Noles : Fruits for o l l seosons. ..................2

Our fruii industry: Where we stond ........3

lmproving mongo production usingindigenous 1echniques..........................5

lmproving'Monilo super' withg iberel I ic ocid......................................6

Strengthening the citrus industryin Nuevo Vizcoyo .........7

He grows citrus the scientific woy... ......9

Yocon: The opple of the eorth ........,...'l0

tssN 1655-3934

urT

Cover slory: The potentiol of drogonfruit............... .............l I

The ovion flu: A menoceto the public ..............,l 5

Benefiiting from iilopio coge culture:The story of Mong Teddy....................17

A medicol doctor's love offoir withmongosleen.... ...........'1 9

Coco-biodiesel : Alternote energysource............ ...........20

Pinoy's coconet goes globol.. ............21

IBINDIdHSTfiofficial publication of the Bureau of Agricultural Research- Department of Agriculture ":i:[:ffii"tYti'T""%"

T/* potortn/DRAGONI

BARntcr,SrALVIN V. DIVINAGRACIA. Ph.D.

Editorial Direction

RITA T. DELA CRUZ

M a n agi n g Ed ito r/ L ay o ut

[4ARIA LIZBETH SEVERA J ERRONNRITAT. DELA CRUZ

MIKO JAZMINE J. MOJICAWriters

MARLOWE U. AQUINO, Ph.D.

VIRGINIAA. DULDULAO, Ph.D.

ROLANDO V. KINTANA, DVMContributors

ANTHONY C. CONSTANTINO

Pnnt Manager

JULIAA, LAPITAN

VICTORIA G. RAMOS

Circulation

VIRGINIAA. DULDULAO, Ph.D,

D ev e lo p m e nt Co m m u n ic ati o n Specia/ist

NICOMEDES P ELEAZAR CESO IVAdviser

BAR R&D Digest is published bY theBureau of Agricultural Research(BAR), a bureau of the Department ofAgriculture mandated to ensure thatall agricultural research iscoordinated and undertaken formaximum utility to agriculture. Thisquarterly publication contains articlesthat are based on studies conductedby NaRDSAF-member institutions.

For subscription and questions,please contact:Applied Communication SectionManagement InFormationSystems Division (MISD)Bureau of Agricultural ResearchDepartment of Agriculture3/F RDMIC Bldg., Visayas Ave,cor. Elliptical Rd., DilimanQuezon City 1104

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xArticles are also available online.Visit our website at:httptlwww.bar.gov.ph

*Articles may be rePrinted withpermission from the editorial director

I Frults forqll seqsonsBy ALVIN V DIVINAGRACIA, Ph.DL

ince my childhood, I mustcon{ess thoi I om on ovidfruit eoter. As o child, I

remember thot it wos stondordhouse policy io hove o {ruit oriwo on the toble. Port o{ thischildhood experience is myknow'edge o{ which trees in ourcommunity produced thesweetest or the bigoer fruits.Since then, I olwoys en joy mymeols with o fruit in seoson.

Most of us ossociote thefruil seoson with the summermonths. You will be surprisedthoi in terms o{ diversity ondobundonce, this port o{ the yeoris equolly i{ not the undisputed{ruiti ng seoson. A iestimony toihis csserlion is glimpsed in osurvey o{ Philipplne festivois.During these n'onihs, wecelebrote o number of fruit{estivols porticulor in the Visoyosond Mindonoo, ond more so insorne Souiheosi Asion countries.

It rnrcrs for this reoson ihotwe decidecl to hove the {rultindustr,v os our feolure story {orihis issue. Tlre fruit industry sone briqhl spot o{ ourcrgriculture sector. ll crccountsfor o substcrntiol chunk of growthin lorrr ltrociuclr',, iy ct rrcl rrcotne1thc Cour'tr'y. Ou ,.,rjo'ogricullurol exporls ore {ruils or{ruii bosed \n/e believe ihol ilseorninq poienticrl wiLl contrnue to

flourish ond provide susloinedexporl eornings for the countrycs well os lnitiote nrultipliereffecls Io spur ogribusinessinvestments in the countryside.

ln spite of ourobundonce in fruits, it is sod tonote ihot Filipinos ore the lowestper coprtol consumer o{ f ruiis inSoutheost Asio, ond the trend lsdeclining. Whot on irony, giverrour noturol endowmenis os 0fruit producer, we ore notenloylnq the obundonce ondbenefits o{ the {ruits we hove.There ore mony recrsons for thissituotion ond we brought themup in our oriicles on ihis issue.Also, we ore dishing {onvordexciting {ruiis, drogon{ruit ondy0con, thot ore ihe current foncyo{ fruit growers. I hope thot our{eoture stories on fruits willprovide you o brighter picture o{whot lies oheod cnd renew ourinlerest on the fruit industry.

