papers written in the broad fields of agriculture and forestry. Above all, it was going to challenge what expertise I had in desktop publishing, because I said I was going to do the desktop publishing of the journal myself.

What happened? The ever-late crop science journal was the immovable object, but I was the irresistible force. As the cover image of the August 2005 issue implies, my ally in the making the impossible happen was the personal computer, specifically Microsoft Windows and Word XP, later moving on to Word 2003. I made this high-end word processing software created by Bill Gates as my desktop publishing program of choice. Why? Because I knew Word 2003 in and out, and I knew technical editing and journal publishing in and out, and I knew that the software and the science on paper would match, perfectly.

And that made all the difference. And so the Philippine Journal of Crop Science became up to date on May 2006; in fact, it was at the same time 1 year in advance (see related story, 'We are the most advanced knowledge base in crops in the whole science world,' this blog. I'm not the Editor anymore as I write this; perhaps they have forgotten me, but I have the unforgettable experience of updating a whole technical journal where everyone else in CSSP failed in the last 30 years.

Why food prices increase & what can be done

2008-02-18T13:58:00.000+08:00

2008 August, Philippine Journal of Crop Science 33(2): 87-101. Teodoro C Mendoza. Why Food Prices Increase & What Can Be Done

Humankind is once again in a bind, which is the inescapable challenge of producing sufficient food for the continually increasing population under an increasingly difficult production environment – including global warming/global climate change, the continuing oil-based agriculture in an era of diminishing supply (the end of cheap oil), which in turn has propelled biofuel production. Plus, the increasing affluence of fast-growing economies leading to the consumption of more oil energy and more food, particularly, meat or animal products, has altogether increased the demand for food. This is aggravated further by the decreasing capacity of the agro-ecosystem to meet the current production requirements, which has precipitated a phenomenal increase in world food prices. Claimed to be the prime mover of world economic growth, the current trade regime of globalization has brought about interconnected adverse effects not only on the environment but also on energy use (by increased food miles) and food insecurity especially in the poorer countries. Heavily subsidized agricultural products of developed countries exported to developing countries, like the Philippines, have made them more vulnerable to the volatile food prices in the world market. It has exposed the hollowness of the economic view ‘Why produce? It is cheaper to import!’ I argue that the food crisis is real. What can be done? The positive thinkers will simply claim, ‘If there is a problem, there is a solution!’ It is grossly unintelligent for the youth to just simply accept that nothing can be done. Specifically for the Philippines, in this paper, options for sustainable food security, both at the production and consumption sides, are presented.

Technorati Tags: food supply,biofuel production,oil consumption,demand for food,world food price increases,sustainable food production,sustainable consumption,produce or import,globalization,subsidized farm produce

Estimated yield losses of banana due to freckle disease

2008-02-18T13:57:00.000+08:00

2008 August, Philippine Journal of Crop Science 33(2): 75-85. Benny M Corcolon & Avelino D Raymundo. Estimating Yield Losses in Banana due to Freckle Disease Caused by Phyllosticta musarum (Cke.) Van der Aa

Estimates of yield losses due to freckle disease in banana are high in the absence of an effective fungicide application to control the disease on the leaves and its subsequent spread to the fruits. Fruits downgraded from Class A to Class B due to freckle infection can be as high as 78% while 59% percentage can be rejected. The yield loss study was laid out in RCBD design with 4 replications in an isolated area planted to ‘Gran Nain’ Cavendish banana, each replicate plot containing 22-25 plants. The plants were inoculated with a spore suspension of the freckle organism to incite the development of freckle epidemic. One week after inoculation, all plants were sprayed with mancozeb, a fungicide. The lowest production loss was estimated from plants that were sprayed weekly with the fungicide mancozeb. The severity of freckle infection on the leaves was highly correlated with that of the fruits that were either rejected or downgraded to lower class. The highest percentage of rejection was on fruits from unsprayed plots. The application of mancozeb effectively reduced freckle infection on the leaves and subsequent infection on the fruits. Weekly or bi-weekly sprays of mancozeb or other equivalent fungicides must be done to control freckle infections on leaves and fruits.

10 years of lowland rice under different levels of organic & inorganic fertilizers

2008-02-18T13:55:00.001+08:00

2008 August, Philippine Journal of Crop Science 33(2): 59-74. Joveno S Lales. Ten-Year Productivity of Irrigated Lowland Rice Under Different Levels of Organic and Inorganic Fertilizers

A long-term field experiment was conducted starting 1996 to evaluate the productivity and economics of growing lowland rice varieties using inorganic and organic fertilizers. The treatments were arranged using split plot design with three replications. The main plots were FT1 = inorganic fertilizer alone at recommended level (RIF), FT2 = commercial organic fertilizer (OF) alone at manufacturer’s recommended level, FT3 = 75% RIF + OF, FT4 = 50% RIF + OF, FT5 = 25% RIF + OF, and FT6 = no fertilizer. The sub-plots were four lowland rice varieties, namely: PSB Rc32 (modern high-yielding variety), ‘Burdagol,’ ‘Sampaguita,’ and ‘Sinandomeng’ (farmers’ varieties). Differences in grain yields were observed, attributed to the individual effects of variety and fertilizer treatments. PSB Rc32 and ‘Sinandomeng’ had comparable yields. These varieties significantly out-yielded ‘Burdagol’ and ‘Sampaguita.’ Grain yields were generally lower during the dry season than wet season. Grain yield in FT1 was consistently and significantly higher than FT2 by 48% during the dry season and 11% during the wet season. Replacing 25% of the inorganic fertilizer with organic fertilizer significantly decreased grain yields during the dry season except in 1998 and 2000. Increasing further the level of replacement (50-100%) led to greater yield reduction. This declining trend was reversed in five wet season crop cycles, that is, grain yields significantly increased as the levels of fertilizer substitution increased up to 50%. Based on the grain yield obtained in FT6, the inherent nutrient supply capacity of the soil was capable of supporting the crop to produce 45% and 78% of the yield obtained in FT1 during the dry and wet seasons, respectively. Net return was highest in FT3 during the dry season and in FT4 during wet season. Marginal cost was highest in FT6 but marginal benefit was largest in FT4 during the wet season. Based on marginal benefit-marginal cost ratio, the most economically viable inorganic-organic fertilizer combination during the wet season was 50:50. The field study should be continued to evaluate the dynamics of N, P, and K balance as well as the effectiveness of bio-fertilizers like Bio-N as substitute for inorganic N fertilizer on a long-term basis.

Diversity analysis of 20 lines of thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile rice

2008-02-18T13:53:00.001+08:00

2008 August, Philippine Journal of Crop Science 33(2): 51-58. Carolyn E Alcasid, Analen M Dela Rosa & Azucena L Carpena. Morpho-Agronomic Diversity Analysis Of 20 Lines Of Thermo-Sensitive Genetic Male Sterile Rice

Twenty thermo-sensitive genetic male sterile (TGMS) lines from the PhilRice-UPLB hybrid rice program were evaluated for diversity on the basis of 24 agro-morphological traits, five of which were quantitative, using the Shannon-Weaver Diversity Index. Monomorphism was observed in the lines for 8 out of 19 qualitative traits, and no significant differences were indicated for one quantitative trait. Polymorphism was observed in the lines for 11 out of 19 qualitative traits including five where more than two descriptor states were shown by the lines, namely, leaf blade color, auricle color, culm angle, panicle exsertion, and panicle shattering; and significant differences were indicated for all quantitative traits except for culm length. The mean Shannon-Weaver diversity indices were H’ = 0.44 for all qualitative traits and H’ = 0.66 for only those that showed polymorphism, indicating a moderate level of diversity among the 20 TGMS lines. The lack of a high degree of diversity among the lines studied indicates that more lines with more diverse ancestries should be developed to enrich the germplasm of the PhilRice-UPLB hybrid rice program to fully utilize the advantages of the TGMS system.

Functional leaf area, USM VAR, DK 818, Los Baños glutinous corn

2008-02-18T13:51:00.000+08:00

2008 August, Philippine Journal of Crop Science 33(2): 37-50. Jojee H Lales, Pompe C Sta Cruz, Joveno S Lales & Gregorio M Villegas. Simulated Functional Leaf Area Of USM Var 5, DK 818 & Los Baños Glutinous Corn At Grain Filling Stage

Corn genotypes DK 818, a hybrid, and USM var 5, an open pollinated variety, were subjected to six defoliation treatments to attain different simulated functional leaf areas (FLAs) at two weeks after silk emergence (WASE) in the first trial. DK 818, USM var 5 and Los Baños Glutinous were subjected to similar defoliation treatments at silk emergence in the second trial. Full defoliation above the ear reduced grain yield per plant by 44.0% at 2 WASE and 61.0% when leaf removals were done at silk emergence. Excision of all the leaves below the ear did not significantly reduce grain yield per plant when defoliation was done at 2 WASE, while there was marked reduction in grain yield (25.2%) when such level of defoliation was imposed at silk emergence. Removal of all the leaves above the ear at silking significantly shortened the ears, but this was not observed when all the leaves below the ear were excised. Removal of the topmost two or three leaves significantly reduced ear fill percentage. As expected, grain yield was higher with higher FLA. The linear relationship implied a narrow range of simulated FLAs or defoliations. Defoliation at silk emergence was more damaging to grain yield and yield components than defoliation at 2 WASE. DK 818 had relatively high yield and was more stable in producing grain per unit FLA regardless of the timing of defoliation. However, loss of FLA for this non-leafy genotype at an early stage of silking significantly reduced its grain yield. USM var 5 had lower yield and efficiency of grain production per unit FLA under a more favorable condition (defoliation at 2 WASE). Defoliation at an early stage of silking produced comparable yield with DK 818, but its efficiency in producing grain per unit FLA remained low despite its leafiness. The Los Baños Glutinous genotype was the lowest yielder and was the least leafy genotype. It had the lowest efficiency in producing grain per unit FLA. The leaves removed below the ear at 2 WASE onwards may have practical importance as soilage or feed herbage for ruminants.

Technorati Tags: corn soilage,corn herbage for animals,2 weeks after silk emergence,USM Var 5,Los Baños glutinous corn,DK 818

Combining ability & heterosis in quality protein maize varieties

2008-02-18T13:49:00.000+08:00

2008 August, 33(2): 25-36. Tonette P Laude & Artemio M Salazar. Combining Ability And Heterotic Relationships In Yellow Quality Protein Maize Varieties

One type of corn called quality protein maize (QPM) promises high value to the livestock industry because of its high lysine content. Eight yellow QPM synthetic varieties were used to determine and estimate their combining ability, degree of heterosis in variety crosses for yield and other agronomic traits, identify potential heterotic groups of the parental varieties, and determine appropriate breeding strategies. Gardner-Eberhart Analysis III was used to provide estimates for effects of general combining ability (GCA) and specific combining ability (SCA). Heterosis was also calculated based on mid-parent values. Grain yield was used for principal component analysis of genetic similarities of the parental varieties using Biplot01.XLA to identify potential heterotic groups. Results showed highly significant variations detected among entries for all traits. Subdividing the crosses to GCA and SCA effects showed no significant differences due to GCA noted for all traits. Relatively high GCA estimates for yield were, however, observed for SYQ9, SYQ8 and SYQ5. Negative GCA estimates for days to anthesis and silking of SYQ6 indicated earliness of the variety. On the other hand, high GCA estimates for plant height were observed for SYQ9, SYQ5 and SYQ11 while the GCA estimate for ear height was relatively high for SYQ7. Among the variety crosses, high percent heterosis was exhibited by syq9xsyq11, syq5xsyq9, syq5xsyq8 and SYQ5xSYQ6. Four heterotic groups were established from the biplot analysis. Composites of varieties from one heterotic group can be formed. Intra-population improvement, therefore, may be conducted on SYQ9, SYQ8 and SYQ5. Reciprocal recurrent selection involving parents of high yielding crosses or cross of composites may also be done to improve the performance of the reciprocal populations or inbred lines extracted from improved cycles to generate better performing hybrids.

Root colonization of sugarcane by growth-promoting bacteria

2008-02-18T13:45:00.000+08:00

2008 August, 33(2): 03-24. Lucille C Villegas & Erlinda S Paterno. Growth Enhancement And Root Colonization Of Sugarcane By Plant Growth-Promoting Bacteria

Plant growth promoting bacteria were isolated from the sugarcane rhizosphere. They were found to possess growth enhancing activities which included indole acetic acid production, phosphate solubilization, siderophore production and nitrogen fixation. Physiological, biochemical and genomic characterizations indicated that the two selected isolates, designated as LV7 and LV10, belong to Pseudomonas genus. Plant growth promotion due to bacterial inoculation was evaluated at the in-vitro shoot multiplication and root development stages of sugarcane. LV10 significantly increased the number of tillers by 31% and the fresh shoot weight by 26% above the uninoculated control. LV7 significantly increased the fresh shoot weight by 17% and promoted the in-vitro rooting of the plantlets by 55% above the uninoculated control. Under nursery conditions, both isolates enhanced the growth of sugarcane. Inoculated plants were significantly taller and accumulated significant amounts of biomass. Shoot dry weight increased up to 61% and root dry weight up to 67%. Microbiological analyses revealed that both bacteria survived and persisted in the rhizosphere and within sugarcane tissues. The mode of invasion and extent of colonization of sugarcane roots was studied using LV7-tagged with gusA gene. Microscopic examination of the x-gluc stained plants revealed that LV7 was an invasive colonizer capable of invading sugarcane root via root tips and fissures created by the emerging lateral roots. LV7 was found to colonize the root cortex and vascular bundles. Due to the growth promoting activities and invasive colonization of LV7 and LV10, these strains may be most suited as inoculants for sugarcane.

ISI, PJCS & The Web Of Science

2008-02-18T13:43:00.000+08:00

2008 August, 33(2): 1-2. Frank A Hilario. ISI, PJCS & The Web Of Science

They call themselves now ISI Web of Knowledge and not simply ISI; check this URL address if you wish: http://www.isiwebofknowledge.com/. If you want to check for any ISI journal, you can use this link: http://scientific.thomson.com/mjl/. Last April 2008, I surfed and found that on 15 January 2007, PJCS was already listed among the ‘CABI Full Text Journals’ accepted; you can check out this URL: http://bg.au.poznan.pl/dzialy/download/CABI%20Full%20Text%20journals.pdf. It tells me it took us less than a year to get the ISI seal of approval after we applied, after we finished sending 3 advanced issues of the PJCS – the last one we sent, in May 2006, was in fact the December 2006 issue. Since our next issue was April 2007, we were 1 year ahead of schedule. We can be that fast if we want to.

To contribute more to the Web of Science, I want to emphasize ISI this time: quality. I also want to emphasize speed: quantity. When you’re already ISI, speed is of the essence. Right now, I’m looking at a journal – not published in the Philippines – and I can see that it takes from 8 months to 2 years before a paper gets published from the time it is submitted to the journal. Why is that? I’m dreaming of the day when we spend only 2 months from submission to review to revision to desktop publishing to coming off the press. PJCS is based at the University of the Philippines Los Baños in Laguna with 4 other ISI publications in other areas (agriculture & forestry, entomology, life sciences, veterinary medicine); I’ve been editing technical papers since 1975 when the personal computer (PC) was still only in the minds of Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak; still, from where I sit 33 years later, I see the same basic problems with authors, reviewers, editors and the knowledge culture, and now with PC software and users.

The Author

There are many reasons why papers get delayed from getting published, assuming good quality of writing, and assuming adequate data set and appropriate statistical analysis.

One main problem with authors is at least half of them don’t follow the contributor guidelines set by the publication (see ours in the last 2 pages of this issue). For instance, the PJCS guideline states that there must be a rationale to every paper, explicit or implicit. And the review of background literature must be adequate. All this is necessary – every paper must contribute to knowledge, must be a standalone, that is, intelligible by itself, even if it is part of a series.

Another major problem with authors is that they don’t bother to check for up-to-date citations, wherein the ‘latest’ they give is sometimes 17 years old already. And they are not up-to-date when it comes to revising their paper; in other words, they take too much time.

Another common problem is that authors explain many tables with few words, often one sentence one table. You spend a lot of time preparing a table, and then you dismiss it with a mere mention of it? Same story with figures.

Also, I find that many authors prepare their data tables using Microsoft Excel and sometimes submit them as images. Image or not, an Excel table is an immovable object to format on the page. My irresistible impulse is to return the table and have the author convert it into a Microsoft Word table. I have no problem with that.

The Reviewer

A common problem with reviewers is inefficiency in the process. One of the reasons is that, for instance, even when the reviewer’s guidelines state, among other things, that the reviewer should not mind the grammar and style, reviewers insist that grammar and style are within their territorial imperative. If they are correct, the Publisher can get rid of the Editor, right?

A problem with a reviewer can arise when an author comes up with a paper that the reviewer would have loved to have come out first. A different problem comes up when a paper comes up with something that contradicts a reviewer’s view or position in an issue or concern. Reviewers aren’t perfect.

The most critical problem with reviewers is that they don’t give their precious time to the crucial review process and instead give excuses for delays.

The Editor

Quite frankly, I don’t have a problem with me as Editor, even if I’m not perfect. A big problem with Editors arises when they are content with only one reading and one editing session and don’t read the paper again for another editing session – and still another. In my 33 years of editing technical papers, I have found that I need to read nine (9) times word-for-word to be word perfect. There is no substitute for thoroughness – and to be thorough again and again. Even today with the advent of the PC along with the grammar and spelling checker, the Editor’s job is the same: In the end, he should be word perfect. I don’t want simply ‘Okay’ – I want ‘Excellent!’

The Desktop Publisher

An underlying problem with desktop publishing is that authors submit papers in Microsoft Word but not in the correct formats for alignment of paragraphs (not to mention tables) – they are usually products of Enters, Tabs and Spacebars. All those extra Enters, Tabs and Spacebars have to be removed, and that steals time.

Two bigger problems in PC publishing are the desktop publisher (software used) and the desktop publisher (software user). If we assume that the software user knows what he’s doing, then the software used is the problem. It usually is.

The most popular software for PC publishing in the Philippines is PageMaker. With this program, you get pretty publications of many kinds, beautiful designs, renderings, the works. But it’s difficult to use. I prefer Word 2003 as my desktopper because it’s easier to use and very intelligent, and I can drag my images (graph, table, photo, chart whatever) and, Moses-like, part the waters in any page. And it’s interactive – what I do comes back to me at once. In PageMaker, you have to enter another world to revise, and still another world to design, and still another world to format (typeset). Too many worlds to conquer!

The Knowledge Culture, Supply Push & Demand Pull

A major indirect obstacle to publishing in the Philippines is the lack of a reading culture. We Filipinos hardly read scientific papers, even articles popularizing science. So, people hardly write and submit papers in science. They only do that when they have to – they need the credit of a paper published in an ISI journal so that they can get promoted, retain their positions, or gain permanency in their jobs.

So how do we cultivate a knowledge culture? I’m thinking basic economics here. I think we can begin intelligently by defining knowledge by way of what is the demand, not the supply. We have too long been supply pushers; I demand that we be instead demand pullers! So, where do we begin? With the quality of research, not the paper.

