BY LEANDER C. DOMINGO
KASIBU, Nueva Vizcaya (August 31)—To boost the citrus industry in this upland town, the Department of Agriculture-Nueva Vizcaya Experiment Station (DA-NVES) has introduced a balanced fertilization and pesticide use strategy, particularly in the citrus plantation in the villages of Binogawan and Malabing.
According to Gov. Carlos Padilla, citrus production in the province of Nueva Vizcaya began when farmers started planting citrus in Malabing Valley in this town.
Padilla said it was in the late 1960s when Alfonso Namujhe Jr. started planting citrus in the province the moment he discovered that the mountain soil and temperature are both ideals for citrus growth.
“Nueva Vizcaya is also becoming well-known for our citrus fruits. Our rich farmlands boast to produce high-quality citrus products which makes it the Citrus Capital of the Philippines,” he said.
Padilla said citrus production in the province can be found in the highlands of this town, a municipality favored with climate and soil suitable for the production of citrus fruits but for many years it was challenged by a disease that almost killed the industry.
On August 26, the DA-NVES led by manager Arsenio Apostol Jr. conducted a field day in balanced fertilization and pesticide use strategy showcasing technologies of optimum use of inorganic, organic and biological fertilizers, and pesticides.
Apostol said DA-NVES introduced fertilizer application which combined the use of inorganic application based on the result of soil laboratory analysis and five kilograms (kgs) per citrus tree of agricultural lime, two kgs per tree organic fertilizer (processed chicken manure), and biological fertilizer such as 60 grams per tree Mykovam.
He said DA-NVES observed that previously, citrus farmers practice the application of fertilizer that is mostly inorganic and chicken dung.
“We are encouraging citrus growers to take good care of their citrus through the adoption of appropriate technologies to lengthen the lifespan of their citrus,” Apostol said.
In terms of pest management, aside from the use of recommended inorganic and organic pesticides, the use of biological control agents (BCAs) was highlighted during the field day.
DA-NVES explained that the BCAs used were entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium sp., Beauveria sp., and Isaria sp., a product of Nueva Vizcaya State University (NVSU).
It added that any of these BCAs were applied at a kilo per 200 liters of water per hectare during flushing, flowering (pre-bloom), fruitlet stage, quail egg fruit size and ping pong ball fruit size.
Director Rose Mary Aquino of the DA Regional Technical Division for Research, Regulations, Finance and Administrative Concerns expressed gratitude to all partners in implementing this project.
The partners are the local government unit (LGU) here and the provincial government, Nueva Vizcaya Agricultural Terminal, NVSU, NVES researchers, and 13 farmer-cooperators (FCs) including the citrus farmers.
“These technologies are of great help to improve the quality and increase yield and income. That’s why we are also encouraging our 13 FCs to spread the technologies they learn to other citrus growers,” Aquino said.
She said these FCs can be resource persons during training on citrus and convert their sites as farm learning sites of the Agricultural Training Institute.
Farmer learning sites
A farmer cooperator, Lorenzo Calingayan expressed thanks to the DA Region 2 for introducing the research on balanced fertilization and pesticide use strategy which resulted in better yield in his citrus plantation.
Calingayan said he was able to harvest 400 trays of citrus at 18 to 20 kilos per tray and sold them at P40 to P45 per kilo.
He added that for the past seven years, his citrus plantation was not productive due to a disease attacking the plants and that he was about to uproot them and plant other crops instead.
Another farmer cooperator, Leonida Trinidad also expressed thanks to DA Region 2 for the technology it provided against a disease that affected the citrus growers in Malabing Valley.
“The quality of our citrus is now better and with the new technology, we have decreased our expenses for fertilizers and pesticides,” Trinidad said.
Meanwhile, Daniel Bartong, Malabing Multipurpose Coop manager, also noted that with the rising cost of inputs, the research done by DA Region 2 helped them in cost-cutting and learning how to maximize the use of fertilizer.
“We hope to maintain the quality of our citrus and be able to increase production so that we can supply the citrus requirements of Visayas and Mindanao,” Bartong said.
Dr. Wilfredo Dumale, NVSU vice president for research and extension, expressed his strong support for the citrus industry.
“What we also need is concerted and collaborative efforts and capacity building in addressing issues and concerns and in responding to the needs of the citrus industry,” Dumale said.