DA chief unveils new rice technologies

Agriculture Sec. Proceso J. Alcala led the presentation of new rice technologies to thousand farmers during the Lakbay Palay hosted by the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) at Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija, April 2.

Along with PhilRice officials, Alcala showed the newly released varieties, Metarhizium anisopliae in powdered form, rice crop manager, rototiller, and nutri-rice milk.

The six varieties for saline, rainfed, and irrigated lowland have potential yield ranging from 6 t/ha, even in adverse condition, to 12 t/ha. They have good eating quality and are resistant to pests and diseases such as stem borer, green leaf hopper, brown leaf hopper, bacterial leaf blight, sheath blight, and blast.

NSIC Rc324 (Salinas 10), NSIC Rc346 (Sahod Ulan 11), NSIC Rc308 (Tubigan 26), NSIC Rc298 (Tubigan 23), and NSIC Rc318H (Mestiso 48) are also early-maturing that can be harvested from 104 to 114 days.

NSIC Rc342SR (Mabango 4) is an aromatic special purpose rice with a potential yield of 7 t/ha. Maturing in 114 days, it is resistant to blast, bacterial leaf blight, sheath blight, stem borer, and green leaf hopper.

Meanwhile, Metarhizium anisopliae, a fungal microbial agent that controls rice black bug, was developed in powder form as an alternative pest management strategy.

Dr. Gerardo F. Estoy, product developer, said the powdered biological agent is environment-friendly and does not pose risks to humans and animals. It does not also leave residues on crops and is cheaper than chemical pesticides.

Rice Crop Manager, on the other hand, is an internet-based device used in identifying nutrient applications. By accessing http://webapps.irri.org/ph/rcm, farmers receive location-specific nutrient recommendations based on farmers’ practices, rice varieties, and farm environment.

Researchers Dr. Manuel Jose Regalado and Wilfredo Collado said that Rice Crop Manager can help increase farmers` net income by P4,500 per hectare.

In addition, rototiller is a land preparation machine that reduces labor cost while the nutri-rice milk is a healthy drink made from germinated brown rice containing Gamma Amino Butyric Acid, which improves brain and cardiovascular functions and can slow down the effects of aging.

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