PJCS: With a second wind, the ISI

2008-01-18T13:41:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1):107. Frank A Hilario. PJCS: With a second wind, the ISI

Here is the short story by way of webpages. On the 26^th of December 2007, when somebody emailed me that the journal was already ISI, I surfed the Internet and saw the PJCS listed by CABI as accepted for indexing of the abstracts; here is the exact universal resource locator (URL):

http://www.cabi.org/AbstractDatabases.asp?SubjectArea=&Subject=&Section=sc&letter=P&PID=125

The words in the URL say that the abstracts were now being indexed by CABI into its Abstract Databases.

That was the first step for ISI accreditation. Today, April 1, 2008, I surfed the Internet again for the “Philippine Journal of Crop Science” (including the double quotes), and I found this dated 15 January 2007:

http://bg.au.poznan.pl/dzialy/download/CABI%20Full%20Text%20journals.pdf

Note that it says even in the URL, ‘CABI Full Text Journals’ – that means the papers published in the journals listed have been accepted in full and not simply their abstracts.

Which all means it took us only about about 6 months to achieve ISI status from the time we had submitted the necessary 3 advanced issues of 2006 in the middle of that year.

But in fact, it’s a long story. When I became the Editor in Chief in January 2003, the journal was more than 2 years late. And it came to pass that I released the April 2001 issue on April 2003. It was a slow process. On October 2003, the April 2002 issue was released; that was my 4^th issue – and then I ran out of papers to publish. Nobody wanted to submit papers to a publication that was not only periodically but actually perennially late. In any case, I had my Student Assistants Perla A Pagatpat, Joyce Ann B Abella & Sandra Magcayang type as I prepared extended abstracts of all published papers in the journal. We came out with a CD collection of 400+ pages, Hands-On Crop Science 1976-2005, about 750 abstracts of varying lengths, which I uploaded to this website March of the next year, 2006:

http://cropsciencephilippines.blogspot.com/

On May 6, 2006, I could brag in that website that on that date, the journal was the most advanced in the world because we already had our December 2006 issue published, and that in fact we were ahead by 1 year since the next issue was April 2007. After all the years of hard work, it was a great feeling.

And so, with this story, the PJCS became the second journal at the University of the Philippines Los Baños where I had a direct hand in its achieving the ISI status, the first being the Philippine Agricultural Scientist.

It has been 7 man-years, if I may call them that, since my first issue of April 2001. In many of those years, it was Teodoro C Mendoza who was virtually the other half of the team, I taking care of the editorial and publishing work, he taking care of the solicitation of papers and coordinating the review process along with the author’s necessary or appropriate revisions. You cannot have an issue without papers; you cannot leave the review-revision process alone to work out the details by itself. And so the ISI achievement of the journal is a tribute to him as well.

I thank Conrad H Balatero for appointing me Editor in Chief in the first place; we thank the support of the board members of CSSP over the years, and that of the Presidents: Edwin Honrade, Edilberto D Redoña, Norvie L Manigbas, Renato A Reaño, and Jose E Hernandez.

'Roxas Purple,' new NSIC-registered mangosteen

2008-01-18T13:35:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 103-106. Leon O Namuco. ‘Roxas Purple,’ A New NSIC-Registered Variety of Mangosteen (Garcinia mangostana L.)

‘Roxas Purple’ is a seedling selection of mangosteen. It is the second variety of mangosteen registered (NSIC 2006 Mg 02; April 11, 2007) with the National Seed Industry Council of the Department of Agriculture. The tree of ‘Roxas Purple’ has a semi-spreading growth habit. In Calauan, Laguna, it flowers early and fruits ripen from July to August. Average yield recorded during the last 3 fruiting seasons was 850 fruits per tree. The oblong-shaped fruits are small with an average weight of 65 g. The apex of the fruit is somewhat pointed with a narrow stigmatic lobe. Each fruit has 1 or 2 flat and small (1.3 g) seeds. The peel is smooth, 6.4 mm thick and turns purple when fully ripe. The flesh, which constitutes about 27 per cent of the fruit weight, is snowy white, acid sweet, has mild aroma and with total soluble solids (TSS) of 21.4 degree Brix. Titratable acidity (TA) of the flesh is 14 me per 100 g sample. ‘Roxas Purple’ responds very well to cleft grafting with rootstocks 1 to 2 years old. The scions should be taken from the orthotropic (vertical) shoots that are at least 4 months old from flushing. Seed is also advisable since mangosteen is an obligate apomict; however, start of fruiting is expected to be delayed by about 5 years compared to grafted plants.

Angiogenic property of tobacco leaves

2008-01-18T13:34:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 97-102. Francesca Diane M Liu, Elmer-Rico E Mojica & Custer C Deocaris. Angiogenic Property Of Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) Leaves

Different solvent fractions of tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves were tested for angiogenic property using chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) assay. The chloroform fraction was found to possess angiogenic activity as higher degree of vascularization in the blood vessels was observed. A dose-dependent relationship was observed up to a dosage of 0.75 mL. The chloroform fraction was found toxic at a dosage higher than 1.25 mL. No angiogenic activity was observed on the dichloromethane, butanol, insoluble and water fractions.

Response of advanced rice lines to N application

2008-01-18T13:32:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 81-96. Lowel V Guittap, Pompe C Sta Cruz , Leizl A Villapando& Danilo J Lalican. Agronomic & Solar Utilization Efficiencies Of Advanced Rice Lines In Response To Nitrogen Application

The agronomic efficiency for nitrogen (AE_N) and solar utilization efficiency (SRUE) of 17 advanced rice lines, derived from crossing modern and elite genotypes under the UPLB Rainfed Rice Breeding Project, were evaluated under zero nitrogen (N) and 135 kg N/ha (from urea) levels during the 2006 wet season, rainfed conditions at the Central Experiment Station (CES), UPLB, College, Laguna. Results showed that out of the five top-yielding lines, only C8231-B-1-1 had relatively higher AE_N (24.97 kg grain yield/kg N) than the check PSB Rc14 (22.48 kg grain yield/kg N). Most of the rice lines had higher (>20%) grain yield per cumulative solar radiation from vegetative to grain filling stages (GY/CSR_V-G) than the check under zero N. Under high N, only C8210-B-10-1 had significantly higher GY/CSR_V-G than the check. In terms of sink size per cumulative solar radiation from vegetative to reproductive stages (SS/CSR_V-R), all test lines except C8112-B-3-3-2 had SS/CSR_V-Rof more than 20% than check under zero N. Under high N, the SS/CSR_V-Rof the test lines did not differ with the check. C8112-B-4-1-1, C8231-B-1-1 and C8210-B-10-1 were high yielders under zero N. However, only C8231-B-1-1 had consistent high yields at high N. While line C8231-B-1-1 had high AE_N, and SRUE, it has the capacity to produce higher grain yield and develop larger sink size per N fertilizer applied due to high number of panicles produced per unit area, while other yield components did not increase considerably at high N. This line has the potential to produce higher grain yields at high N provided that its grain filling process will be improved. There is still a need to calibrate AE_N and SRUE with the economics of fertilizer cost; efficiency of sink size production per unit cumulative solar radiation; and multi-location and season testing of the selected promising lines. At this point, we have shown the importance of AE_N and SRUE as additional parameters in selecting promising rice lines under varying N levels. The identification of high-yielding rice lines under zero N shown the possibility of developing rice cultivars that are productive under low N. This is especially relevant in view of the increasing price of N fertilizer, which in turn is due to the increasing price of fossil fuel oil.

Uptake of P32 in papaya, banana & pineapple in a polyculture system

2008-01-18T13:30:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 69-79. Domingo E Angeles. Uptake Of P³² In Papaya, Banana & Pineapple Grown In A Polyculture System

A radiotracer study was conducted to determine the uptake of phosphorus in the main and secondary crops under papaya + pineapple and banana + pineapple intercropping systems using radiophosphorus. P³² was applied to 11-month old papaya and banana in two lateral distances and depths. Each banana received 3.28 mCi and each papaya 4 mCi. The activity of P³² in the achlorophyllous D leaves of pineapple, the blade of the 3^rd leaf of banana, and the petiole of the leaf subtended by newly opened flower of papaya was determined in a scintillation counter. Results showed that banana in a pure stand had generally higher P³² activity than under intercropping. Both banana and pineapple as intercrops benefited from P³² applied to banana. In both pure stand and intercropping system, P³² activity in banana was higher at 40-cm than 80-cm radius, as well as at 15 cm deep. As the distance from the trunk increased, pineapple took in more P³². Pineapple at the point of application had higher P³² activity than at 30 cm inside or outside the point of application. Of the total P³² absorbed, 22% went to banana and 78% to pineapple. A similar result was obtained in the case of papaya. Higher activity was observed in papaya at 60-cm radius, 15-cm deep. Pineapple at the point of application had the highest P³² activity. The vigorous growths of the stems and leaves as well as the roots of papaya and banana raised as intercrops are a clear proof of the favorable synergism of pineapple with the main crop. Competition for nutrients may exist and reduce the growth of one of the crops in an intercropping system only under an insufficient supply of nutrients.

Village-scale processing of Jatropha for biodiesel

2008-01-18T13:28:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 59-68. Rex B Demafelis. Towards A Village-Scale Biodiesel Processing Of Jatropha curcas In The Philippines

The potential commercial production of Jatropha methyl ester (JME) or biodiesel in the Philippines has gained much interest from both local and foreign investors due to the perceived low feedstock cost. Since the production of biodiesel from the oil of Jatropha curcas in the Philippines is relatively new, processing was studied to evaluate many technical aspects, including the investment requirement for village-scale production. Results indicate that in JME production, oil-to-alcohol-to-catalyst ratio ranges from 1:8:0.2 to 1:8:0.5, with reaction time ranging from 75 minutes to 4 hours. Methyl or ethyl esters produced range from 98.03 to 99.42% pure, far beyond the proposed Philippine National Standard (PNS) of 96.5%. Volumetric productivity per ton of seed is estimated to be 266 to 310 L of Jatropha biodiesel for seeds containing 30 to 35% oil, respectively. The capital requirements for establishing a basic 1000-L-per-day village-scale Jatropha biodiesel plant is estimated to be P4.5 million. Aside from the potentials, the paper also points out several concerns about Jatropha biodiesel production in the country.

Rice under chemical, organic & biodynamic farming practices

2008-01-18T13:27:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 37-58. Rene E Valdez & Pamela G Fernandez. Productivity and Seed Quality of Rice (Oryza sativa L.) Cultivars Grown Under Synthetic, Organic Fertilizer And Biodynamic Farming Practices

A study was conducted at PhilRice Nueva Ecija (2005 WS) to compare the performance of rice varieties under four pesticide-free production practices: ‘synthetic’ (or ‘chemical’ fertilizer), ‘organic’ (composted poultry manure), ‘biodynamic’ (biodynamic preparations, no fertilizer) and ‘control’ (no fertilizer). The varieties, developed and/or maintained by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), were PSB Rc82, PSB Rc72H and Dinorado Gold. Parameters measured included yield and other agronomic traits, eating quality, germination of artificially aged seeds, soil quality, and costs and returns. Treatments were in factorial combination, laid out in split plot in Randomized Complete Block Design in three replications. Results showed that varieties differed from each other in many parameters, but the difference was more from Dinorado than from the other varieties. Crop performance also differed with production practices. Yield of Dinorado (tallest variety) was not assessed because of uneven stand due to extensive lodging. PSB Rc72H (a hybrid) had 8% higher grain yield than PSB Rc82 (a pure line). PSB Rc72H also had higher number of productive tillers, shoot biomass, 1000-seed weight and harvest index. Grain yield of ‘synthetic’ was 14% higher than ‘organic,’ while that of ‘biodynamic,’ which was third in rank, was 13% higher than control. In terms of seed resistance to accelerated aging, Dinorado tended to have better vigor or storability than the PSBs. ‘Organic’ followed by ‘biodynamic’ also were better than ‘synthetic.’ Soil phosphorus increased after cropping but only with ‘biodynamic’ (20%) and ‘organic’ (18%). Root development was greatest for ‘biodynamic’ and ‘organic.’ ‘Organic’ gave greater net profit (16%) and return on investment (30%) than ‘synthetic;’ ‘biodynamic’ ranked next to ‘organic.’’ Tungro, which affected Dinorado, was controlled by a ‘biodynamic’ preparation of horsetail (Equisetum arvense). The polished 7-month grains (cooked and uncooked) of the PSBs were more favored in eating quality than the Dinorado. ‘Organic’ ranked highest in most sensory parameters while ‘synthetic’ mostly ranked last among the four practices. Except in yield, ‘organic’ proved the best performer in the study, while ‘biodynamic’ presented good potential under a low-input system.

Ethanol from sugarcane, corn, cassava, sweet sorghum

2008-01-18T13:24:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 21-36. Teodoro C Mendoza. Agronomic Features, Ethanol Yields & Resource Use Of Four Feedstocks For Ethanol Production In The Philippines

As an agronomic crop, sugarcane is the easiest to manage as feedstock for ethanol for the following reasons: 1) one planting is done every 4 years; 2) the crop does not succumb to moisture extremes due to its deeper root system and longer field duration (10-14 months); 3) in the advent of strong typhoons, its stems lodge and later recline back when weather becomes favorable; 4) sugarcane tolerates some delays in harvesting (12-14 months). Sugarcane yields the highest net ethanol (2,507 L/ha to 4,711 L/ha per year) at 7 to 11x more than corn, 4 to 9x than cassava, and 18 to 28x than sweet sorghum. Two crops of corn can be grown in one year due to its shorter maturity, but the total ethanol yield is still lower than one sugarcane crop; the same holds true with sweet sorghum. In terms of resource use (labor, capital and production inputs like fertilizer), sugarcane proved to be the most efficient. Per kg fertilizer, sugarcane produced 5 to 7 L ethanol, cassava 0.89 to 1.68 L ethanol, corn 0.72 to 1.36 L ethanol, and sweet sorghum 0.48 to 0.52 L ethanol. Sugarcane produced 20.90 and 32.94 L of ethanol per man-day, cassava 3.66 and 11.27 L, corn 4.5 and 7.72 L, and only 1.3 and 1.65 for sweet sorghum for average and high yields, respectively. As to labor use efficiency, sugarcane produced 16 to 20x more ethanol than sweet sorghum per man-day labor, 3 to 5.7x more ethanol than cassava and 4.6x more ethanol than corn. Sugarcane yielded 12 to 15x more ethanol per peso spent than sweet sorghum as feedstock source, 4.83 to 9.63x more than corn and 3.83 to 6.9x more than cassava. In addition to its being resource-use efficient, bagasse’s combustion adequately provides the huge energy requirements during sugarcane juice extraction, clarification, and later distillation of fermented juice. On the other hand, corn, cassava and sorghum grains do not have similar by-products that can supply the energy (fuel) needed by the factory to produce the ethanol. This explains sugarcane’s highest energy efficiency. Sugarcane juice is readily fermentable while starches from cassava, corn and sorghum grains require saccharification before fermentation. As feedstock for ethanol production, even without imputing the added cost of saccharification for the other feedstocks, sugarcane is the cheapest for average (P16.15) and high (P19.29/L) purchase price of cane per ton. In comparison, at P4 to P6/kg of cassava roots and P12 to P15/kg corn grain, cassava and corn are the most expensive feedstocks for ethanol production at P33.3 to P36.5/L, respectively. Sweet sorghum as feedstock costs P29 to P34.4 per liter of ethanol (average for grain and stems).

GGE Biplot Analysis, BLB-resistant rice genotypes

2008-01-18T13:22:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 03-19. Rodante E Tabien, Stanley Omar PB Samonte, Marlou C Abalos & Rolando C San Gabriel. GGE Biplot Analysis Of Performance In Farmers’ Fields, Disease Reaction And Grain Quality Of Bacterial Leaf Blight-Resistant Rice Genotypes

The current technology of using DNA markers facilitated the pyramiding of bacterial leaf blight (BLB) resistance genes, selection and development of five elite lines after three backcrosses. These DNA marker-aided selection (MAS)-derived lines were evaluated for yield and grain qualities in farmers’ fields in 15 environments in 2000-2002, after inoculation with nine races of BLB pathogen in the screen house. GGE biplot analyses were conducted to identify the stable genotype for deployment as well as the suitable areas for its commercial grain production. Analysis on grain quality and disease reaction also aimed to determine donor parents for the trait and identify BLB races that will be useful in further screening for resistance. Results showed AR32-19-3-3 has the best yielding line for deployment in Nueva Ecija, Baler and Eastern Samar provinces. It has the best package of resistance to all BLB races and the grain traits commonly found in IR64, the most popular quality rice in the Philippines. It is a good donor for grain quality traits such as amylose content and grain shape. GGE biplot analyses pinpointed the best in this line, thus supporting the varietal release of AR32-19-3-3 in 2006, currently called NSIC Rc142 - ‘Tubigan 7.’ Among the lines, AR32-4-58-2 is a good donor for high milling recovery, head rice and crude protein content. Race 6 is the best representative race for inoculation among BLB races, while races 1 and 5 are good for BLB resistance screening.

Jatropha: The Crop & The Science

2008-01-18T13:20:00.000+08:00

2008 April, 33(1): 1-2. Frank A Hilario. Jatropha: The Crop & The Science

The photograph on the cover is that of seedlings individually growing in black plastic bags, which I took last year in a nursery in FreshWind’s private company nursery at Pila, Laguna, the Philippines. I chose it because it indicates the pure promise of the crop Jatropha curcas, popularly called simply as Jatropha, as man’s main source of biodiesel to fuel his cars & trucks, at least in the Philippines. My question is: How much do we know of Jatropha? ‘Jatropha World’ or Centre for Jatropha Promotion claims that they already have extensive experience gained and they know enough to create a business plan for you, to create ‘a falesafe Jatropha fuel farm’ (jatrophaworld.org).

Maybe, and then again, maybe not. It is plain to see that the English in their website is not failsafe; for example, they spelled ‘failsafe’ wrongly twice on the same page (page one): ‘falesafe Jatropha fuel farm’ (see above) and ‘Failesafe Jatropha Plantation’ – that means that their level of English communication is not high. Or, if not, it may indicate that they are not so careful about how they communicate with the world; remember, the Internet is worldwide. Or it may be an indication that they are not watchful about their science; after all, science must be transformed into acceptable if not smart language in order to be known and appreciated; I worked in an ad agency before so I should know. I don’t know. But I’m not surprised, as I can see many English language errors in the Internet. That is why some people say that the Internet is not reliable, but I don’t subscribe to that. I say as scholars they should check their data or info by visiting another Internet source, and then another. There is no excuse for poor scholarship today because of the existence of the Internet, the largest library in the world. We are so lucky!

The Crop’s Promise

In the real world, admirable English grammar or not, Jatropha is a welcome candidate for producing a natural, replenishable substitute for petroleum-based diesel because the species is drought-resistant and can be easily multiplied using cuttings. According to Jatropha World, a yearly income per hectare of US$3,750 can be realized by cultivating Jatropha. That’s in India.