There crre siill monyendemic f ruits where potenlicrlswe hove not explored, i'nucl'more evolved into c ncscentindusiry. Perhcrps, rr our {uiureissues we r^rili re,.'isit sorre o{them. Till ther, lLrrge you loIrove {ruits, pcrrticu orly our'Philrpprne fru ts, {or your srrcrcksor desser-l. ll wrii go o long woyto irnprove yolr heolth crrrcl grvescr shoi irr the crrm to Philipprne

BAR R&D Drgest: July-Septernber 2OO5

T[.IE I)HILI PI'INE FRLJTT INDT TSTRY

Our fruit indusfry: Where we slqndBy MARIA LIZBEIH SEVER\ J BARONA

n ind usirythot feedsihe fomilies

ot 10.3 millionFilipino producerswhile providing {orihe foncyindulgences o{ theWest bringing inbilltons of dollorsworth of trode isgood news.

The

Philippine fruitindusiry moy beone of the fewindusiries in thecountry thot is not

I ph9l6 56uv6s dolocvc.gov.ph

wollowing {rom either odecreosing trend in production, orlock of morkei - the commono{flictions of the ogriculture sector.

ln foct, dotq show thot theirend in oreo plonted to fruits,volume of production, volue o{produclion, ond volue of exportond import hove been on osieody rise {or ihe lost decode.There wos on overoge growth roteof 1 .16% {or oreos plonted iofruits from 1991 ro 1999.

Despite {indings thot itneeds more ottention in terms ofreseorch ond development, thecourrtr"y's {ruit industry loys cloimio over $ lB billion on biloteroltrode wilh the United Slotes, oneof ihe lorgest economies in theworld, ond enioys o positiveirrpression in the world rnorket,especiolly bonono, pineopple,crrrd mcngo.

The moin ployersSobo is the bonono

cultivor thot is produced the most,

followed by Covendish - thecultivor being exported - Lokotonond Bungu/on.

From I 99 4 , lhe cou nlry'sbonono export hos been increosingby on over0ge of 2.5 onnuolly.These exporls moy either be fresh,or os chips, crockers, cotsup, flour,or blossom. After lndio, Ecuodor,ond Brozil, the Philippines is the 4'nbonono-producing country in theworld, shoring the ploce withChino.

Doio from l99B ro 2002show thot we ore fhe 3'' moiorbonono-exporling country, behindEcuodor ond Cosio Rico. Jopon,the 4"' lorgest bonono importingcountry in ihe world, imporls Bl%o{ its bonono supply {rom theP h ilip p in es.

From o domestic poini ofview, 63ok of our tolol bcrnonoexport goes to Jopon. SouthKoreo, the Uniied Arob Emlrotes,ond Toiwon cornplete the top {ourroll wilh 9%,7%, and 60/o,respectively. Southern Mindonoo

yields the mostbqnono produce inthe cou ntry,followed by CentrolMindonoo,CARAGA region,Cogoyon Volley,ond WesternVisoyos.

Mongoen joys on evenmore encourogingposition in terms oforeo of production.It enioys onaveroge growthrote of 8.9% since

1994 to 1998. Consequently,production increosed with on onnuolgrowth roie o{ l6% during the someperiod o{ time. This trend mode usthe 9" mongo-producing country inthe world. The mo jor mongo-producing regions in the country orellocos, Cogoyon Volley, SoutherrrTogolog, ond Western Visoyos.

While 90% of mongoproduced is sold ond consumedfresh, processed mongo, such osdried, iuice ond syrup concentroie,ond food preserves, is goininggrounds boih in the locol ondinternotionol morket.

The sorne things con be soido{ pineopple, of which we conlributel7% of the world's supply io theworld. Mindoncro, the countrys foodbosket is dubbed such for nothing osNorthern Mindonoo coughs up thebiggest pineopple produce in thecouniry, followed by SouthernMindonoo, Southern Togolog, BicolRegion, ond Cogoyon Volley.

