MMSU researches shine in BAR nat’l research symposium

Batac CITY—Three scientific research papers of the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) received awards in the 25^th national research symposium (NRS) conducted by the Department of Agriculture – Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) in Diliman, Quezon City held October 16-17, 2013.

The research on Predicting rice yield from multi-temporal satellite data using artificial neural network by Nathaniel R. Alibuyog and his co-workers won third place in the technology for generation (TG) category with a prize of P50,000 and a plaque of recognition.

On the other hand, the papers on the Evaluation of light bulbs and the use of foliar fertilizer during off-season production of dragon fruit by Leonardo T. Pascua and Maura Luisa Gabriel; and the Pesticidal activity and product formulation of different plant extracts for organic vegetable production in the Ilocos by Leticia A. Lutap and company were qualifiers and were not allowed for presentation. However, both papers received P10,000 each and a certificate of recognition.

Alibuyog’s research involved the monitoring the growth of rice and forecasting its yield before harvest season. This, he said, is very important for crop and food management.

The researcher used remote sensing images which are capable of identifying crop health and predicting its yield. The study explored the potentials of the artificial neural network (ANN) model for developing rice yield prediction systems using the multi-temporal satellite data.

The study used the 16-day composite TERRA MODIS satellite images which the researcher downloaded from the internet from November 2010 to April 2011 to predict rice yield in the province of Ilocos Norte. Two ANN rice yield prediction models, namely RiceMod3 and RiceMod5, were developed.

Results showed that RiceMod3 and RiceMod5 were quite efficient in capturing the complex relationship between rice yield and crop spectral signature with R2 values of 0.542 and 0.732, respectively. 

The ability of RiceMod3 to reasonably forecast the expected rice yield prior to the harvesting date provides some opportunities for a farmer to make decisions before harvest. As such, it may prove useful to use the model to provide farm advisories. The RiceMod5, on the contrary, may prove useful to provide timely prediction of crop yield over large areas and could be used as an alternate method for crop yield survey.

On the other hand, Pascua’s research involved the use of 6-Watt light emitting diode (LED) bulbs in inducing dragon cactus to flower during off season months.

Results showed that dragon cactus plants can be induced to flower if they are provided with supplemental lighting between 10:00 o’clock in the evening until 2:00 o’clock the following morning using LED and compact fluorescent bulbs.

After a six-month period, plants lighted with 6-Watt LED bulbs gave P86,726 net income, while those lighted with 26-Watt CFL and 100-Watt incandescent bulb (IB) gave P82,421 and P26,647 net income, respectively.

Meanwhile, Lutap research showed an easy way to make pesticides and fungicides from plant extracts which are effective in controlling common insect pests and diseases attacking high value commercial crops.

Extracts derived from snake weed, yellow ginger, betle, banana bush, Mexican poppy, lantana, sticky spider flower, aloe vera, garlic wastes, and tibak leaves contain substances effective in controlling tomato fruitworms, thrips, mites and beetle pests; and diseases like tomato blight, purple blotch  and cercospora leaf spot on garlic.

These pests and diseases, according to the researchers, are known to reduce the yields of farmers by as much as 40 to 90 percent. Tests showed that compounds present in these extracts have ovicides, insecticides, and anti-feedants properties. Ovicides kill eggs of insect pests, while anti-feedants destroy the pest’s appetite on the host plant.

When applied as biological pesticides and fungicides, the plant extracts have markedly reduced the pest’s growth such as the number of larval and pupal days and the premature mortality of treated larvae. The formulated products are as effective as the commercial chemical pesticides and fungicides commonly used by farmers.