According to President Alejandro Teves Escaño of the Philippine Chamber of Agriculture and Food (PCAF), ‘farmers can earn as much as P28,000 ($700) to P52,000 ($1,300) a hectare a year from planting Jatropha alone’ (Amy Romero, May 31, 2007, inquirer.net). Lower than the figure from India, but still a lot of money for a farmer.

Robert Miller reports (haitiinnovation.org) that in Africa, villagers have been growing Jatropha on small plots and then hand-pressing the oil for use in generators, sewing machines and small motors. This is an important development, as it encourages small-scale entrepreneurship. Small is beautiful.

Additionally, according to Miller, Jatropha has shown in Haiti to have a strong anti-erosion capability; in fact, the USAID confirmed the finding, saying that it was more effective than the tree-planting solution for reforestation.

The Crop’s Science

Unfortunately, the experiences in India and Haiti, and the claim of an income level of such in the Philippines, are not firmly based on science. Science cannot yet provide concrete proof of any ‘failsafe Jatropha fuel farm.’

As a matter of fact, there is simply no science yet behind Jatropha, Director General William Dar of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) said so much last November during the 35^th anniversary of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) at the Manila Intercontinental Hotel (see also my essay ‘The 4Es Club’ in my website frankahilario.com). There is so much we don’t know about Jatropha. It remains a wild plant; it has not been domesticated. It has to be domesticated. We don’t have reliable data on yield. Dar said he knew of no study by others, and they themselves had done very little research on the species in India, where ICRISAT is based.

At the SciDev website (December 6, 2007, scidev.net), Dar said there is ‘good potential, but few facts’ about Jatropha. If Jatropha is planted in block plantations, it becomes susceptible to pests and diseases, and we don’t know about pest control. We don’t know much about the commercial yield levels per hectare, and we don’t have high-yielding varieties because there has not been any Jatropha breeding program, unlike for rice and corn.

I googled for simply Jatropha and I got 705,000 English pages with strict filtering (no ‘adult text’ or ‘adult images’ included). It shows how important this wild, succulent plant has become because of the ‘wild rush’ to produce biodiesel as substitute for non-renewable petroleum-based diesel for cars & trucks. But very little or no science. The University of the Philippines Los Baños has some initial studies, as reported in this issue (page 61), but that’s all.

It is important that via entrepreneurship, we produce renewable energy sources such as biodiesel from Jatropha to help mitigate the emerging climate crisis. However, the art of entrepreneurship must be tempered with some solid science as basis for business decision. In the meantime, in the case of Jatropha, which had been strongly advocated by the Philippine Forest Corporation headed by Rodolfo ‘Jun’ Lozada up to early this year, it is important that the small farmers be fully aware of the risk of ignorance:

A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.

Development of pods of ground orchid

2007-02-18T13:08:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 109-117. Shayne Soguillon & Teresita L Rosario. Developmental Characterization Of Pods Of
Ground Orchid
Spathoglottis plicata ‘Alba’

Pods developed from self-pollination of Spathoglottis plicata ‘Alba’ were harvested at different stages of maturity, i.e., 10, 13, 25, and 28 days after pollination (DAP). They were characterized in terms of size, distinction of ridges, state of corolla and ovule characteristics. At 20 DAP, the pods were still immature and the ovules ovoid with round to elongated cells. There was a remarkable increase in pod size at 25 DAP and the ridges were distinct. At 28 DAP, the pod had brown and powdery ovules, which were signs of maturity. The basal, middle and tip sections of the freshly harvested pods did not have embryo at all stages of maturity. Although pollination took place, fertilization did not proceed or if it did, the embryo might have degenerated and did not develop. Samples of ovules from the green pod cultured in-vitro also showed lack of embryos. Similar studies conducted on the pods of violet-flowered S. plicata showed development of embryos which germinated easily in in-vitro culture. The pollen grains of S. plicata and S. plicata ‘Alba’ were fertile but since there were no embryos formed in the latter, self-incompatibility may be a characteristic of this variety.

System of Rice Intensification vs Conventional rice approach

2007-02-18T12:51:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 99-107. Anielyn C Yadao & Oscar B Zamora. Comparison Of The Systems Of Rice Intensification And Conventional Production In Ilocos Norte, Philippines

The field study was conducted at the PhilRice Batac Experiment Station in Batac, Ilocos Norte during the wet season of 2006. The split-split plot design in RCBD was used with 3 fertilizer treatments (pure inorganic, 50% inorganic and 50% organic, and pure organic), 2 production systems (SRI and conventional), and 2 spacings (20 x 20 cm and 30 x 30 cm). At maturity the conventional had more tillers than the SRI. The conventional system using 21-25 day old seedlings planted at 2-3 seedlings per hill and with continuous irrigation had higher root pulling resistance, leaf area index, and harvest index and higher grain yield than SRI. Conventionally grown plants produced longer panicles, more filled grains, and higher 1000-seed weight than those under the SRI method. higher yield levels of SRI probably due to 1) higher weed population due to intermittent wetting and drying irrigation, 2) low soil fertility in the experiment station, and 3) farmers’ hesitancy in acquiring more knowledge and/or practicing skills acquired on SRI. Another possible explanation is that the organic matter needs a longer time than one cropping season to decompose before it can contribute optimally to the fertility of the soil.

SRI has potential under Ilocos Norte condition with some modifications. The small landholdings of the Ilocano farmers are appropriate for SRI. Although good water management is a problem, cultivating small farm size means easier water control which is needed for the success of SRI. Likewise, farmers with small farm size are more capable of intensive management as required in the SRI. Farmers in Ilocos Norte are already applying organic fertilizers for improving soil quality.

Cashew production in Cashews Australia in Queensland

2007-02-18T12:46:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 93-97. Felipe S dela Cruz Jr & Robert J Fletcher. Variations In Productivity of Cashew Trees Within An Orchard At Cashews Australia, Dimbulah, Queensland

Studies in Dimbulah, Queensland were conducted with five-year old cashew trees derived from seedlings to determine the variation in flowering and fruiting behavior of shoots located in different quadrants of the tree canopy and different planting locations in the orchard. The northern and western quadrants of the tree canopy were found to produce higher total nut weights, nut number, total number of shoots and number of shoots with panicles than the eastern and southern quadrants. No significant variations were observed in nut and apple characters. Trees located in the border and poorly buffered trees produced higher nut yields than well-buffered trees. In addition, trees located in the border produced heavier nuts.

Indigenous knowledge on rice production of Maranaos

2007-02-18T12:36:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 77-92. Indihra B Dimaporo & Pamela G Fernandez. Indigenous Seed, Knowledge And Rice Production Practices Of The Maranaos In Mapantao, Lumba-Bayabao, Lanao Del Sur

A community’s seeds and seed system are keys to cultural knowledge and may open avenues to sustainable agriculture and development. A study was conducted in the Maranao area of Mapantao, Lumba Bayabao, Lanao del Sur to evaluate rice agronomic practices in the context of the area’s bio-physical and socio-cultural characteristics, including rituals and associated beliefs. Storability and other seed characteristics, as well as crop field performance were assessed using four local farmer-developed varieties (traditional or introduced). Seeds collected from farmers were stored up to six months under ambient conditions in both Mapantao and UPLB, and in a 13°C chamber at UPLB. Field performances were assessed in Mapantao under three production practices: use of synthetic fertilizer (244-44-44), modified Mapantao practice (112 kg N/ha manure from carabao and cow) and control or no fertilizer. Mapantao is on a valley near Lanao Lake, with rainfall that is favorable for lowland rice and a yearly average temperature of 23°C. The soil has high organic matter (4%). Rice farmers are mostly tenants, resource-poor; and they do two croppings using formal varieties and chemical production system. The younger farmers have stronger inclination towards modern agricultural practices than older farmers who, on the other hand, still know (but mostly no longer practice or use) traditional systems. Seed quality from farmers was high. Seed dormancies were generally short or non-existent. After six months of storage, germination levels from all storage treatments were still high (75-90%). Germination under ambient UPLB (28°C) was the lowest. Mapantao gave generally 10% higher seed germinability than cold storage. Overall, the two traditional varieties ‘Lantik’ and ‘Kotong,’ were poorer storers than ‘AG5’ and ‘M12-22B5.’ Seed (grain) yields from all production practices were relatively high compared to the national rice yield average. ‘Lantik’ (glutinous white) and ‘Kotong’ (glutinous black), produced the highest (6.6 t/ha) and lowest (3.9 t/ha) yields. Modified Mapantao gave the lowest yields (4.5 t/ha). The yield from control or no fertilizer application (5.1 t/ha) was not significantly different from synthetic fertilizer treatment (5.6 t/ha). Among the yield determinants taken, only filled grain percentage and spikelet number were positively, but only moderately, associated with yield.

Farmer conversion, conventional to sustainable agriculture

2007-02-18T12:34:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 63-76. MLS Edaño & OB Zamora. Farmer’s Approach To Conversion From

Conventional To Sustainable Agriculture

A study was conducted to determine the factors considered by farmers in the conversion process from conventional to sustainable agriculture (SA) and their SA practices in Barangay Tapi, Kabankalan, Negros Occidental. Respondents were pre-selected after consultation with the leaders of the Bugana Federation of people’s organizations; selection was based on the length of membership of their local organization to the Federation, and number of years of SA application in their farm. Reasons for conversion, nutrient management, pest management and utilization of resources were gathered through interview using a semi-structured questionnaire and focused group discussion. The reasons found for the farmers’ conversion to sustainable agriculture were mostly economic and environmental concerns. Economic benefits from SA could be realized with the reduction in cost of production, ensured household food security and maximization of internal resources. The dominant practices of the respondents related to sustainable agriculture were diversified farming with crops and animals as part of nutrient and pest management, crop residue recycling and crop rotation. To minimize risks, the respondents employed the strategy of gradual conversion with input substitution in small parcels of land that were later expanded. Nutrient and pest management were correlated with the number of years the farmers had been practicing sustainable agriculture. Respondents practicing SA for longer periods more combinations of nutrient and pest management practices than those who were just starting to convert to sustainable agriculture. Crop rotation is one of the very first steps in the farmers’ conversion to SA.

Soybeans in organic, biodynamic & chemical culture

2007-02-18T12:30:00.000+08:00

2007 August, 32(2): 49-62. Lam Dong Tung & Pamela G Fernandez. Soybeans under Organic, Biodynamic and Chemical Production at the Mekong Delta, Vietnam

Soybean seed production is a challenge especially during the wet season in Vietnam. Organic production
can
add value to the enterprise but has not been verified as a viable option. The study
was conducted in the
2005 wet season in the Mekong Delta to compare soybean productivity, seed quality and economics of ‘OMDN111,’ a recently introduced and formally bred variety, and ‘Namvang,’ a traditional variety,
under four production practices: ‘organic’ (cow manure at 40-105-10 NPK and selected botanicals); ‘biodynamic’ (biodynamic preparations); ‘chemical’ (synthetic fertilizers at 40-60-30 NPK and insecticides); and control (no inputs). Treatments were arranged in a 4 x 2 factorial (with production practice as main plot and variety as subplot) in randomized complete block design with three replications. The results indicated that ‘organic’ is more effective than the ‘chemical’ practice in soybean seed production. Based on the circular paper chromatographic pattern of the seed extract, which indicates formative or life force, biological complexity and enzyme activity, differences between varieties and among production practices were apparent. With ‘organic’ and ‘biodynamic’ practices, the seed of ‘Namvang’ appeared to have stronger and more complex chromatographic patterns than ‘OMDN111.’ ‘Namvang’ had smaller seeds, higher seed yield, higher seed quality (germination and vigor at harvest and after 6 weeks storage), and higher protein content than ‘OMDN111.’ This was most pronounced under ‘organic’ practice. In general, ‘organic’ practice gave the greatest increase in soil organic matter, earthworm population, seed yield and quality, and net returns. ‘Biodynamic’ practice was a close second or third but generally not significantly different from ‘organic’ and ‘chemical’ (control was generally lowest) in terms of number of filled pods, seed yield, leaf area index and root nodule fresh weight. Earthworm population and organic matter was lowest under ‘chemical’ practice. Pest incidence-related parameters did not affect yield differences.

Total Quality Management , Sugarcane

2007-01-18T18:30:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p59-75 Emmanuel G Samson& Teodoro C Mendoza. "Applications Of The Total Quality Management (TQM) Framework To Sugarcane Production"

Sugar yields in 12 mill districts of Negros Occidental were assessed using Total Quality Management (TQM) indicators: hardware (101 indicators), humanware (78) and software (11). The farms were clustered into 3: large farms (more than 100 ha), medium (25 to 100 ha) and small farms (24 ha and below). Data were gathered through formal survey and the TQM variables were analyzed through stepwise multiple regression analysis, to identify TQM indicators for high sugar yields within the clusters. TQM was not farm-size dependent and not exclusively practiced by the big farms; however, it was TQM that spelled the difference in yield between and among farm clusters. The results indicate that increasing further sugar yields requires improvements not only in one or two but all of the three indicators of TQM. The hardware (process, product control and continuous improvements), humanware (humans and relationships) and software (strategic planning and information) were found to be interrelated with each other. The new outlook requires that sugarcane production not only consider the biophysical and technology aspects of production but also include the human element. Better care and management of the workers translated to higher sugar yields. Giving proper incentives and providing better living conditions among farm workers (humanware) were found important requisites to achieving high yields particularly in large farms where yields were already higher than the medium and small farms. There were already sugarcane planters (6%) obtaining high sugar yields (10 t/ha and above). It means the TQM culture is already here. Providing the enabling conditions so that most if not all farmers can achieve high yield levels will satisfy the increasing demand for sugar in the future.

Jatropha curcas for biofuel, Philippines

2007-01-18T18:23:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p29-43 Teodoro C Mendoza1, Eulogio T Castillo & Annalissa L Aquino. "Towards Making Jatropha curcas (Tubang Bakod) A Viable Source Of Biodiesel Oil In The Philippines"

Jatropha becomes a viable source of biodiesel oil at PhP40/L of crude oil under high fruit yields (36,000 kg/ha), high rates of oil extraction (34% and 38%) and by-products included as added income. At low fruit yields (12,000 kg/ha), it will become profitable for farmers if the current diesel oil price increases to about PhP90/L crude oil at 30% rate of oil extraction (the estimates exclude processing and marketing costs). The inherently low Jatropha seed yield explains the low revenue. Accelerated research must be done to increase further the seed yield of the Jatropha plant, to find ways that will maximize total farm yield, and explore other uses of the by-products. For Jatropha to become economic as biofuel source, considering the relatively long gestation period (5 years) before the crop reaches optimum fruiting and the low seed yield of the crop, optimal crop mixes (multiple cropping schemes) or compatible diverse cropping systems involving short maturing crops and high value fruit/wood trees have to be resorted to in order to increase the total farm yield and as a risk-minimizing farming strategy. Diverse cropping must be complied with by both the public and private agencies promoting the massive planting of Jatropha. Additionally, it must be recognized that the technology for processing of Jatropha into biofuel is yet to be established in the country. It is necessary to accelerate the optimization of processing raw oil into trans-esterified oil before it can be used as biodiesel oil. To add to farmers’ income, the processing of by-products (press cake) into organic fertilizer or livestock feed and glycerol into high-priced products may also have to be considered. Jatropha oil has high saponification value, making it an excellent substrate for soap-making. Two products may then be profitable from Jatropha: soap and biodiesel. Jatropha as source of biofuel presents enormous employment opportunities in the rural areas if comprehensive programs are designed to tap the potentials of the crop. Capital (financial and material) infusion in the rural areas will propel economic activities. On a national level, it is also recommended that other sources of renewable bio-energy such as sugarcane, corn and cassava which yield more bio-energy (ethanol) than Jatropha be explored. Technologies, systems and practices that improve energy-use efficiency should also be adopted, and alternative non-oil dependent systems, machines and other technologies studied.

Nutrient management & pest interactions, Southeast Asia

2007-01-18T18:16:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p13-28 Pompe C Sta Cruz, Achim Dobermann, Pham Van Du, Gregorio C Simbahan, James E Hill, Robert S Zeigler, Fe A dela Peña, K Samiayyan, Suparyono, Nguyen Van Tuat & Zheng Zhong. "Nutrient-Pest Interactions Under Irrigated Lowland Rice Production Systems With Farmer’s Fertilizer Practice And Site-Specific Nutrient Management In South & Southeast Asia"

Pests were monitored for three seasons in 120 farms across South and Southeast Asia to generate pest profiles under farmer’s fertilizer practice (FFP) and site-specific nutrient management (SSNM) schemes, and to determine the nutrient-pest relationship at the production level. Totals of N and K (K2O) fertilizers applied and frequencies of application differed between FFP and SSNM plots. FFP plots received more N (»11 and 9 kg/ha for seasons 1 and 2, respectively) but lesser K2O (»11 and 21 kg/ha for seasons 1 and 2, respectively) than SSNM plots. The frequencies of N and K applications were higher in SSNM than FFP plots. A total of 16 pest incidences (8 diseases, 7 insect pests and 1 rat damage) were documented. Sheath blight and grain discoloration were dominant in the monitoring sites. Sheath blight was observed in all sites for the first two seasons. Grain discoloration was dominant in four sites (Omon, Muñoz, Sukamandi and Thanjavur). Red stripe was observed in Omon and Sukamandi for both dry and wet seasons. Incidences of sheath blight and grain discoloration, infestations of stemborer, leaffolder and whorl maggot, and rat damage were more frequent in FFP than SSNM plots. Incidences of brown spot, red stripe, and whorl maggot infestation did not significantly differ between FFP and SSNM plots. Bacterial blight, narrow brown spot, stem rot and brown plant hopper damages (hopperburn) were positively correlated with N concentration in the plant. Sheath blight and grain discoloration were negatively correlated with plant N concentration, while sheath blight was positively correlated with K concentration. Correspondence analysis by STAT-ITCF of two-season data from Omon, Vietnam showed a close association of pest injury with nutrient levels, nutrient levels with yield, and yield with season.

Molecular markers in sugarcane for downy mildew resistance

2007-01-18T18:11:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p03-11 Norvie L Manigbas & Lucille C Villegas. "Molecular Markers For Improving Selection Of Sugarcane Varieties With Downy Mildew Resistance"

DNA marker technology has provided new tools in various analyses ranging from phylogenetic analysis, development of high-density maps through PCR-based markers, DNA fingerprinting, cultivar identification, mapping and tagging genes of almost any trait possible. One of the techniques is the use of molecular markers by tagging genes that are linked to useful agronomic traits like disease resistance. This is done through the application of molecular marker-assisted selection (MAS). These markers can be used to identify disease resistant plants at the early stages of the breeding cycle, thereby reducing the costs, including labor and time, to produce new varieties of sugarcane. This study was conducted to identify reliable molecular markers for downy mildew resistance that can ultimately be incorporated in the sugarcane breeding program. A mapping population obtained from VMC86-550 x VMC88-354 consisting of 486 progenies were evaluated using 174 microsatellites (SSRs) primers to identify molecular markers for downy mildew resistance. The SSR primers were designed and developed based on the microsatellite-containing sequences of sugarcane by the International Consortium of Sugarcane Biotechnology (ICSB). Linkage map was constructed using JOINMAP statistical software based on the 147 molecular markers found to be polymorphic. Similarly, phenotypic data were analyzed to determine the association of downy mildew disease resistance to the marker using Fisher’s exact test, Chi-square, and Bonferonni correction. A putative marker was identified to be associated with downy mildew resistance.