The issue in pineoppleproduction in'fhe counlrv is tnol

-

BAR R&D Dig:est: JuIy-Septernl:er 2OOS

THE PHILIPPINE FRUIT INDUSTRY

.. ' e ... - ore second only to'..r crrrd irr terrns o{ produclion,

35'. cf Thoilond s pineopplei-i c;rrlotiorrs belong to former-stcr keholders, while in thePnilippines, the sorne percentogebelongs to muliinoiionol componieslike Dole.

Fruits ond R&DStudies hove shown thot

reseorch ond development supportgiven to the fruit industry hos beenminimol, hoving received 0.34% olihe GVA for reseorch. But thisobviously did not slow down theperformonce of the fruit sector, ondhow it hod conlribuied to thecountry's economy. Even with themodest iinonciol ottenlion given lothe sector, technologies developedpushed it to the stotus it enioystodoy.

The high export potentiol ofbonono is boosted by technologies,thot ore found helpful to the industry.This include: o) moss propogotion o{diseose-{ree bonono plontingmoteriols through tissue culture; b)identificotion ond chorocterizotion ofBO bonono cultivqrs throughisozynre onolysis; c) development ofo diognostic kit through monoclonoloniibody technology {or indexingbonono bunchy iop ond bononobroct mosoic virus; d) improvementof production technologies forLokoton; e) collection ondmointenonce of B0 Philippinecultivors; {) development of storogeond ripening tool {or Lokoton; g)reduction of losses throughmodi{icotion of contoiner von iorinter-islond ironsport; ond h)rehobililotion of bonono bunchytop- ond bugtok- oifected oreos.

lmproving {ruit quolity,culturol monogement, ond pest onddiseose control hove olso been ihefocus of reseorch ond developmentin mongo, generoling technologieslike: o) selection o{ superior stroinsof Corob,oo, Lomoo, GFS /3, GES

77, GES 84, GES 85, Telobon,lresco, ond Golden selections; b)islcnd-wide cor.rtrol of fruit{liesusirrg Sterile lnsect Technique ondMole Annihilotion Technique inGuimoros; c) development of hotwoter treotment (HWT) for controlof onthrocnose; d) development ofmodified vopor he,rt treotment(MVHI protocol for fruitflydisin{estoiion o nd floototionmethod for moturity determinotion;ond, e) estoblishment of requiredgos levels for controlledotmosphere storoge.

Although we hqve notveniured on expoding popoyo, it isnevertheless on imporlont domesticfruit crop. R&D developed the firstSinlo popoyo, Philippine-bredpopoyo voriety thoi is moderoielyioleront to the popoyo ring spoivirus. Severol technologies onpost-horvest hondling ondcontrolling pesi ond diseoses hoveolso been developed.

Breokthrough onproduction ond post-horvest onother fruit crops like citrus, pili, onddurion hove olso been ochieved.

lssuesProblems on low odoption

of technology, low productiviiy, lockof quolity plontinq moteriols, limitedinfrostruciure, incidence of pest onddiseoses, inef{ective culturolmonogement ond high post horvestI osses.

These ore the problemsihot seem to orise for ihe mo jorfruit crops. Slnce reseorch onddevelopmeni seek onswers to someof these problems, it hos beenrecommended thot higher R&DEfinonciol support be given to the{ruit industry, increosing the GVAfor reseorch {rom 0.34% to ot leost10/I /O.

BARs RDE ogendo on the{ruit industry oim to increose currenlproduction by l5% ond decreoseposthorvest losses by ot leosi 20%.

More effort should be focused inpromoiing in.iegroled pestmonogemenl io lessendeoendence on inorgonic meonsto keep pest ond diseoseincidence in check.

Jopon, our moior trodepcr-tner in bonono export, hoso so roised the issue of excessiveuse of chemicol-bosed pesticideson bono'.ro production. This is oconcern thot cuts across severolissues on heo ih, environment,ond humon rlghls. Not only oreconsumers ',uory o{ the chemicolresidues in lhe bononos iheyconsume, bul oLso the workers inihe bononc p ontotions who oreexposed to hozordous chemicols.

Chorting lhe fulureIt would be foolhordy to

toke the relotively good positionour fruit industry sn joys now inboth trode ond irend ofproduclion, os the be oll ond endoll of the indusiry. The existingissues ond concerns roised bysmoll-holders ocross ihe countrysends BAR off to o policy directionthot prioritizes vorietolimprovement, integroted pestm0nogement, genetic resources,cu lturol m0nogement proctices,postproduction, ondsocioeconomic ond morketing.

