Text and Photos by Henrylito D. Tacio
After the long drought season caused by El Niño, here comes the rainy days.
Experts at the Philippine Rice Institute (PhilRice) are urging Filipino farmers to plant appropriate varieties and adopting right technologies in rice farming.
Dr. Norvie Manigbas, head of PhilRice’s Plant Breeding and Biotechnology Division, advised farmers to plant varieties which stand at most 100 centimeters and with strong stems that can withstand 40-60 kilometers per hour (kph) wind speed.
Some of these varieties are PSB Rc14, Rc68, NSIC Rc9, and Rc222.
“Rainfed areas are also prone to flooding. The varieties suited for this condition are PSB Rc18 (Ala), which can withstand 5-7 days of complete submergence, NSIC Rc194 (Submarino 1), which can survive, grow, and develop even after 10-14 days of complete submergence, and PSB Rc68 (Sacobia), a submergence-tolerant and a drought-resistant variety,” Manigbas said.
Among the recommended varieties which have higher yields are Rc222 (10 tons per hectare) and RC18 (8.1 tons per hectare). Rc14 has a maximum yield of 6.1 tons per hectare while Rc68 gives a maximum yield of 4.4 tons per hectare. Rc194 has the least maximum yield: 3.5 tons per hectare.
“These are the maximum yields that the farmers could get under stressed conditions,” Manigbas said.
Additionally, PhilRice also emphasizes reduction of fertilizer application rates. Manigbas reminded that while fertilizers are beneficial to plants, in high amounts, they may cause lodging.
“Fertilizers cannot be maximized, as there is a limited amount of sunlight during the rainy season. Depending on soil analysis results and recommended nutrient requirement rates, it is better to reduce fertilizer application rates by 20-30% in wet season,” Manigbas explained.
There are four major kinds of rice culture: rainfed paddy, upland rice, deep-water rice and irrigated lowland rice. Rainfed paddy culture is the most common in South and Southeast Asia.
Rainfed paddy culture depends on monsoonal rains to soften the fields for plowing, harrowing and planting and to keep the seedling roots submerged. It is the least demanding, most erratic and cheapest method of cultivation. If rainfall is too little or too much or at the wrong time, the yield may be disastrously low.
Under rainfed conditions, Manigbas encouraged farmers to practice synchronous planting in their communities. Doing so reduces incidence of pests and diseases in a specific area, thus minimizing yield loss.
Dry land preparation is also desired so farmers can do direct-seeding when the rain comes. With this technique, the seeds will start to germinate within 5 days, PhilRice claims.
Manigbas explained that under irrigated lowland conditions, land preparation should be done at the onset of heavy rains so that fields are well-soaked in water. Levees and dikes should be repaired to avoid water loss.
Farmers can use the wet bed or dapog method for seed establishment depending on field conditions. PhilRice also suggests proper drainage to avoid flooding, use of machines during land preparation, harvesting, threshing, and drying to save time and labor.
“Time is vital during the wet season especially during harvest. As the rain usually comes in the afternoon, we suggest the use of combine harvester to hasten harvesting operations. If it is unavailable, farmers can use reaper and collect the straws for threshing,” Manigbas explained.
He emphasized the importance of finishing field operations in the shortest possible time to prevent yield loss.
PhilRice also recommends drying of palay in flatbed dryers and on nylon nets or canvas for easier turnover when the rain comes.
“The general rule is to harvest and thresh the crop within a short period of time and dry the seeds to a desired moisture content (usually 14%),” Manigbas pointed out.
Rice has been cultivated for such countless ages that its origin must always be a matter of conjecture.Â
In his book simply titled, Rice, D.H. Gist wrote: “We do not know the country of origin of rice, but the weight of evidence points to the conclusion that the center of origin of rice is southeast Asia, particularly India and Indo-China, where the richest diversity of cultivated forms has been recorded.”
Cultivation of rice dates to the earliest age of man. Carbonized paddy grains and husks, estimated to date 1000 to 800 B.C. have been found in excavations at Hastinapur in Uttar Pradesh, India. Specimens of rice have been discovered in China dating from the third millennium B.C. and the Chinese term for rice appears in inscriptions during from the second millennium B.C.
Paddy cultivation is of great antiquity in the Philippines. It is thought that immigrant people from south China in the second millennium B.C. constructed the wonderful system of terraces on the mountainsides of Banaue and its neighboring areas. These people were reportedly driven into the hills by subsequent invasions of Malays.
“The history of rice cultivation in the country dates back at least 3,000 years,” wrote Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, author of Rice is Life: A Review of Philippine Studies. “The building of rice terraces came a bit later. As early as 1521, the Tagalog vocabulary for the cultivation of rice was already rich, indicating the technology already available in the Tagalog region.”
Swidden planted to rice was called “bukid” as opposed to irrigated fields, called “tubigan.”
Although rice is basically a complex carbohydrate, its protein contains all eight of the essential amino acids found in many other foods. Low in sodium and fat, with no cholesterol or gluten, it is a boon to weight worriers and those allergic to other grains. It is also low in fiber and easily digested.
So important is rice to Filipino culture that the late epicurean Doreen Fernandez wrote: “If we did not have rice, our deepest comfort food, we would probably feel less Filipino.”
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