Frank A Hilario. High Tech, Low Tech

2007-01-18T18:02:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p01-02 Frank A Hilario. "High Tech, Low Tech"

How nice it was to have been relieved of the burden of issues being late in coming off the press, at its worst, 2 years off, or 6 issues. When I came in as Editor in 2001, this journal was that much delayed; so, while I was trying to catch up with those overdue 6 issues, I had to worry about my own year’s 3 issues – so that in effect I really was late by 3 years, or 9 issues. Six years later, in May 2006, we came out with a journal that was not only up-to-date but, in fact, the PJCS came out ahead by 1 year at that point in time. The CSSP Board and I had finally found a way to work out the review and revision phase so that it didn’t bog down the whole publishing process. To celebrate on my own, I created the website/blogsite CROPScience Philippines. You can visit it at Crop Science Philippines. If you visit there, you can find extended abstracts of (almost) all papers published for the last 30 years since June 1976. You will also read there my claim that the PJCS is the most advanced technical journal in the world. Advanced here means high tech, which I shall explain in a little while.

In this issue, the PJCS has another first which, I must point out, was not planned at all: We have high tech (molecular marking) along with low tech (hydro-priming). It is also coincidental that two of the most important crops in the country are under report in this issue: rice and sugarcane. The high technology paper is on sugarcane (‘Molecular markers for improving selection of sugarcane varieties with downy mildew resistance’ by NL Manigbas & LC Villegas, page 03), and the low technology paper is on rice (‘Longevity of hydro-primed rice seeds’ by LEP De Guzman & AL Aquino, page 77).

High Tech

If I understand it right, the idea behind molecular markers is that, one, plant traits like disease resistance are associated with genes and two, you can tag them, map where they are so you can ‘easily’ transfer them from a disease-resistant variety to a susceptible variety and, voila, you have re-created the susceptible into a resistant variety, theoretically. Genetic engineering. Molecular markers are ‘for studies in fingerprinting, genetic mapping, genetic diversity assessment in populations, gene tagging for breeding purposes (market-assisted selection), and gene cloning’ (BI Reisch 1998, nysaes.cornell.edu/).

I’m not about to explain molecular marking because it’s a field I’m not familiar with; I just want to note here how much the science of agriculture has changed in the laboratory and in the field in the last 20 years. It used to be just ‘breeding & selection.’

The high tech I’m familiar with is what I’m using right now: desktop publishing using Word 2003. The PJCS is the most advanced technical journal in the world not only because it is produced wholly electronically – up to camera-ready pages, including images, and no blueprints; the entire issue goes to press on a CD; and we’ve been doing that since January 2001 – but also because it is the only such journal being created entirely using this software which is not your usual desktop publishing software, not PageMaker, not Publisher: If you can use a word processing program as desktopping software, I would say you’re most advanced. In other words, high tech is also putting high tech into a higher level.

Word 2003 allows me, nay enables me to work with columns and illustrations as if I was using PageMaker but with much more ease. By ‘ease,’ I refer to the fact that I am not exactly young and yet I taught myself all these and, for instance, with Word 2003, I can page-format a paper of 15 pages cold from Word in 15 minutes, fonts & columns & illustrations & tables & literature cited included – I mean, by that time, I have removed all those Enter Enters, Tab Tabs, Space Spaces, and each extra space between a period ending a sentence and the first letter of the next sentence (that was the rule for typewriters). That of course comes from experience (20 years using Word) and the interest to learn more and do something better or faster or both.

Working with Word is now not work but play to me. Before Word 2003, in fact before Word XP (released 2002), I could not have inserted a table and move it around as if it were a picture or a graph. With the wonder of the drawing canvas (I call it ‘magic’), I can now drag all over the page or pages any photograph, table or artwork. All in all, with Word 2003, I can be the typist, proofreader, editor, layout artist and (desktop) publisher all rolled into one. All because Word 2003 is really high tech, thanks to Microsoft.

High tech increases the number of things one can do well, and reduces the number of things you have to do. High tech is especially useful for highly repetitive, routine, monotonous work. High tech is fascinating work if you can master it.

Low Tech

But don’t under-estimate low tech. Remember Ernest F Schumacher and his lovely idea ‘Small is beautiful’ – that was low tech, it was then called appropriate technology. With so much pollution, low tech is appropriate technology in many cases, such as ethanol from sweet sorghum for blending with gasoline for cars and trucks.

The low tech in this issue has to do with soaking rice seeds in water for 10 hours and storing them after drying. That primes them into starting the germination process but stops them short of germinating; somehow, hydro-priming increases the number of seeds actually germinating later compared to seeds not having received the water treatment. This little study has some big implications, one of them being that a poor farmer can improve the quality of his seeds for planting with little or no cost, which makes it attractive for farmers in developing countries. Hydro-priming works best when the materials are of low quality in the first place. That shows that low tech is appropriate for the small farmer, the one who can hardly raise funds to pay for fertilizer or pesticide. Low tech has its values that high tech doesn’t have.

The low tech I am familiar with is the use of the typewriter for writing. I learned to type when I was yet in high school, about 50 years ago, and I almost always typed my own materials, so I really had no problem with that. Still, when the IBM Selectric Typewriter was invented, I too wanted to own one. Two features that were lovable with the Selectric were that you could overtype to correct your mistakes on the page you’re working with, and you could change fontballs. It even had large types called Orator, presumably to type a speech so that it is much easier to read.

One big problem with the typewriter is that when you make a mistake, often you have to retype the whole page, sometimes 2 pages, sometimes 20 pages – it will make your typist scream. The other big problem with the typewriter is that it is extremely difficult for the writer to organize his written thoughts and keep on reorganizing, each step calling for a retyping. In Word 2003, as it was starting with Word version 1, if I remember right, I could already organize and reorganize my thoughts using the outline-organize feature, the ‘secret’ embedded in what was then called Gallery (a gallery of styles).

Having said all that, I must say that sometimes low tech is not appropriate anymore. Now, what do you do when you can’t afford high tech? That I will call a 64-million-dollar R&D question.

Spontaneous mutant, Mussaenda 'Dona Aurora'

2007-01-18T09:49:00.000+08:00

2007 April, 32(1): 89-102. Teresita L Rosario. Saga Of A Spontaneous Mutant: Mussaenda ‘Doña Aurora’

Introduction

The Mussaendas are ornamental shrubs with one or more of the sepals or calyx lobes developing unusually into large, petaloid structures. The genus Mussaenda belongs to the family Rubiaceae and includes some 200 species found in Africa, Madagascar, India, China, Malaysia, the Philippines, Polynesia and Australia (Jayaweera 1964). In the Philippines, it is represented by about 20 species. A few of these are M. philippica A. Rich, M. benguetensis Elmer, M. palawanensis Merr., M. pinatubensis Elmer and M. magallanensis Elmer. Most of the locally grown Mussaendas are colorful hybrids and their development began with the discovery of M. philippica var aurorae Sulit, popularly known as ‘Doña Aurora.’

‘Doña Aurora,’ claimed as a variant of M. philippica, was found in Mount Makiling, a forest reserve under the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB). It was collected by Calixto Mabesa at Sitio Buot in 1915. Another plant was discovered by Hugh Curran and Mamerto Sulit at the College of Forestry, UPLB in 1930. This was successfully propagated asexually and was dedicated in 1938 to Mrs Aurora Quezon, wife of Philippine President Manuel L Quezon. (‘Doña’ is a title of respect or honor for a lady; the word is Spanish in origin and survives in the Philippines – Editor.)

Since its first discovery in Los Baños, no other plant in the wild resembling ‘Doña Aurora’ has been reported in the Philippines. However, Jayaweera (1963) reported a variant comparable to M. philippica var. aurora from Philippine Islands and M. whitii (Brass 11682[A]) from Dutch New Guinea. This was not successfully propagated, however.

‘Doña Aurora’ is the most widely known among the Mussaendas and has contributed importantly in the development of the ornamental industry especially the landscaping sector. It is cultivated throughout the Philippines and in some Asian countries. It was initially reported as a mutant (a polyploid) of M. philippica because all of its calyx lobes or sepals are expanded compared to only one for the species (Figures 1 & 2).

Hybrids of ‘Doña Aurora’

Dr Dioscoro L Umali, Dean of the College of Agriculture, used ‘Doña Aurora’ in the development of most of the current hybrids of Doñas. The breeding was continued by Dr Alfonso Calub, Dr Fernando Bernardo; currently, this is being carried out by Dr Teresita L Rosario, Mr Fernando B Aurigue and Dr Simeona V Siar.

Thus, ‘Doña Aurora’ is the great mother of the current Mussaendas. Its progenies produced from crosses and backcrosses are the colorful hybrids dotting the Philippine landscape from April to December. Crossed with the species M. philippica, the progenies are ‘Maria Makiling,’ ‘Mutya’ and ‘Diwata’ (Figure 3a-b). All have their white calyx lobes expanded. When ‘Doña Aurora’ was crossed with M. erythrophylla (locally called ‘Doña Trining’), a species with a single blood-red petaloid, the progenies differed not only in the number of fully expanded lobes but also in color hues of pink. These hybrids are ‘Doña Esperanza,’ ‘Doña Hilaria’ and ‘Paraluman’ (Figure 3c-d).

‘Doña Hilaria’ has been backcrossed to the female parent ‘Doña Aurora’ and all the progenies have their calyx lobes fully expanded and in different shades of pink. They are ‘Queen Sirikit,’ ‘Gining Imelda,’ ‘Doña Luz’ and ‘Doña Leonila.’ On the other hand, backcrossing ‘Doña Hilaria’ to the male parent ‘Doña Trining’ produced bright red and pink hybrids which differed in the number of enlarged calyx lobes. These are ‘Doña Eva,’ ‘Doña Paciencia’ and ‘Lakambini’ (Figure 3e-f).

Breeding work on Mussaendas is a continuous effort and the newest hybrids are ‘Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo,’ a progeny from the cross between ‘Doña Eva’ and ‘Doña Aurora.’ The other hybrid is ‘Zenaida Umali’ which was developed from (‘Doña Aurora’ x M. philippica) x ‘Paraluman’ (Rosario & Aurigue 2006).

Is ‘Doña Aurora’ a polyploid of Mussaenda philippica?

A condition where the chromosome number of an organism is a multiple of the normal diploid number (2n) is called polyploidy. This results from the replication of the complete chromosome sets within the nucleus without subsequent nuclear division. Examples are triploidy (3n), tetraploidy (4n) and pentaploidy (5n). Autotetraploidy and aneuploidy are common in plants.

An individual having two or more sets of chromosomes is called a polyploid; examples are triploid and tetraploid. The increase in the number of chromosomes may result in irregular chromosomal behavior during meiosis and aberrations may be present. Most of the autopolyploids, however, are fertile. Generally, polyploids have thicker and bigger leaves, bigger flowers, thicker petals and slower growth compared to the diploids. They are very much sought after in ornamentals especially in cut flowers.

Morphological characteristics of M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora.’ Both plants are shrubs but the enlarged calyx lobes of ‘Doña Aurora’ make it look bushier. They have the same flowering habit – much less floriferous from January to April. The flowers of both have orange hues, but those of ‘Doña Aurora’ are slightly bigger. The other floral characteristics are shown in Table 1. The expansion of all the calyx lobes in ‘Doña Aurora’ at this point does not constitute a morphological evidence that it is a polyploid of M. philippica.

Differences in the morphology of the flowers (heteromorphism) exist in Mussaendas. The thrum plants have short styles and highly placed anthers; they are usually designated as the male forms. The pin-type plants have long style and the anthers are well below the stigma. They are the female forms and usually produce fruits. The heterostyly condition and some characteristics of M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ are shown in Table 1 (Rosario 1998). The female forms have high percentage of male sterility while the male forms whose anthers are above the stigma usually have fertile pollens.

Cytological analysis. Studies on the chromosomal behavior of the pollen mother cells showed that M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ have normal meiosis (Rosario & Ramirez 1968). The number of bivalents counted during diakinesis is 11, for both indicating that there was no increase in the chromosome number of ‘Doña Aurora’ (Figure 4a-b). This again showed that ‘Doña Aurora’ is not a polyploid. Metaphase II and Telophase II are normal (Figure 4c-d). However, the percentage pollen fertility of ‘Doña Aurora’ is lower due to disintegration of the cytoplasm of some tetrads after meiosis II (Figure4e-f).

Isozyme analysis. Variations in the characteristics of species/varieties are due to their differences in protein composition which may be structural proteins or enzymes. These enzymes are responsible for the expression of a trait or a reaction for metabolism (Campbell 1996). They are useful biochemical markers for assessing genetic variability and helpful in the taxonomic, evolutionary and identification of lines and cultivars.

An analysis of isozymes of the ornamental Mussaendas of the Philippines has been conducted to genetically differentiate them from each other (Espada & Rosario 1992). The banding patterns for isocitrate dehydrogenase (IDH), acid phosphatase (ACP) and esterase (EST) of M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ are shown in Figure 5. For IDH, the bands observed occurred singly or in threes, implying a dimeric nature of the enzyme. The three banding phenotypes were designated as FM, MM and SM. It was also observed that the small number of M. philippica plants exhibited isozymic variations in this enzyme system. Two banding patterns of the genotypic designations MM and SM were observed. Furthermore, the male ‘Doña Aurora’ (FM) gave a banding pattern different from any of those observed in M. philippica. The female ‘Doña Aurora’ (MM) on the other hand, gave a banding pattern different from its male counterpart. Since taxonomists consider ‘Doña Aurora’ to be under the same species (M. philippica), these variations support the genetic variability of the species. The cross pollinating nature of the species and the existence of several alleles in the IDH locus cause the population of the species to segregate, then recombine genes, and eventually produce genotypic variations in this locus.

A single zone of activity was observed in the ACP enzyme system and was designated as the ACP-1 locus. The genotypic designation of the genotypes for M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ is SS. On the other hand, two putative loci of esterase, designated as EST-1 and EST-2 were found. The EST-1 locus consists of band with Rf value of 0.328 while the EST-2 locus has Rf value of 0.158. Only the male and female plants of ‘Doña Aurora’ have been studied.

Is ‘Doña Aurora’ a mutant of M. philippica?

Mutation, mutants and mutagens. A sudden change in the units of heredity leading to the production of new types of organisms is called mutation. It is any heritable change in the genetic material other than brought about by recombination and is very important in providing new characteristics for selection. Mayo (1987) characterized mutation as “an inherited change in the genetic material, either of a single gene or in number or structure of the chromosomes”. Gene mutations may arise through changes in the nucleotide sequence of the DNA, often as result of errors in DNA replication. Earlier studies of Muller (1927) showed that knocking down the stability of genes is possible.

A mutant is an organism bearing a mutant gene that expresses itself in the phenotype of the organism. A mutagen is a physical or chemical agent that raises the frequency of mutation above the spontaneous rate. Examples of chemical mutagens are ethyl and methanesulphonate, diethyl sulfate, sodium azide and nitro compounds. They induce chromosomal aberrations in higher proportions. The greater toxicity and chromosome-breaking ability of alkylating agents are due to their capacity to induce cross-linkages. For sexually propagated crops, chemical mutagens are more economical to use, yielding high mutation frequencies. Extreme care must be exercised in handling them since they are carcinogens.

Physical mutagens like ionizing radiation (gamma rays, X-rays) may result in some structural changes within the gene or in the chromosomes. Deletion of genes or sequences of genes may occur. There is a decrease or increase in the frequency of chiasmata, misdivision of the centromere, loss or addition of individual chromosomes and alterations in the number of chromosome sets. The direct effect is the absorption of ionizing radiation in the DNA molecule itself. On the other hand, water radicals formed upon the absorption of ionizing radiation by water cause an indirect effect, as these radicals may react with DNA.

Mutation induction in M. philippica

In spite of the successful utilization of ‘Doña Aurora’ in breeding activities, to the author’s knowledge, no studies so far have been reported on how it originated. This is aside from its discovery in the forest of Mount Makiling in 1915. Is it really a mutant of M. philippica? What triggered the expansion of the remaining calyx lobes of this species: Mutation? If so, what were the forces (mutagens) responsible for its spontaneous existence? Is the process reproducible? Can we create another ‘Doña Aurora’ or a plant very similar to it without resorting to the classical hybridization method? How shall we do that?

The number of varieties developed through induced mutation using gamma irradiation has increased significantly in the past four decades mostly in China and India (FAO-IAEA 2004). For M. philippica, the same mutagen was used under a hypothesis that ‘Doña Aurora’ is its mutant. The objectives were to determine the effects of gamma irradiation on M. philippica, compare the mutants with M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ and analyze the chromosomal behavior, heterostyly and fertility of the mutants.

Methods. Mature fruits were harvested from the female M. philippica. Three fruits were assigned for each treatment, namely 500r, 2kr, 5kr and 10kr and control. The seeds were extracted and germinated immediately in sand and coir dust mixture. The seedlings were grown until maturity or when the adult plants had produced flowers. Morphological characteristics of the mutants as well as the chromosomal behavior during meiosis were studied and compared with M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora.’

Results. The plants grown from irradiated seeds flowered 3-4 years after treatment. All surviving plants generally had creamy to greenish white bracts but the number of the expanded calyx lobes differed among treatments. Two plants from seeds treated with 2kr had all calyx lobes expanded but one lobe is much bigger than the rest in the inflorescence (Figure 6). On the other hand, higher doses of gamma rays (5kr and 10kr) effectively triggered the expansion of all the calyx lobes of M. philippica. The control had only one expanded calyx lobe.

The colors of flowers are in the shades of yellow to orange while the sizes range from 0.8cm to 1.5cm across. The descriptions of the other morphological characteristics of the mutants are shown in Table 2. Heterostyly is typical for the Mussaendas and the mutants also exhibited the condition. In this experiment there are more female plants that survived (Figure 7a). There are also slight changes in shape and size of the expanded calyx lobes or petaloids. Some plants have petaloids with sides curling under becoming slightly narrow and pointed. Majority have their petaloids in full display making the inflorescence compact and heavy (Figure 7b). The size of the petaloids slightly differed among mutants. Those with smaller petaloids (M-1 and M-4) and with stiffer midvein (M-6) tend to have loose inflorescence (Figure 7c) while those with bigger ones look voluminous.

‘Doña Aurora’ and the mutants compared

Morphological characteristics. The control plants and those treated with lower doses of irradiation (500r and 2kr) were generally similar to M. philippica in terms of the number of expanded petaloids. The higher doses produced mutants similar to or resembling ‘Doña Aurora.’ Some mutants have creamy to greenish white calyx lobes as in ‘Doña Aurora’ and orange flowers with comparable size. Both are heteromorphs in terms of floral characteristics with discernible male and female plants. From afar, some mutants can be mistaken as ‘Doña Aurora’ by their fully expanded calyx lobes, color, growth habit and other vegetative characteristics (Figure 8). They have the same blooming period.

Seeds of M. philippica subjected to gamma rays were more tolerant to damage caused by irradiation. The author had tried using cuttings of the Mussaenda species and hybrids but they did not survive at the same doses. Acute radiation also was efficient in producing mutants in Mussaenda and the dosage used did not exceed the lethal dose.

Cytological analysis of the mutants. Previous cytological studies on Mussaendas showed that M. philippica and ‘Doña Aurora’ have normal meiosis and each has 11 bivalents or 2n = 22 (Rosario 1998). Chromosomes of the mutants however, had irregular behavior during meiosis. Laggards and bridges were common; monads, dyads, triads had been observed. In some cases, cell division did not proceed beyond meiosis I, hence the plant is sterile. The tetrads in some plants showed cytoplasmic disintegration and therefore no pollen grains were formed. Quite a few plants had pollen but fertility was very low (21%). The anthers are empty in sterile plants; they are appressed and usually lower than the stigma. One of the effects of radiation is the rupture of hydrogen bonds and induction of breaks in DNA chains or between sugar and phosphate. These lead to changes in chromosome structure and aberrations in meiotic behavior.

Spontaneous and induced mutation

Spontaneous mutation occurs naturally and most of the mutants have undergone an evolutionary process. Consequently, they have adapted to their environment. On the other hand, induced mutants must be tested by time and adaptation. Studies show that there are no area of differences between spontaneous and induced mutation in terms of gene and chromosomal aberrations.

Organisms receive radiation from cosmic rays, radioactive elements in the surroundings and they are also subjected to environmental elements like extreme temperatures, gases, chemicals and nutritional deficiencies and excesses. These could put pressure on the plant and the response may be an alteration in its physiological or morphological condition. In ornamentals, spontaneous mutation in the chlorophyll of green plants produced variegated leaves; in some cases, the otherwise colored flowers become white or tall plants become dwarf. These hereditary changes would be perpetuated if they will not contribute to the failure of the plants to survive.

The utilization of a spontaneous mutant in crop improvement has been clearly demonstrated in the Mussaendas. The results of the study reported here on induced mutation using gamma rays showed that plants resembling the mutant ‘Doña Aurora’ can be produced. There is a successful simulation of one of the factors that could have led to its development.

Mayo (1987) suggested that artificial mutagenesis offers the possibility that all novel properties might be induced in existing plants. Another advantage of artificial mutagenesis is that mutations of specific loci within established varieties might be induced so that a simply modified variety might be rapidly released. It also provides prospects that the genetic material may be moved between species and interspecific and intergeneric crosses may be facilitated. In M. philippica, the gene controlling the characteristics of the inflorescence (calyx lobes, flowers) determined not only the number of expanded calyx lobes but also the degree of expansion or size of the petaloid. The use of gamma rays on the species has demonstrated that mutation induction on specific loci led to the development of ‘Doña Aurora’-like plants.

The environment and the spontaneous mutant

No records are available on the environmental conditions in Mount Makiling, Los Baños where ‘Doña Aurora’ was discovered in full bloom in 1915. In the preceding mutation induction experiment, it took 3-4 years before the irradiated plants produced flowers. Upon reckoning and using the results as reference, a question readily cropped up: What could have happened 4 years before 1915, that is, in 1911? History tells us that one of the most destructive eruptions of Taal Volcano in the nearby province of Batangas started on 27 January 1911 and lasted until 8 February 1911. A violent eruption took place on 30 January 1911 killing 1335 people and injuring more than 990. There was an extraordinary electrical display which was visible for 400 km (Worcester 1912 as cited by Hargrove). The volcano spewed 80 million cubic meters of volcanic debris depositing ashes over an area of 230 square kilometers reaching Mount Makiling in Los Baños. The cloud of debris and sulfur gases lofted into the atmosphere. In Los Baños, ashes began falling at 3:10 a.m. and lasted until 5:45 am. The whole College campus was almost covered with ashes and the plants got affected (Copeland 1911). However, any increase in temperature during the ash fall was not documented.

An analysis of the gases adsorbed on volcanic ash particles indicated that each active volcano generates as much as sulfur gas pollution as a major coal-fired electric power station (Stoiber & Jepsen 1973). As sulfur gas comes down the earth it combines with other elements and becomes sulfur dioxide. Could this be the cause of the mutation in M. philippica? Although the ash fall might have affected the plants, it is not conclusive if the ashes had induced M. philippica to form mutants. Other factors might have contributed to the change. Only Mother Nature knows how ‘Doña Aurora’ came to being. It is a perfect example of a spontaneous mutant that has played a major role in the development of the colorful hybrids of Mussaenda.

The saga continues.

Longevity of hydro-primed rice seeds

2007-01-18T09:43:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p77-88. Lucille Elna Parreño-de Guzman & Annalissa Lappay Aquino. Longevity Of Hydro-Primed Rice Seeds

Viable seeds are a basic agricultural input in sustainable agriculture. Since 60-90% of the seeds planted in developing countries are produced, cared for, and exchanged by resource-poor farmers and indigenous peoples in the informal system, in assistance science can be applied to ensure the viability, vigor, and longevity of the seeds. Seed enhancement technology, like hydro-priming, can be done to address this gap. While literature on priming and its generally favorable results are available, the technique of drying-back and storage of primed seed has received little attention and published results in literature are conflicting. Under Philippine conditions, a few studies have demonstrated the positive effects of priming but there has been no report on the favorable effect of hydro-priming or invigoration over time. The information is important in terms of seed storage. The study was conducted to determine the length of time that enhanced rice seeds will remain viable under ambient storage conditions. Two sets of non-dormant naturally aged farmer-bred (M12-22B5 and AG-5) and traditional (Lantik and Kotong) rice varieties were subjected to hydro-priming by soaking seeds in water for 10 hours and drying back to their original moisture content. Overall results showed that hydro-priming has a favorable effect on germination, specially deteriorated seeds with known low germination percentage. One month after hydro-priming, the germination of M12-22B5 increased from 71 to 84%, AG-5 from 69 to 78%, and Lantik from 28 to 32%. On the average, the different varieties reached 50% of their initial germination after 2.4 to 3.2 months of storage for non-primed seeds and 7.25 to 7.8 months for hydro-primed seeds. Hydro-priming, therefore, is one option of seed enhancement that is applicable to Third World farmers since this can prolong the storage life of seeds by 4.7 months.

Institutionalizing IPR in biotechnology

2007-01-09T18:26:00.000+08:00

2007 April. Vol32n01p45-57 JG Payumo, RT Galvez, AE Arceo & RA Beronio. "Towards Institutionalizing Intellectual Property Rights (IPRs) To Generate and Commercialize Public Agricultural Biotechnology Products in the Philippines"

The Philippines, through the government sector, aggressively pursues agricultural biotechnology (agri-biotech) research to increase productivity in agriculture and fishery. The proliferation of claims of intellectual property rights (IPRs) on modern biotechnology tools, products, and processes worldwide, however, poses constraints to their acquisition, transfer, and commercialization in developing countries. The capacity of the institutions in dealing with IPR issues needs to be enhanced, particularly relating to the generation of technologies and protection in their use. This study is probably the first local attempt at measuring the impact of IPRs on the generation and commercialization of agri-biotech products in the Philippines. Through a survey participated in by 100 scientists and researchers selected from 11 institutions working on agri-biotech under the Department of Agriculture (DA), initially we determined their knowledge and level of preparedness in dealing with issues on agri-biotech and IPR. The data suggests that majority of the scientists are aware of IPR and its surrounding issues, and consider them as significant factors in contributing to the acceleration of the generation and commercialization of public agri-biotech products in the country. The respondents strongly agree that IPR is beneficial to research and development (R&D) work. They believe that biotechnology products need to be commercialized to be beneficial, and IPR is critical in this regard. The study also revealed that DA’s IPR policy has started changing the mindset of DA scientists and researchers toward seeking protection and commercializing their IPs. More efforts, however, have to be exerted to further institute IP management in these institutions, to encourage their researchers to protect and commercialize their IPs. This should eventually bring about public-private partnerships, bringing more locally developed agri-biotech products to the market. The findings can serve as reference points in developing frameworks and strategies for the institutionalization of an IPR program at DA and other departments to accelerate the generation and commercialization of public agri-biotech products in the country.

2006-05-24T08:46:00.000+08:00

Crop science & rice terraces
Crop science is like the rice terraces of Northern Luzon: beautiful, ascending toward the sky. But like the rice terraces, you have to take care of it; you don't allow the dams to overflow with water; you do not want the dams to break; you have to attend to the crop; you cannot forget the water; you have to select your variety and not forget tradition. Modern technology is knowledge; tradition is age-old wisdom. - Revised 22 June 2006 And don't forget the people. Revised 06 July 2006

2006-05-06T11:01:00.000+08:00

We are the most advanced
knowledge base in crops
in the whole science world

In knowledge management, we have just set one for the Guinness Book Of World Records. Here’s to the most advanced crop science knowledge base in all the world! Today, 6 May 2006, with Frank A Hilario as Editor in Chief, the December 2006 issue of the Philippine Journal of Crop Science comes off-the-press and we are physically now one-year ahead of schedule, as the next issue is April 2007. That forthcoming issue, to come out by July 2006, we plan to double the number of pages. After all, we have all the time in the world.

In fact, we are ahead more than physically or chronologically. We are modern in these other ways: (a) CROPScience Philippines is free to browse and easy to copy from. The pages are uncluttered. (b) It is easy to browse – no complicated commands, no ‘next page’ or ‘continued’ and no restricted pages. (c) It offers extended abstracts, not simply abstracts. You find more content. (d) The editorials offer advice on policy intended to improve the relevance and creativity in crop science. (e) Surprise! While it cannot be shown here, the Philippine Journal of Crop Science is the only technical journal in the world that is desktop-published using Microsoft Word XP. That means we have advanced the rank of Word XP beyond being a word processor. That was my idea. Since 2003, when I took over as Editor in Chief at the time when the journal was 3 years late, all the pages of the journal issues with me as Editor have been digitized. PageMaker is great and Microsoft Publisher is good, but I prefer Word XP, thank you. With it, I can kern, column, import photos. I can paste and drag tables, figures, photos, whatever within a page or across pages. In other words, I have made Word XP the first, middle and last miles in desktop publishing: first mile (for typing), middle mile (assembling from different software), and last mile (camera-ready). This is reinventing desktop publishing. Incidentally, CROPScience Philippines is also reinventing the blog.

RS Domingo et al: In vitro culture systems for wide rice gene pool

2006-03-18T22:47:00.000+08:00

Vol31n03p59-60. Rowell S Domingo, Nenita V Desamero, Martha V Chico, Lenie R Pautin, Trinidad C Fernando, Rolando Lazaro, Mary Grace V Mariano & Juliet P Rillon. Exploiting In-vitro Culture Systems For A Wide Rice Gene Pool

The application of in vitro culture in generating genetic variability in crop species has long been recognized. This genetic variation can be exploited to serve as novel gene source for useful traits of desired cultivars, as the variants resulting from induced mutations are initial and precious materials for use in crop improvement.

As in most crops, a successful rice breeding program depends largely on the degree of variability for important traits in the gene pool. In this study, we used different in-vitro culture (IVC) systems, anther (AC), seed (SC) and inflorescence culture (IC), to induce variations in the popular variety IR64. The AC-derived lines from IR64 were subjected to a second round of tissue culture using anthers, mature seeds and young inflorescences as explants. Plants were regenerated from the different tissue-culture systems. Breeding lines were developed from these regenerants through a series of evaluations. Variants for different traits were identified. Variability in plant height, heading date, maturity, tiller production and grain yield were observed. Planting season had its effect on the expression of these traits. Breeding lines taller and shorter, early and late heading/maturing, with more and fewer productive tillers, with higher and lesser grain yields than with seed derived (SD) IR64 were obtained. The extent of genetic variability differed with tissue culture system. In general, IC exhibited the greatest degree of phenotypic variability in most traits followed by AC and SC (IC>AC>SC). The same order applies to the relative proportions of the breeding lines with positive mutations, that is, better performers than SD IR64 in most traits evaluated. The mutations observed are randomly distributed among the genotypes/breeding lines generated from the three IVC systems and their expression was influenced by season. Subjecting IR64 to a second cycle of IVC yielded 82 lines that have either I to R reactions to BLB race 3 or 6, and 24 lines, with either I or R reaction to blast. Further more, 47 lines with moderate tolerance to salt stress were obtained. This has widened the adaptability of IR64. We now have IR64-derived lines which may be cultivated and perform better in salt-stressed areas. Results of this study have demonstrated the potential of the three IVC systems in broadening the rice gene pool, indicating further utilization for a successful rice breeding program.

Josue & Mendoza: Productivity & plant genetic diversity in upland Bondoc Peninsula

2006-03-18T22:45:00.000+08:00

ol31n03p35-47. Danilo S Josue & Teodoro C Mendoza. Productivity & Plant Genetic Diversity In Upland Agroecosystems Of BondocPeninsula, The

Philippines

Productivity of an agroecosystem represents the net increment in valued product per unit of input measured as annual yield, gross or net. Species diversity is the ratio between the number of species and the ‘importance value’ (number, biomass or productivity) of individuals, and this tends to be low in physically controlled ecosystems and high in biologically uncontrolled ecosystems. Man’s activities more often disrupt stability and affect diversity. The practice of monoculture reduces diversity while the practice of multicropping increases diversity.

A total of 60 belt transects (BTs) representing sampling units were established to determine the productivity and plant diversity status and to establish whether there are relationships between productivity and plant diversity in the various cropping systems at Batabat Sur, Buenavista, Bondoc Peninsula, Quezon Province, the

Philippines

. Indices of plant diversity (H) and evenness (J) were computed. Productivity indices included biomass, gross income and net income. Factors affecting diversity and productivity were determined using Stepwise Multiple Regression Analysis. Plant productivity indicators (biomass (tons/ha/year) and gross monetary value of crops varied significantly across the 60 belt transects (BTs). Highest biomass was obtained in BTs with coconuts + corn intercrop (34 tons/ha) and lowest was in BTs with corn monocrop (12 tons/ha). Number of coconut trees was the only variable found to significantly contribute to biomass yield which was attributed to the natural heavy biomass of a coconut tree. The number of nuts, number of trees, and the weight of corn ears significantly affected the gross monetary value. The equation derived was: Gross Monetary Value = -1373.25 + 17366 Number of nuts + 3357.76 Number of trees + 89.13 Weight of corn ears + 5436.63 (R² = 0.914). The index of diversity was highest in coconut monocropping at H = 1.62, although this was not statistically significantly different from H = 1.57 in coconut + corn intercropping. The lowest index of diversity was obtained in corn monocropping at H = 1.15, but it provided the highest gross monetary value at P 27,560 ha/year and net income of P 6,619 ha/year. Shrubs and weed species comprise the bulk of species diversity in upland agroecosystems but they do not have direct monetary value, which explains the lack of correlation between gross monetary value and species diversity. Also, biomass was not correlated with species diversity H or species evenness J across belt transects, since coconut trees provided the bulk of biomass in the 3 agroecosystems. Intercropping corn with coconut, while it yielded the highest biomass (15.0 tons/ha), had a lower index of diversity than coconut alone. Plant diversity could not be used as an indicator of agroecosystems biomass yield and farm productivity measured as gross monetary value.

OP Damasco et al: Banana bunchy top virus resistance in Lakatan via gamma irradiation of shoot tips

2006-03-18T22:44:00.000+08:00

Vol31n03p21-34. Olivia P Damasco, Judith B Estrella, Leila S Caymo, Teodora O Dizon, Ruel C Rabara, Felipe S dela Cruz, Jr & Evelyn Mae T Mendoza. Banana Bunchy Top Virus (BBTV) Resistance In Cultivar ‘Lakatan’ Developed Via Gamma Irradiation Of Shoot Tips

Banana is one of the most important fruit crops in the Philippines both for the domestic and export markets. More than 75% of the banana producers are small-scale farmers engaged in local or domestic production. At present, the industry is beset with problems of low productivity due to pests and diseases and lack of improved cultivars.

Banana bunchy top virus (BBTV) is the most destructive virus disease of banana in the

Philippines

. Incorporation of resistance to this virus disease by conventional hybridization is not possible due to sterility of most commercial banana cultivars. Instead, gamma irradiation coupled with in vitro technology was explored as a means to develop BBTV resistance. The sensitivity of banana shoot cultures to Cobalt 60 gamma radiation was determined. Irradiated shoot cultures were micropropagated for 3 to 5 cycles and plants regenerated were potted out and evaluated. Plants were indexed for BBTV using symptomatology, ELISA and PCR techniques. A total of 6,012 plants regenerated from irradiated shoot cultures were subjected to artificial BBTV inoculation using the aphid vector Pentalonia nigronervosa. From these plants, 64 putative BBTV resistant lines were selected in the field after 36 months. The selections exhibited varying degrees of resistance, with 26 lines showing no BBTV symptom expression in both irradiated and first-generation sucker plants. The other 38 lines selected exhibited limited symptom expression. Yield and agronomic characteristics of some resistant lines were comparable to non irradiated micropropagated plants. Suckers from these resistant lines were collected; micropropagated and plants are now being evaluated for the second cycle stability of BBTV resistance trait.

Canesio & Francisco: Tree growing decisions of smallholder farmers in Northern Mindanao

2006-03-18T22:42:00.000+08:00

Vol31n03p03-20. Canesio D Predo & Herminia A Francisco. Understanding Tree-Growing Decisions Of Smallholder Farmers In Claveria, Northern Mindanao, The

Philippines

Uplands are important geographical components of Philippine agriculture. Vast areas of the uplands in the Philippines are covered with grassland vegetation mostly dominated by Imperata cylindrica or cogon since it is well adapted to colonize areas cleared of forest and thrives on infertile soils. The Philippine government has implemented many projects to rehabilitate degraded grasslands and denuded forestlands, with assistance from foreign governments.

The study was conducted in Claveria, Misamis Oriental, Mindanao, Philippines through interviews with 192 farmers, 86% of whom practiced tree‑based farming systems and the rest cash cropping, corn being the dominant crop. Tobit regression analysis was used to analyze the factors influencing farmers’ investment decision in tree-based systems. Results revealed that a high relative price variability (timber price vis-à-vis cash crop prices) deters tree planting. Farmers tree-growing decisions also depend on (1) current price levels and forecast price changes, (2) socio-economic characteristics such as household size, age, and education, (3) farm characteristics given by cultivable land-man ratio, and farm size, (4) land tenure, (5) knowledge about tree-based land-use systems, and (6) membership in landcare association. The study recommends that since price risk appears to be the major deterrent to expansion of tree farming, measures to reduce said risk or to improve risk management capability of farmers be adopted, including (a) provision of relevant and timely price information and (b) price risk insurance. The long‑term nature of the investment in trees requires security of land tenure as confirmed by the adoption model. There is a need to continue the information dissemination activities through farmers’ trainings and seminars. Finally, the influence of a landcare association on farmers’ decision to adopt tree-based land-use systems implies the need of this local initiative to be further enhanced and developed.

FA Hilario: A Knowledge Bank, Ahead

2006-03-18T22:41:00.000+08:00

Vol31n03p01-02. Frank A Hilario. CropScience

Philippines

: A Knowledge Bank, Ahead

With this issue of the journal, we are finished with the publishing work for the whole year 2006, all of 3 issues. This is under the presidency of Dr Norvie L Manigbas. The groundwork for this achievement was the fact that we made a 13-issue-late journal up-to-date under the presidency of Dr Edilberto D Redoña, which was a redemption of sort. The redemptive struggle began earnestly in 2003 whenDr Conrado H Balatero appointed me as Editor in Chief, and reached fever pitch in early 2005. Previous to the current issue, we submitted the last of 3 up-to-date issues of the journal to the Information Science Institute (ISI) based in Pennsylvania for ISI accreditation as a world-class technical publication. From thereon, preliminarily, we have talked about doubling the number of pages from 60, or to at least 100 pages beginning the next issue, April 2007, for which we will begin work this May 2006, a full year ahead of scheduled release. We are thinking of access to the max.

Now, Access

To me, neither software nor hardware nor infrastructure but the reality of access is the last mile in knowledge management; access is the final connectivity. On my own initiative, in February 2006, I uploaded a knowledge bank based on papers published in this journal from March 1976 to April 2006, From Jan 2003 to Dec 2005, with typing by my student assistants Perla, Joyce Ann & Sandra, I had madeextended abstracts of articles in PJCS; today, you have them all in this one little website:http://cropsciencephilippines.blogspot.com/ that which you can access using Google or Yahoo wherever you are in the world, for some background information, theories, findings, recommendations, even policy. Or simply browse. I call it CropScience Philippines, a Trojan Horse to trust with its gift of knowledge. That’s technical access.

A good next project would be popular access. All that science will have to be translated into clear, concise, comprehensive and coherentdecision-application options knowledge users can use off-the-shelf – meaning in the language they understand, first of all English, since it will be the definitive source of translations. It will be another first in knowledge management.

Now, Quality

So, we have been able to speed up the publishing process and surmount the obstacle of the inertia of the years. We were behind by 3 years (9 issues); if you add the 3 issues neglected for the year while you are going after the late issues, that makes 12 issues late. What we did was speed up the review, editing and desktop publishing phases – in order to hasten the publishing process. Running 7 months ahead of schedule now, we can focus more of our efforts on quality, from the review to the camera-ready phase.

Quality papers

The issue of quality really begins with the manuscript submitted. High quality calls for relevant and up-to-date literature review as well as universality of the application of the conclusions, with the implications or recommendations of authors resulting from their own interpretation of the data analyzed and information sifted after their investigation.

Quality reviews

To hasten the routine part of the review of each paper submitted for publication, which is putting in an expert’s opinion on the whole and specific parts of a manuscript, among other things I’m thinking of requiring reviewers or critics to work with Microsoft Word for itsTrack Changes feature. If you know how to type, you can easily learn to use Track Changes.

Quality editing

I would expect no less focus on quality from the Editor in Chief, and that in the meantime would be me. Higher quality editing would require catching, for instance, the failure of an author to relate the results of a study with the very objectives of such a study, the listing of conclusions not based on the findings themselves, or recommendations not based on any conclusions made in the paper itself. Quality editing would also require that the Editor require authors to submit high-quality illustrations to ensure high-quality printing results.

Now, Coverage

There are quite a few areas that have been hardly covered in the entire 30 years of this journal. Here are some of those fields:

Communication

Communication is essentially the exchange of thoughts, messages or information (American Heritage Dictionary); when such an exchange has the objective of encouraging development, at the University of the Philippines Los Baños it is referred to as ‘development communication.’ I expect to receive in the future papers on the innovative use of communication media, for instance, not the least of which is the Internet.

Extension

‘Extension’ is increasing either the area, influence or operation of something, in this case, technology (hardware or software or both). Extension work in the

Philippines

is the area of responsibility of the Agriculture Technology Institute under the Department of Agriculture. Theoretical and experimental knowledge should be equally or complementarily disseminated in the language that target users of knowledge are adept at: Tagalog for the Tagalogs, Cebuano for the Cebuanos, Ilocano for the Ilocanos and so on. The original language should of course be English because this language is the richest one in the world, especially when it comes to literature and science.

Management

One of the most neglected areas of research, and hence of reportage, is management. The classic definition of management is that it consists of 4 phases: planning, leading, organizing, controlling. In the entire 30 years of publishing papers, this journal has never ever printed a study or report on management. There is of course what is called ‘integrated pest management’ but what I mean here is much bigger than that – it is management of the whole farm, not merely any single if a most significant aspect of it, not to mention a village.

Marketing

Marketing is still another neglected field in crop research and development (R&D) work. A crop produce is useless unless it is sold, bartered, or traded for what it is worth; and a producer is unfulfilled if the rewards of his labor go to others more than to him. Successful marketing does not only consider price; it considers the product itself, the place or positioning, and the promotion that may be needed to push the product. The marketing mix is what is crucial in targeting consumers. If the marketing is less than successful, the production is less than satisfying. R&D scientists have work to do.

Teaching

Based on personal knowledge and my own readings for the last 30 years, teaching is one of the most neglected R&D areas. This is puzzling because if the teacher has not taught, the student has not learned. Education is so crucial that there are probably a hundred theories covering either teaching or learning or both (for the list and the links, visit http://www.emtech.net/ for one). The list includes BF Skinner’s theory of operant conditioning, Bloom’s taxonomy; I shall add to that list Gardner’s multiple intelligences, De Bono’s lateral thinking, and Dillenbourg & Schneider collaborative learning & the Internet, not to mention the old dialogues of Plato.

I sincerely believe that teaching is too serious a business to be left to the teachers alone!

2006-03-02T06:13:00.000+08:00

2006 April Vol 31 no 1

Vol31n01p01-02. Frank A Hilario. Farmers, Experts, Innovation & The Internet

A hard sell it was at first: It was hard to convince rice farmers of Nueva Ecija to grow hybrid rice. That was at the start of the Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program (HRCP) of the national government. It is quite remarkable to me that the thought the paper of Aurora Corales, KET Barroga, JB Agliam & PS Coloma (“Hybrid Rice Promotion In Nueva Ecija: Strategic Partnerships And Innovative Media” starting page 3) brings to mind is that of a great institution – the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) – was being largely ignored by farmers in Nueva Ecija in its promotion of the growing of hybrid rice. A revelation to me. The headquarters of PhilRice is in the Science City of Muñoz in Nueva Ecija, the rice granary of the country; if too many of Nueva Ecija farmers were ignoring hybrid rice, what was wrong? Was it the technology itself? Was it the way the program was being implemented? Or was it the intelligence of the farmers of Nueva Ecija? As the paper tells us, despite extensive government promotion, technology adoption rate was low in the province, meaning that very few Nueva Ecija farmers were convinced to grow hybrid rice. My conclusion is that the mistake they made was to bring the technology from PhilRice to all the farmers simultaneously and not from farmer to farmer. To appreciate my point, if not agree with me, let us do a little study by reviewing Rogers’ most popular paradigm of diffusion of innovation.

Learning From Experts

In his book Diffusion Of Innovations (5th edition, 2003), American innovation guru Everett Rogers sees 5 groups of people reacting differently to a technology being promoted for adoption: 2.5% are innovators, 13.5% early adopters, 34% early majority, 34% late majority, and 16% are laggards. If you plot those numbers, they will show you what is called a ‘normal curve’ – also called the ‘bell-shaped curve’ and ‘Gaussian distribution,’ as it was Carl Friedrich Gauss, a brilliant German mathematician, who discovered many of its properties (Mark Janeba 1999). The Gaussian distribution is the most important and widely used distribution in statistical analysis (Jan Lethen 1996). So, what Rogers did was simply use the Gaussian curve to distribute target adoptors of technology into several groups. Since the Gaussian curve is the ‘normal’ or the most probable curve, Rogers couldn’t miss!

When people talk of ‘hybrid rice,’ they usually refer to the variety called Mestizo. This is one of two hybrid rices developed by the International Rice Research Institute and released in the Philippines, the other one being Magat (Redoña et al 1998).

Corales & group report that in 2002, despite the ‘government’s extensive promotion’ of hybrid rice, ‘adoption rate was low especially among Nueva Ecija farmers.’ So, they conducted a massive promotion campaign comprising financial and market assistances, demo farms, distribution of seeds and milled rice in small packs, a search for top hybrid rice producers, with support from mass media (print, radio, cable TV). Now they report success.

Learning from all that, we can surmise that if there are 100,000 rice farmers in Nueva Ecija, 2,500 are innovators, 13,500 early adoptors, 34,000 early majority, 34,000 late majority, and 16,000 laggards. I’m surprised they did not focus on the innovators who were only 2.5% of the total. Instead, they targeted 100% of the farmers, including the reluctant users and rejectors of innovation.

Learning From Farmers

So, aside from learning from the experts of diffusion of innovation, let us not forget to learn from the farmers themselves. The Technology Promotion Program of PhilRice has noted: ‘Ideally, technology promotion should take off from the village-level technology adaptation’ (PhilRice Online 2005). I take that to mean experts learning from non-experts, meaning the farmers.

Now, how do we learn from the farmers? The gurus of innovation diffusion here and abroad recommend that we ask the technology-conscious farmers (the innovators and early adoptors) to teach other farmers (the majority and the laggards), as a farmer has more credibility than a non-farmer when it comes to farming.

That makes sense. But if you ask me, I prefer to learn from both the experts and the farmers. First, I will take Rogers’ classification of technology users as gospel truth. Then I will go to the farmers and ask them: Why?

Of the innovators, I will ask: Why did you adopt the technology that fast? Of the early adoptors, I will ask: Why did you think twice in adopting the technology? Of the early majority, I will ask: Why did you hesitate in adopting the technology? Of the late majority, I will ask: Why did you ignore the technology? Of the laggards, I will ask: Why did you reject the technology? Different farmers, different questions.

My questions will be open-ended and the answers will be followed by other open-ended questions. My intention is not to embarrass the farmers but to find the whys and the why nots. Then I will plan my campaign for diffusion of innovation based on what they tell me, as well as based on my insights.

For my campaign, I have two choices: (a) massive and (b) selective. If I do a massive promotion campaign, I will use the feedback from the innovators and early adoptors to entice the hesitators and all the rest to test the technology and see for themselves. I will target all the rice farmers of Nueva Ecija. If I do a selective promotion campaign, I will have the experts train the innovators and early adoptors to become the next teachers themselves. Then these farmers will teach the other farmers in demonstration plots not only in Nueva Ecija but all over the country. Farmers will learn from other farmers, and the experts will simply be on call.

I will choose selective promotion. With such a strategy, for media support I will use mostly print and the Internet, along with the cell phone. I will use the Open Academy, otherwise called the Pinoy Farmers’ Internet (check out www.openacademy.ph/), which is an information-communication project of government agencies led by PhilRice (www.philrice.gov.ph/).

It is time more farmers learn to use the Internet to know more – and it is time more experts learn to use the Internet to supply the information needs of more farmers in the form they understand more: popular, ready-to-use, not technical as it is now. First, in English (to get the technical details right), then in translations.

Innovators teaching the laggards and farmers learning from the experts speaking in the language farmers use everyday – that’s the need of the times. If our experts can make that happen, our farmers can become globally competitive. They have to be. Else, what our farmers don’t know can hurt all of us.

Literature Cited
Janeba Mark. 1999, http://www.willamette.edu/
Lethen Jan.1996. Statistics 30X Class Notes, http://www.stat.tamu.edu/
Redoña ED, SS Virmani, FM Malabanan, RS Toledo, LJ Javier, CL Casal, FI Rebuelta, RF Barroga & SR Obien. 1998. Hybrid rice technology in the Philippines: From laboratory to farmers’ fields. Philippine Journal of Crop Science 23(1): 1-11
Rogers Everett M. 2003. Diffusion of Innovations (5th ed). The Free Press. New York. 512 pages

Vol31n010p03-10. Aurora M. Corales , KET Barroga JB Agliam, PS Coloma. Hybrid Rice Promotion In Nueva Ecija: Strategic Partnerships & Innovative Media

Despite the national government’s extensive promotion of the technology through the Hybrid Rice Commercialization Program, data still showed that adoption rate was low especially among Nueva Ecija farmers. Thus, through the project Integrated Area-Based Technology Promotion for Central Luzon, PhilRice intensified its hybrid rice promotion in Nueva Ecija through strategic partnerships and innovative media. The promotion package included an information campaign that started with the rice millers, informing them of the grain qualities and market potential of Mestizo hybrid rice. This resulted in the millers offering a 10- to 20-centavo support price. This was followed by a series of technical briefings with the city government units (LGUs), a civic organization (the Kiwanis Club of Muñoz), and all the Municipal Agriculture Officers (MAOs) of Nueva Ecija, along with the provincial government and the extension office of Central Luzon State University. The Office of the Provincial Agriculturist eventually took the lead, with strong support from the Governor, and rallied the different agencies within the province. The innovative media mix included the following: 14 community cable network providers in the area broadcasting videos on hybrid rice technology and testimonies of successful adoptors, a techno-caravan in 32 municipalities, local radio stations airing news on hybrid rice, putting up of congratulatory streamers recognizing high producers, establishment of techno-demos, provision of information materials for 17 Tekno Pinoy Centers, and holding a contest for the highest hybrid rice yield per hectare. The Department of Agrarian Reform-Asian Development Bank (DAR-ADB) and the LGU of the Science City of Muñoz provided financial and market assistances to the project. Small packs of hybrid rice seeds and milled rice were made available for farmers and consumers to test the Mestizo hybrid rice. Thus intensified, hybrid rice promotion in Nueva Ecija resulted in increased level of awareness and adoption of the technology as indicated by an increase in area planted and average yields from 568 ha and 5.7 t/ha in 2002 DS to 8,714 ha and 7.0 t/ha in 2004 DS. It is to be noted that the market linkage is now in place.

Vol31n01p11-28. TC Mendoza& R Samson. Relative Bioenergy Potentials Of Major Agricultural Crop Residues In The Philippines

Four major agricultural by-products (sugarcane bagasse and trash, rice hulls, coconut, and maize cobs) of the Philippines are assessed in terms of their bioenergy potentials, their ease of recovery and retrieval from the field to the site of utilization, and their relative importance in the farm landscape. About 4.5 M tonnes of coconut fronds, 1.5 M tonnes of rice hull,1.17 M tonnes of sugarcane trash and 0.5 M tonnes of corn cobs are estimated to be recoverable. Sugarcane trash residues are better left in the field to increase soil organic matter, reduce fertilizer requirements of sugarcane and increase sugar yields. But in the final year of the ratoon crop, harvesting trash for bioenergy appears economical. Under this scheme, the recoverable trash residue is 391,000 tonnes. About 640,000 tonnes of surplus bagasse (50% moisture) is available from mills that produce raw sugar, but sugar mills with refineries or distillery operations consume the excess bagasse. Thus, in reality, there is no surplus of bagasse. Soil erosion, depletion of the nutrient pool, and loss of soil organic matter are known to occur when the aboveground portions of the plants harvested are taken away. Harvesting of maize stalks for bioenergy development is not a sustainable practice. However, the maize cob is a viable fraction that can be collected. It is widely utilized by small farmers for cooking. Rice straw is abundant in the field but it is high in silica content, has low energy potential, and is high in retrieval costs. This makes it as inferior resource for major bioenergy development. As in sugarcane trash and maize stalks, rice straw is best left in the field to decompose to maintain soil organic matter levels and to enhance N2 fixation during the decomposition process. Mostly, rice hulls are currently being burned, but they can be effectively utilized as bioenergy resource. The two main advantages of using rice hulls are that they have widespread availability and require no prior processing before burning. They are well suited to low grade heating applications such as household cooking or crop drying. The 300 M coconut trees in the Philippines annually produce tremendous amounts of biomass as husk (4.1 M tonnes), shell (1.8 M tonnes), and frond (4.5 M tonnes). The recovery of these residues is labor-intensive, and much more of these materials are available in remote areas. Coconut fronds are good resource for household cooking. As fossil fuel prices continue to rise, rice hulls and coconut fronds are the two most important but underdeveloped biomass resources that could be fully utilized as bioenergy in a relatively short time period. There is comparative advantage in converting marginal soils planted to grain maize into perennial biomass energy plots using Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum).

Vo31n01p29-46. Miguela S Añabesa, Demetrio V Oria, Elda B Esguerra& Merly A Sarcos. Postharvest Behavior & Storage Life of 3 Durian Cultivars With Varying Maturity, Waxing & Temperature

Three experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of maturity, waxing and temperature on the postharvest behavior and storage life of 3 varieties of durian, Duyaya, Nanam and Puyat. Results of the study indicated that fruits harvested as early as 110 and 115 days from anthesis had qualities comparable with fruits harvested at full maturity. Differing total reducing sugars (TRS) ratings were obtained from fruits harvested at 110 days (7.41%), 115 days (10.15%) and 120 days (17.63%) upon ripening. Total soluble solids (TSS) content of fruits at 105 to 115 DFA were comparable (28-290Brix) to that at the ripe stage and increased to 32°Brix upon reaching 120 DFA. Titratable acidity (TA) values of fruits at 110, 115 and 120 days were comparable and ranged from 0.27% (120 DFA) to 0.31% (110 DFA). Both Duyaya and Puyat harvested at 115 to 120 DFA were highly preferred by the taste panelists. Waxing durian fruits resulted in lower weight loss of 11.36% and increased shelf-life by 8 days from ripening. Waxed fruits were highly preferred and had an intense yellow coloration of pulp. Waxing did not impart any off-odor and the characteristic durian aroma was highly perceptible through the wax. On the third month of storage, holding the minimally processed durian at -10°C had the highest TSS of 23.560Brix. This had also extended shelf-life by a period of 3 months.

Vol31n01p47-60. Nida Q Abrogena, Bethzaida M Catudan, Reynaldo C Castro, Leah May C dela Cruz & Alma C Aguinaldo. Economic Benefits and Production Efficiencies of Palayamanan in Northwest Luzon

After three years of project implementation, it has become necessary to quantify the impact of Palayamanan in Northwest Luzon in terms of yield, cost efficiency and profitability. Eleven of the 18 project sites were included in the analysis. Production data from WS 2002 to DS 2004 were analyzed. The farmer partners (FPs) in all the study sites attained a rice yield advantage of 14 to 170% over the farmers in adjacent farms (AFs) during the wet seasons of 2002 and 2003. A similar trend occurred during the dry seasons of 2003 and 2004. The FPs spent about P2.90 to P5.63 to produce a kg of WS rice against the P4.43 to P7.52 by the farmers in the AFs. Similar results happened during the DS. Rice production for both seasons provided a maximum income to the FPs of more than P40,000 per ha. The local counterparts earned a maximum income of just above P20,000. The FPs who planted other crops during the DS were able to increase their net income during the two-year study period because of crop intensification and diversification. Based on the results of the analysis, Palayamanan as a concept is able to improve the production efficiencies of its FPs through the introduction of yield-increasing and cost-reducing technologies.

2006-03-02T06:02:00.001+08:00

2005 vol 30 no 1

V30n01p01-02. Hilario Frank A. 2005. The Trojan Surprise

This is the year of the Rooster, so why a Horse? Let me tell you my story of the Trojan Surprise. The illustration above shows, aside from a horse, zeros and ones dropping out from the belly of the horse, signifying knowledge, as programs to run computers must be made up essentially of zeros and ones. (See also my editorial last issue, December 2004, on dualities.) This is the modern Knowledge Giver. In the original story, the Greek legend of the Trojan War, it was a huge wooden horse that the Greeks gifted the Trojans, without the Trojans knowing that it came from the Greeks and contained a surprise – Greek warriors determined to open that night the gates of the City of Troy and destroy its defenses. And so, the Greeks won the war and the woman (the beautiful and very much married Helen of Troy). That is the origin of the saying ‘Beware of Greeks bearing gifts!’

In our Trojan Surprise, the warriors are the officers of the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (cssp) for 2004-2005, and yours truly, signifying members of a team, none more important than the other. The cssp officers are Edilberto D Redoña President, Norvie L Manigbas Vice President, John C De Leon Secretary, Jessica D Rey Treasurer, Renato A Reaño Auditor, Emma K Sales pro. Board Members are Edwin G Honrade ex-officio Chairman; Nenita V Desamero, Glenn B Gregorio, Bernardita E Mandac, Romy Palcon and Rolando O Torres. Vigorously led by edr, this is the cssp Board that said, in effect, ‘This year, let’s do it! Let’s move papers and people, authors and reviewers and editor-publisher’ (that would be me) ‘and get the journal up-to-date, from 3 years late, 9 issues late.’ This is the short story of that, and it should be legend.

First of all, I am the Trojan Dark Horse, in January 2003, an editor coming in from the outside; the previous editors, from the first (Dr Dolores R Ramirez) to the last before me (Dr Evelyn Mae T Mendoza), have been true-blue scientists, while I have always been an outsider looking in, a up Los Baños bsa graduate who prefers to cultivate other people’s thoughts rather than cultivate the soil, sometimes writing for others, sometimes writing for himself, always editing.

So, my 1^st issue (April 2001) took me 5 months. Too slow, but I had to start from scratch. I had to create a whole new design for the journal, cover and all. I had to work out fonts & sizes, spacings, layouts, inserting errant tables and wayward illustrations, redrawing when necessary. I was learning a whole new language of science publishing. I also wrote an entirely new set of contributor’s guidelines for pjcs. My 2^nd issue, August 2001, took me 4 months, still too slow. My 3^rd issue took me 3 months; now we were getting somewhere. My 4^th issue took me 2 months; now that was a record worth mentioning. And then I went out on a consultancy for 2 months. And then I ran out of papers coming from reviewers. I sent many papers out to reviewers but not one came back; I know because I still have the individual names in individual electronic files. You can’t publish a refereed journal like pjcs without reviewers reviewing. With that, things essentially languished for a year, until edr decided to call for a Trojan Meeting. Leadership in action.

So now, the PJCS is up-to-date.

V30n01p03-09. Elepaño Arnold R, Reynaldo D Billate & Imelda B Drahousky. 2005. Two-stage drying as a different strategy for paddy rice

The vigorous sponsorship of hybrid rice by the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo government has attracted the attention of other governments such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan. But there are technical problems. Drying has always been the most critical operation for preserving grain quality. High volumes of wet paddy during peak harvest, unpredictable weather conditions and lack of drying areas and facilities hinder and delay the drying process. Some of the reported constraints in the use of drying systems in humid tropics are unsuitable dryer capacity and the high cost of drying. With the popularization of batch recirculating dryers in the Philippines, there is a need to develop a drying strategy in order to optimize dryer capacity and grain quality. Batch recirculating dryers are common but the basic problem lies on the temperature setting, which when on high definitely dries the seeds faster but results in lower quality of grain.

In contrast, with two-stage drying, a higher drying rate can be achieved without significant loss in grain quality. The first stage could utilize higher drying air temperature (80ºC) to remove surface moisture at high moisture content (above 18% mc wet basis), while the second stage should use lower temperature (40ºC) to reduce internal moisture to the desired level. As moisture is reduced on the surface of the grain, the internal moisture diffusion becomes significant and drying air temperature should be reduced accordingly to maintain grain quality. Results also showed that grains subjected to air temperature of 60ºC and above, whether in the first or second stage of drying, lost their viability. Therefore, for seed production purposes, drying air temperature should be below 60ºC. Milling recovery and whiteness were not significantly affected by drying air temperature. Experimental results suggest that with the existing dryers in the market, simple adjustments of the drying process can be made to increase drying rate, ie, drying capacity, while maintaining grain quality.

V30n01p11-17. Javier Evelyn F, Shoji Furuya, Reynaldo Soriano & Fernando Garcia. 2005. Management of wet direct-seeded rice. ii: weed control by water & herbicides

One of the major problems in wet direct-seeded rice (wdsr) is weeds. Since there has been a shift from transplanting to direct-seeding of rice and a change of tillage and water management in both transplanted and direct-seeded rice, there has been some shift in weed population and flora in the paddy fields, both in irrigated and rainfed lowland rice. In the ricefields of the Philippines, the barnyard grass has been also the most notorious weed. In the change of crop establishment, the population of L. Cyperus iria and C. difformis also were observed but their population increased only after the flowering stage of the rice plants. Under tillage management and water management, the population of I. rugosum was observed to increase over the other grasses. Ludwigia spp. were also observed under dry-prepared, minimum-tillage and dry-to-saturated soil conditions.

Most of the introduced herbicides are selective and are specified to control only 1 or 2 types of weeds. Herbicides are usually applied twice in the wdsr, at pre- and early post-emergence of weeds. Most farmers, however, use only the pre-emergence herbicides. Also, weeds have variable growth habits and life cycles. And they even vary under different cultural practices. Therefore, the use of chemicals only can not effectively control weeds in all situations. Thus, appropriate water management promises to play an important role in controlling weeds associated with wet-seeded rice.

The study was conducted to develop a comprehensive weed control system in wet direct-seeded rice by studying the effects of water management and different herbicides on weed growth and seedling establishment. In the wet season (ws), deep water (5 to 7 cm) introduced at 8 days after sowing fairly controlled the weeds without affecting seedling emergence. In the dry season (ds), Pretilachlor at 1.5 L/ha sprayed at 3 das controlled weeds in both the continuously flooded and intermittent irrigation treatments. Priminobac-methyl + Bensulfuron-methyl + Mefenacet sprayed at 7 to 10 days and Butachlor + Propanil sprayed at 8 das were fairly effective in the control of weeds. In ds 2000, lower weed biomass was observed in the combined use of Pretilachlor and Bispyribac-Na in both the saturated and in continuously flooded soils. The grasses dominated the sedges and the broad-leaved weeds regardless of water management. Under greenhouse conditions, Leptochloa chinensis, the most notorious weed that cannot be controlled by using chemicals alone, can be controlled by irrigating at 4 das at 6-cm water depth.

V30n01p19-28. Sanchez DL & SS Virmani. 2005. Identification of thermosensitive genic male-sterile lines with low critical sterility point for hybrid rice breeding

Rice is a self-pollinated crop, a fact which renders hybrid breeding difficult and necessitates the management of fertility. The discovery of male sterility systems in rice has essentially resolved the constraint of controlling fertility/sterility and paved the way for the development of hybrids that have a 15-20% yield advantage over inbred high-yielding varieties. Currently, the cytoplasmic male sterility (cms) system is the most widely used male sterility system for hybrid rice breeding. While effective and reliable, this system is cumbersome for hybrid seed production since cms requires a third or maintainer line for seed multiplication of the male-sterile parent.

In contrast, the environment-sensitive genic male sterility (egms) system requires only 2 lines. The egms makes use of photoperiod and/or temperature to control the sterility/fertility behavior of the female parent. Under certain conditions (usually short photoperiod and/or low temperature), the egms line is male-fertile; therefore, it can be multiplied by selfing without the use of a maintainer line. Thus, aside from the simplification of egms multiplication, the 2-line system increases the frequency of heterotic hybrids, since any fertile line can be used as a male parent. The negative effects, if any, associated with sterility-inducing cytoplasm are also eliminated.

The purity of hybrid rice seeds utilizing the 2-line system is increased when the thermosensitive genic male-sterile (tgms) line possesses a low critical sterility point (csp), which minimizes self-fertility induced by temperature fluctuations during hybrid rice seed production. To identify such tgms lines at irri, Norin pl12, id24, ir32364 (tgms) and six irri-bred tgms lines derived from Norin pl12 were sown in 3-week intervals from June to December 1999. Heading date, pollen fertility and spikelet fertility were obtained from each line in every planting interval. Correlation analyses between spikelet fertility and maximum and daily mean temperatures at 1-30 days before heading were done to determine the critical stage where temperature influences the sterility/fertility expression of the tgms lines. The csp values of the tgms lines were identified through regression analyses between spikelet fertility and maximum and daily mean temperatures at the critical stage. The data showed that the critical stage for most tgms lines occurs at the developmental stages between the differentiation of secondary branch primordium and the filling stage of pollen, or approximately 24 to 5 days before heading. Norin pl12, id24, ir32364 (tgms), ir72093 and ir72096 were identified to have low csp (T_max <32^°C; T_mean <27>°C). The data indicates that evaluating for sterility in the wet season is more effective than in the dry season in identifying tgms lines with low csp. tgms lines developed using this new strategy were found to be more stable in terms of sterility expression. Preliminary evaluation of 2-line hybrids from these low-csp tgms lines showed a high frequency of heterotic combinations (77%).

V30n01p29-35. Khondker S, LS Sebastian, HM Pastor, AA Dela Cruz & DA Tabanao. 2005. Phenotypying backcrossed rice with pyramided transgenes for resistance to bacterial blight & tungro diseases

In rice, transformation has been done for many important traits related to biotic and abiotic stresses. In particular, bacterial blight (bb) and tungro in rice are two major diseases that have been given priority in this study because no effective and economical chemical control methods are yet available. In fact, management of crop losses from plant diseases by use of chemicals is no longer the preferred option. It has been realized that aside from being no longer cost-effective for many crops, chemicals are also hazardous to the environment and the general public. An alternative is the use of disease-resistant cultivars. To create such plants, the more popular method is the incorporation of a disease-resistance gene from either cultivated or wild plants.

Molecular markers that take advantage of a pcr assay could be used in a plant selection and backcross breeding program involving the transgenic lines resistant to bb and tungro. The rtsv replicase gene, proven to be an effective source of resistance to tungro, has been cloned and inserted in rice. irri scientists also have identified and restored a gene that has resistance to a wide array of bb races.

Artificial phenotyping for bacterial blight (bb) and tungro disease resistance was conducted in the screenhouse of the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) in Nueva Ecija for the bc2F1 progenies of different cross combinations. Disease reaction for bb of 249 plants in 7 cross combinations showed 189 (75.90%) plants that were resistant, 34 (13.65%) intermediate and only 24 (9.63%) susceptible. Tungro is a disease complex associated with both the rice tungro spherical virus (rtsv) and rice tungro bacilliform virus (rtbv). elisa test results for virus detection indicated that rtsv infection in all the backcross plants was 35.26%, while rtbv infection was 84.51%. This indicated that bc₂f₁ plants were resistant to rtsv but not to rtbv. Comparative evaluation of the two selection methods: (a) marker-assisted selection (mas) using only marker data, and (b) phenotypical selection for resistance gene) did not favor one selection method over the other. However, overall results suggest that mas is more efficient than the conventional method for early and vegetative growth stage selections. mas can also reduce planting area for selection as well as population size of selected plants for advanced trials of generated crosses.

V30n01p37-45. Asis Jr Constancio A & Katsuki Adachi. 2005. Endophytic bacteria associated with sweet potato & their interaction under co-culture conditions

Biological nitrogen fixation (bnf) of atmospheric nitrogen (N₂) is an important component of the nitrogen cycle in a range of ecosystems. In agriculture, legume-rhizobia symbiosis is the major form of bnf and an effective means of enhancing legume production. Recently, reports showed significant contributions of bnf by N₂-fixing endophytic bacteria associated with the stem of non-legumes. Endophytic bacteria are prokaryotes that can invade the internal portion of the host plant but do not trigger harmful reactions or disease symptoms on the plant; instead, they promote the growth of the host plant owing to their ability to produce plant growth-promoting substances and fix N from the atmosphere. Thus, exploitation of plant-diazotrophic endophyte interaction offers a promising approach to increasing bnf in non-leguminous crops.

Sweet potato is one of the most important crops in the Philippines and in the central and southern provinces of Japan. Sweet potato cv. Beniotome absorbs high amounts of N even without application of chemical N fertilizer. The mechanism by which sweet potato can attain this may not be due to residual N because of the large uptake of N in a continuous cultivation of sweet potato. A possible reason is that diazotrophic endophytes contribute to the high N uptake of sweet potato.

Endophytic bacteria have been reported to help increase crop yield by producing plant growth-promoting substances and fixing atmospheric nitrogen (N₂). Previous studies have shown a possible interaction between sweet potato and N₂-fixing (diazotrophic) endophytes. In this study, we isolated, characterized, and identified the endophytic bacteria associated with sweet potato. Moreover, the interaction between N₂-fixing and non-diazotrophic isolates was studied under co-culture conditions. The occurrence of diazotrophic endophytes in stem portions of sweet potato was examined by stem piece-incubation and acetylene reduction activity (spi-area) method using a semi-solid (1.8 grams agar/L) modified Rennie (mr) medium. Surface-sterilized and thinly sliced (1-2 mm) sweet potato stem samples were incubated in test tubes with semi-solid mr medium. The tubes were assayed for acetylene reduction activity (area) 5 days after incubation at 30^oC. Twelve isolates were obtained from solid mr agar plates (20 g agar/L) that were inoculated with a loop of semi-solid mr medium from area positive tubes. The area test of the 12 isolates showed that 9 strains were diazotrophic and 3 were non-diazotrophic. Using the api 20E diagnostic kit, 4 diazotrophic isolates were identified as strains of Pantoea spp. and 5 isolates as Klebsiella spp. The non-diazotrophs were strains of Enterobacter spp. The diazotrophic strain my1 and non-diazotrophic strain my2 were selected and identified to the species level by full sequence analysis of the 16S rrna gene. The results showed that my1 had 99.2% similarity to Pantoea agglomerans atcc 27155 and my2 had 99.5% similarity to Enterobacter asburiae atcc 35953. We also observed beneficial interaction between diazotrophic endophyte P. agglomerans my1 and non-diazotrophic endophyte E. asburiae my2. The co-culture of my1 with my2 in semi-solid mr medium resulted in an increased area of my1. Co-culture effect, however, was markedly reduced when either sucrose or malate was removed from the medium, indicating that the increase in area is probably due to the strains' efficient use of both sucrose and malate in the mr medium.

V30n01p47-51. Elmer-Rico E Mojica, Jose Rene L Micor, Gerard Paul M Leyson, Christina A Petrache & Custer C Deocaris. 2005. Rapid screening of tyrosinase inhibitors from cashew (Anacardium occidentale) nut shell liquid (CNSL) extract

Tyrosinase, also known as polyphenol oxidase, is a bifunctional, copper-containing oxidase having both cathecolase and cresolase activity. It is one of the most important key enzymes in the insect molting process; by manipulating this molting process using these enzymes, an alternative insect control agent can be discovered. It also serves as marker of melanocyte differentiation and commonly expressed by malignant melanoma. Because of these, tyrosinase inhibitors have become increasingly important for cosmetic and medicinal products in relation to hyper-pigmentation. Tyrosinase inhibitors may also control production of melanin since tyrosinase is involved in the process of melanin biosynthesis. Thus melanin synthesis inhibitors are used topically for treatment of localized hyper-pigmentation in humans such as lentigo, nevus, ephelis, post-inflammatory state and melanoma pregnancy.

Tyrosinase can be inhibited by analogues of its substrate, tyrosine. Cashew nut shell liquid (cnsl) extract from cashew (Anacardium occidentale) contains several natural phenols that can serve as analogue of tyrosine. This study tested the tyrosinase inhibitory activity of cnsl against mushroom tyrosinase and compared it with two other tyrosinase inhibitors, benzoic acid and cyanide. In addition to this, an assay downscaled to microtiter format for measuring spectrophotometric tyrosinase activity assay was also optimized. This optimized method was found to have comparable results with the standard method and it is more advantageous in terms of cost and length of time of analysis. The data showed that cnsl can significantly inhibit tyrosinase activity to a concentration as low as 0.005 mg/mL. The effect of zinc ions on the tyrosinase activity was also studied in the two methods.

V30n01p53-58. Azhiri-Sigari Tahere, Hermenegildo Gines, Leocadio S Sebastian & Len Wade. 2005. Seedling vigor of rice cultivars in response to seeding depth & soil moisture

In rainfed areas, early planting of quick-maturing varieties by direct-seeding allows farmers to plant a second crop using the soil moisture residue and late-season rainfall. Dry-seeding uses less water and labor. Direct-seeding can secure increased income. But while direct-seeding brings farmers advantages, it also brings problems such as uneven crop stand, and more competition from weeds. Soil physical and chemical properties, land preparation, seed viability, genotypic characteristics for seedling vigor, seeding depth and water management affect early crop establishment. In direct-seeding, rice seeds can be either broadcast onto the soil surface or deep-seeded. When seeds are sown and covered with soil, they are protected from desiccation, rain splashing, bird and rat attacks, and floating. The lodging resistance of direct-seeded rice can be improved thru deep-seeding.

Pot experiments were conducted at PhilRice Maligaya to evaluate the combined effects of genotype, seeding depth and soil moisture conditions on seedling growth. Two rice cultivars (psb Rc14 and psb Rc16), two seeding depths (0 cm and 3 cm) and two soil moisture conditions (ds and ws) were studied in rcbd with three replications. In the ds, soil was kept moist and aerated while in the ws, soil was thoroughly mixed with water (puddled) and maintained submerged with a thin layer of water. Ten selected seeds (density>1.10) pre-soaked for 24 hours were sown in pvc pots filled with air-dried and sieved soil (silty loam). Seedling growth was measured 25 days after seeding. The results showed that the ds seedlings were more vigorous than ws seedlings. Similarly, surface seeding resulted in more vigorous seedlings than seeding at 3-cm depth. Interaction was evident between genotype and seeding depth in relation to soil moisture condition. On the average, under ds conditions, seedling height was higher by 13.1%, leaf number by 14.9%, leaf area by 14.2%, shoot dry weight by 6.6%, root dry weight by 24.4%, total dry weight by 11.5% and root length by 8%, under ds than under ws conditions. Seeding at 3-cm depth resulted in reduced seedling height (by 9.9%), leaf number (7.2%), leaf area (14.5%), shoot dry weight (5.9%), root dry weight (14%), total dry weight (4.7%) and root length (6.3%) compared to surface seeding. The impact of deep-seeding in submerged soil was more pronounced on psb Rc14 than psb Rc16. The results suggest that selection within and among cultivars, along with modifications of cultural practices to facilitate soil aeration may further improve rice seedling vigor when deep-seeded.

2006-03-02T06:01:00.002+08:00

2004 vol 29 no 1

V29n01p01-02. Hilario Frank A. 2004. The Trojan Surprise

When Dr Conrado H Balatero, at that time cssp President, told me the professional fee I would be getting per issue was not that much, I said, ‘I have no problem with that.’ I had always welcomed challenges. Impossible? That’s for me. To me, the challenge was not the professional fee but the professional problem: the whole publishing process (from paper-ready to camera-ready) that was behind the times at the university town of Los Baños. It was an opportunity of a lifetime: Here was a 60-page journal that was supposed to come out 3 times a year and now was 13 issues late – it was 10 issues late actually, but I could not be working on my own 3 issues until I finished those 10, so it all added to 13. And here I was, writer, editor, desktop publisher, all self-taught, excited to work out my own theory of desktop publishing: People insist on either Adobe PageMaker or ms Publisher; why don’t I use my favorite software instead? And I did. PageMaker was very good and very difficult, Publisher was simpler but still too complicated to put me at ease.

So, I have been using ms Word with Excel with PowerPoint with Paint with Picture Manager, with a little help from my friends Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator. ms Word as the desktop publisher of choice? Yes, for typing, editing, proofreading, grammar-checking, working with tables & graphs & other illustrations, working with fonts and line & character spacing, doing page layouts, comparing side-by-side etc. It was a first in the publishing world as far as I know. Pre-computer, I had learned the fundamentals of writing, editing and publishing; now I had to add to my own list of tricks, techniques, not to mention learning the traps in desktop publishing by trial and error.

V29n01p03-09. Elepaño Arnold R, Reynaldo D Billate & Imelda B Drahousky. 2004. Two-stage drying as a different strategy for paddy rice

The introduction of high-yielding varieties of grain, the application of fertilizer technology and the improvement of the irrigation system have all contributed to a significant increase in paddy production in the Philippines. The vigorous sponsorship of hybrid rice by the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo government has attracted the attention of other governments such as Malaysia, Indonesia and Japan.

Drying has always been the most critical operation for preserving grain quality. High volumes of wet paddy during peak harvest, unpredictable weather conditions and lack of drying areas and facilities hinder and delay the drying process. Some of the reported constraints in the use of drying systems in humid tropics are unsuitable dryer capacity and the high cost of drying. Studies have been done on increasing drying capacity by using high drying air temperature for quick-drying paddy rice without significant damage to the grain. The problem is the proper technique for flash-drying. With the popularization of batch recirculating dryers in the Philippines, there is a need to develop a drying strategy in order to optimize dryer capacity and grain quality. Batch recirculating dryers are common but the basic problem lies on the temperature setting, which when on high definitely dries the seeds faster but results in lower quality of grain.

The general objective of the current study is the development of an improved paddy drying strategy which will result in a higher drying rate while grain quality is maintained or its loss minimized. Specifically the study aims to (1) determine the effects of drying air temperature and number of drying stages on grain quality (head rice, whiteness, milling recovery and viability) and drying rate, and thereon (2) develop a dryer operational plan that will maintain grain quality on-farm.

Drying is a key operation in maintaining the quality of rice, most especially in the humid tropics. As part of a study to explore the drying characteristics of modern cultivars, a series of experiments was conducted to determine the effects of drying air temperature on grain quality, including head rice, whiteness, milling recovery and seed viability. A thin layer-drying simulation of psb Rc54 at various temperatures and relative humidity was undertaken using a laboratory dryer, an environmental chamber fitted with a fan and a bin. The ultimate objective of the study was to develop a drying strategy which will result in faster drying rates while maintaining grain quality. Samples of 750 grams of psb Rc54 grain were dried in the laboratory dryer. Results showed that from 25% moisture content (mc) on a wet basis to 14% mc, with continuous single-temperature drying the higher air temperature dries the grains faster but reduces grain quality in terms of percent head rice. In contrast, with two-stage drying, a higher drying rate can be achieved without significant loss in grain quality. The first stage could utilize higher drying air temperature (80ºC) to remove surface moisture at high moisture content (above 18% mc wet basis), while the second stage should use lower temperature (40ºC) to reduce internal moisture to the desired level. As moisture is reduced on the surface of the grain, the internal moisture diffusion becomes significant and drying air temperature should be reduced accordingly to maintain grain quality. Results also showed that grains subjected to air temperature of 60ºC and above, whether in the first or second stage of drying, lost their viability. Therefore, for seed production purposes, drying air temperature should be below 60ºC. Milling recovery and whiteness were not significantly affected by drying air temperature. Experimental results suggest that with the existing dryers in the market, simple adjustments of the drying process can be made to increase drying rate, ie, drying capacity, while maintaining grain quality.

V29n01p11-20. Labios Romeo V, Jocelyn D Labios, Leonardo L Tamisin Jr, Manuel Q Esguerra, Edwin A Balbarino, Francisco T Dayap, Romulo C Cambaya, Edgardo C Nacario, Jupiter Tividad & Jasper O Manalo. 2004. Conservation tillage systems & farmer’s practice in corn production in the Philippines

Currently, land preparation is one of the major farm operations that require considerable labor and/or capital resource and which farmers are willing to invest in. Tillage operations are performed to create suitable soil conditions for seeding and establishment of the crop. Conventional tillage systems consist of a series of plowing, harrowing and disking to produce a fine seedbed soil and provide an environment free of weeds. However, depending on the intensity of the overall operation, it is also known that this operation is a cause of soil erosion especially in sloping lands, a cause of soil structure destruction and soil water loss (via evaporation and runoff). Further, intensive tillage systems result in a decrease in soil organic matter and biodiversity (Biamah et al 2000). Tillage practices contribute greatly to the total labor cost in any crop production system, resulting in lower economic returns.

Considering all that, conservation tillage systems, such as zero and minimum tillage, may be introduced to offset the production cost and other costs associated with land preparation. It is noted that reduced or conservation tillage systems are gaining more attention in recent years with the rising concern over natural resource degradation. Conservation tillage is the practice of limiting the intensity and frequency of tillage operations while retaining plant residues in place. Thus, conservation tillage decreases the time and energy required for crop establishment with reduction in or complete elimination of the number of tillage operations applied. Further, when the soil surface is left undisturbed, soil moisture is conserved at a time when dry periods are a problem. In sloping upland areas, soil loss is minimized if not totally eliminated.

The potential of conservation tillage systems to improve corn yields while reducing production costs and conserving soil and water resources was tested through on-farm trials in 3 municipalities in 3 provinces, namely San Jose in Mindoro Occidental, Calabanga in Camarines Sur, and Mahaplag in Leyte. A total of 11 farmer-partners cooperated in the conduct of the study. Treatments included conventional tillage, minimum tillage, zero tillage and farmer’s tillage, which were tested either as single factor or in factorial with corn variety and with fertilizer. Results in Mindoro and Leyte revealed that variations in grain yield were mainly due to tillage practices. Moreover, conservation tillage practices, ie, zero tillage for Mindoro and minimum tillage for Leyte, resulted in the highest grain yield of about 5.29 tons/ha for both Mindoro and Leyte. In the case of Camarines Sur, yield was not significantly affected by any of the treatment combinations applied (tillage x variety). Zero tillage obtained the highest grain yield (2.88 tons/ha), followed closely by minimum tillage with 2.79 tons/ha. From these trials, there are indications that conservation tillage management generally results in higher grain yield than farmer’s tillage. Conservation tillage is thus a viable option for corn production. Benefits obtained in adopting conservation tillage is further realized in terms of economic returns, where the highest net benefit is obtained due to the lowest production costs. In addition, when the soil surface is left undisturbed, soil moisture is conserved at a time when and in places where long dry periods are a problem.

V29n01p21-27. Corales RG, LM Juliano, AOV Capistrano, HS Tobias, NV Dasalla, SD Cañete, MC Casimero & LS Sebastian. 2004. Palayamanan: A rice-based farming systems model for small-scale farmers

Palayamanan is a term coined from the words palayan (ricefield) and kayamanan (wealth), which then refers to a field where more wealth is created based on rice as well as some other crops. In the model established at PhilRice Maligaya, the concept is translated in terms of diversified rice-based farm operations. The Palayamanan diversified farming system has been designed as an alternative system of production that may solve some of the major concerns related to intensive rice production. Intensive rice production leads to long-term biophysical changes that threaten the ecological sustainability of farming as reflected in the loss of diversity, declining productivity, falling profitability, input inefficiencies, and environmental and health risks. All these factors have serious implications for economic sustainability. Productivity of most multiple cropping systems is higher in terms of harvestable products per unit area given with the same levels of management as those of sole crops. Total biomass is also higher and helps to increase sustainability of the farm. Animal integration into the farm system is important in increasing food security by diversifying the food-generating activities of the farm and transforming nutrients and energy between animals and crops. Farm diversification into livestock extends the risk reduction strategies beyond multiple cropping and thus increase the overall economic stability of the farm.

The low income generated from conventional farming systems due to the increasing cost of rice production relative to the price of paddy rice makes it necessary for farmers to look for other alternative sources of income elsewhere to meet their food and cash demands. Attractive wages from industrial and service sectors lure most family members to migrate temporarily or permanently away from the farm, potentially leading to family degeneration and discontinuance of agriculture as an occupation in the future.

The Palayamanan model of diversified integrated rice-based farming system developed and established by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) is composed of synergistically compatible farming ventures such as rice, onion, poultry, livestock, and aquaculture. The model farm has been established in six state colleges and universities and a research center in the country. The system employs practical, cost-saving and yield-enhancing management practices. The system includes microbial technology as an added dimension of the management practices to facilitate farm operations, improve the resource base and reduce overall operational costs. The system aims to maximize the utilization of resources, reduce farming risks, enhance sustainability, productivity and profitability, and improve economic stability, food security and hopefully better relationship among members of a farm family. A one-hectare diversified farm can sustain most of the daily food requirements, incidental expenses from fast-growing crops, and provide considerable income from animals, fish, and seasonal field crops. Maximum utilization of on-farm biomass residues for nutrient sources and animal feeds using microbial technology improves the efficiency of the system and also reduces the operating expenses. Three workers or a family of six members can operate the farm.

V29n01p29-39. Bergantin Reynaldo V, Akira Yamauchi, Jose R Pardales Jr & Dioscoro M Bolatete Jr. 2004. Screening cassava genotypes for resistance to water deficit during crop establishment

Increasingly, water scarcity is becoming a universal problem at the present time. Report shows that water insufficiency threatens the food supply of nearly 3 billion people, as well as the productivity of many ecosystems around the world. Currently, some 450 million people in 29 countries face water shortage problems. By 2025, about 2.7 billion people in 29 countries will live in regions facing severe water scarcity. Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, containing the most heavily populated and poorest regions in the world, will be most severely affected. With the growing world population and increasing water scarcity, major efforts and strategies in agriculture have to be geared towards sustaining crop production and increasing productivity under limited water resources. Among the crops in cultivation today, root crops deserve particular attention not only because many of the world’s poorest and most food-insecure households are highly dependent on these crops as a contributing, if not the principal, source of food, nutrition, and cash income, but also that the crops’ individual ability to grow even in areas with limited water supply can be exploited to help ensure food security, especially that about 2 billion people in the tropics and subtropics depend on these crops for their sustenance and livelihood.

Although known to be drought-resistant, cassava is usually constrained in its development and productivity by lack of soil moisture especially during the earlier stages of growth, hence the need for screening for resistance. The performance of 28 cassava genotypes under deficit soil moisture content (smc) of 10% was studied during their establishment period. The plants were grown in plastic pots (24.5 cm wide, 26.5 cm deep) that were filled with sandy loam soil and kept under a rain shelter covered with transparent acetate 0.08 mm thick. This study was undertaken to determine the vegetative and physiological traits in juvenile cassava plants that may confer drought resistance to the crop. The results showed that with reference to the well-watered plants (25% smc), the plant height, number of leaves, and total shoot dry weight were significantly (P≤0.01) reduced by lack of water supply. In terms of variety, these traits varied significantly (P≤0.01) in their degree from one variety to another. In droughted plants, the stomatal resistance was significantly higher (P≤0.01) and the rate of transcription significantly lower (P≤0.05) than in the well-watered controls. The effect of water regime on leaf water potential (ψL) and water use efficiency (wue) was not at all significant, however. The values of these physiological traits generally varied among the varieties, although significant effects (P≤0.01) were noted only for ψL but not for transpiration rate. Overall, the results made it possible for some genotypes to be identified as resistant to limited soil water supply. With the well-watered plants as basis, genotypes that performed well under limited soil water conditions were observed to manifest any of the following traits: lesser inhibition in shoot vegetative development, higher stomatal resistance, lower rate of transpiration, higher dry biomass, and higher wue.

V29n01p41-50. Valencia LD, MP Natural, GG Divinagracia & VN Villegas. 2004. Streptomycin resistance in anthuriums and sources of host resistance to Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. diefenbachiae

Anthurium (Anthurium andraeanum Linden ex Andre) is a perennial herbaceous plant usually cultivated for its attractive and long-lasting flowers. The flower is a complex of colorful modified leaf (spathe) and hundreds of small flowers in a pencil-like protrusion (spadix) rising from the base of the spathe. The plant produces flowers throughout the year. Because of its quality and export potential in the cutflower industry, it commands a high price in the market and has encouraged many people to mass-produce anthuriums. The anthurium in Hawaii supports one of the most important cutflower industries. In the Philippines, it has become a very popular backyard industry where anthurium growers own from 500 to 1,000 plants while others maintain about 30,000 to 50,000 plants. The anthurium farm in Tahiti has been estimated at 62 acres (24.8 ha) with production average of 463 dozens a week, valued at $7,000. In Jamaica, out of the estimated 779 acres (311.6 ha) grown to ornamentals, 103 acres (41.2 ha) are in anthurium, where it provides useful employment and is becoming a source of much-needed foreign exchange. Despite the potential of anthuriums, however, profitability and competitiveness of the industry are threatened due to problems brought about by diseases like bacterial blight.

Isolates of Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. dieffenbachiae (Xad) totalling 123 were collected in Los Baños and tested in-vitro for comparative reactions and characterization. The heterogeneous nature of the bacterium was determined by studying the isolates’ capacity to hydrolyze starch, their streptomycin resistance and serological reaction to a monoclonal antibody. Among the isolates, 33 were found resistant to 50 ppm streptomycin; of the 33, 29 were found resistant to 200 ppm, 17 to 500 ppm, 16 to 1,000 and 12 to 2,000 ppm streptomycin. Fifty-eight (58) isolates were able to hydrolyze starch, forming clear zones around streaks of isolates upon application of Gram’s iodine. The starch hydrolyzers grew more rapidly on starch agar medium than the non-starch hydrolyzers. Out of 123 Xad isolates, 62 reacted positively to a monoclonal antibody (MAb Xcd 108) developed in Hawaii, by indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (elisa) read at absorbance 410 nm. With the use of isolate Xad 1-7, screening of cultivars and hybrids for resistance to bacterial blight showed that only one was resistant and 4 were moderately resistant. Blushing Innocence was resistant while Red Hybrid-13, Pink Hybrid-2, Pink Hybrid-8 and Gloria Angara were moderately resistant. With the use of Xad Ob-5, no cultivar was rated resistant, while Gloria Angara, Blushing Innocence, Pink Hybrid-2 and Pink Hybrid-8 were moderately resistant.

V29n01p51-58. Azhiri-Sigari T, LJ Wade, CG McLaren, ST Amarante, CG Ramos,. MC Casimero & LS Sebastian. 2004. Delayed planting of rainfed lowland rice in areas with short-season rains

Worldwide, about 40 million ha or approximately 28% of the total rice growing area, are planted with lowland rice. More than 90% of the area planted to rainfed lowland rice (rlr) is in Asia. In the Philippines, rlr occupies 1.2 million ha or 35% of the total rice area. rlr encounters an environment more complex than most other rainfed crops. Because it is grown in bounded fields without water control, hydrological conditions may fluctuate and plants may suffer from submergence and/or drought stress, with major consequences for root growth, nutrient availability, and weed competition. Plant performance is highly variable and unpredictable; yields are strongly influenced by several plant characteristics, and by spatial heterogeneity over soil types, topographic sequences and hydrological conditions. These variables, in turn, interact with the cultivar chosen and the cultural practices employed. As a result, the interaction between genotypes and environment is highly significant, complicating the task of identifying an improved cultivar or developing a better cultural practice.

On-time and synchronized planting of rice plants are important factors ensuring less risk of failure in rainfed lowland environments. By delayed and non-synchronized planting, rice yield may be adversely affected by the compound effect of late-season drought and heavy insect and pest infestations. To compare different rice varieties under such adverse conditions and to identify growth characteristics pertaining to their adaptability, a total of 40 rice lines including 8 reference lines (rl), 30 dihaploid lines (dhl), and 2 locally adapted varieties (psb Rc14 and psb Rc60), were transplanted in Guimba, Nueva Ecija, in a lattice design with 2 replications in 1.25 x 5 m plots with 25 x 25 cm spacing. The plots were fertilized with 90 kg/ha N (in 2 splits), 45 kg P₂O₅/ha, and 45 kg K₂O/ha. One half of N and all the P and K were applied before transplanting, and the remaining N was given 45 days after transplanting (dat). Water table depth in each replication, depth of impounded water, time of appearance and disappearance of impounded water in each plot, phenological events, plant height and tiller count, were recorded. Thirty hills from the center of each plot were harvested from for grain yield, and 10 panicles were randomly picked for the measurement of yield components. At harvest, tiller count/0.25m² and number of panicles/m² were also recorded. With appropriate analysis of data, the means (adjusted) were compared with one another and the significance of differences was tested using the t-test with necessary adjustments (Turkey-Kramer method).

Results showed that delayed transplanting exposed the lines to conditions of short period of rain and the onset of late-season drought which, together with heavy infestation of pests and diseases, prevented a number of lines from producing grains. Among the rls, ir36 yielded highest (2,549 kg/ha), followed by psb Rc44 (2,146), ir62266 (2,057) and ir52561 (1,465). Only 14 of the dhls produced grains, ranging from 2,157 kg (ir68586-CA-20) to only 266 kg/ha(ir68586-CA-24). Great variations for yield and growth characteristics were indicative of spatial heterogeneity of growth conditions. Early maturing lines, which withstood heavy occurrences of diseases and pests and escaped the late-season drought, were able to produce panicles and use the residual soil moisture to complete their growth cycle. Early planting and use of early-maturing cultivars ensure an adequate water supply and minimize the risk of late-season drought in a rainfed ecosystem.