Sources:'l .Ihe Notrono/ Reseorch, Deve/opmenf

ond Exlensron Agendo ond Progrontfor Fruits, Deporlmenl of Agricuhure,Bureou of Agricuhurol Reseorch, 2003

2. Modernizing Agriculture, Reporl ondRecomnrendofions of fheCongressiono/ Conrntrss,on o''Agriculfurol Modernizotion, I 9? 5

3.http: / / trodeline phil. dti. go,. ph i betp / FreshFruits, retrieved on Sepienrber 0 7,2005

4 .http: / /sfi otegis. ic. gc. co,/ep ic/ rnternet /i nin', r ri. ns{,/ en / g r I I 49 88e.htntl,retrieved on Seplember 13, 2005

5.http: / /www.ontericon.edu /ted / philipprne -bo no no. htm, relrieved onSeptenrber 14,2005

BAR R&D Digest: July-September 2OO5

]VIANGO INDI]STRY I

p-orfme;it oi Agriculture (DA-AMAS) stotes thqt world mongo

iion overoges 22 milliontons onnuolly. Asio

iluIes 77% of the totol worldion wherein ihe Philippines

ici, contribuiing oboutomount of mongoes

ry yeor.

6"ltorcst siluotioner reporthffiilLusiness ondMofl

F!

MANGO INDUSTRY

lmproving

iberellic ocid improves thequolity of Coroboo mongo,known in ihe world morket os

"Monilo Super".This wos proven through

experiments by the teom oi GovinoHuelgos o{ the Lipo AgrlculturolExperiment Stoiion of the Deporlment

o{ Agriculture in Lipo, Botongos City.

Keeping tqbs on quolitYWe ore enioying o good

position in the world morket os one oithe leoding producers o{ mongo.However, issues on how io improve thequolity o{ ihe fruit hove hit the noies ofcontroversy. Lost yeor, the governmentonnounced ihoi ihe United StotesDeportmenl o{ Agriculture (USDA) govethe Philippines US$ 2.3 million worth ofgronl to help mongo growers improvethe quolity o{ their produce usingirrodioiion meihod.

lrrodioting mongoes meonsihot the fruits ore exposed io high dosesof ionizing rodiotion to kill bocterio ondextend its shelf li{e. Moior imporlingcountries in the Europeon Union, Asio,including the United Stoles useirrodiotion method. This process isprescribed by the USDA be{orePhilippines mongoes ore ollo*ed intothe Americon morket.

At present, only mongoes fromthe Guimoros lslonds ore ollowed into

the United Sioies. Guimoros hos beenunder quoroniine ior more thon I 5yeors ond is the site of ihe opplicoiionof sterile insecl technique thcrt usesrodioiion io control fruit{ly populotion.

Althorgh Ihe provinceproduces only o smoll {roction cfPhilippine mongoes, the USDA

"Mdnila Super"with Giberellic Acid

Bv MARIA LIZBETH SEVERA J' BARONA

moinioins thot onlyon irrodiolion{ocility moy beoble to moke the rest o{ Philippinemongoes so{e for export lo the US.

Concerns hove been roised

on the sofety o{ irrodioting {ood.Some non-qovernmeni orgonizoiionsoid thot this method is o threqt to

the heolth ofier consumption, ondirrodiotion focilities ore olso threotsto communities where they orelocoled.

An optionPlont hormones hove been

known to enhonce growth. There orefive recognized closses o{ plont

hormone. Some o{ the these clossesore represented by only onecompound, while others ore byseverol different compounds.

The study chose io lest theeffect of Giberellic ocjd on fruitquolity. Giberellins is the closs o{plont hormones thol promotesgrowth ond stimulotes {lowering inmoture plonts.

Recommended rotes of

Giberellic ocid wos {ormuloted inArgent Loborotories. Eighty-{ivepercent Giberellic ocid in whitecrystol powder {orm wos dissolved in

I 00 ml lsopropyl olcohol to produceo 4To Gilerdlic ocid stock solution.

The siock soluiion wos

sproyed on the iest trees on three

occosions: first ot 35 doys o{terflower induction (DAFI), second timeot 55 DAFI, o'rd the lost opplicotionot 93 DAFI. These trees were notpreviously {errilized before {lower

induction, ond neither were theY

irrigoted. lnsecticide "'icrs opplieduntil the fourlh vree< oeforehorvesli ng.

Resulls showed tiot thebiggest ond heoviest {r'uris, ihethickesi skin, ond highesl edibleporlion come {rom trees treotedwith Giberellic ocid ot the roie of100 ppm. The fruits from thistreoiment olso hod longer time ioripen, which is o positivemonifestotion for longer shel{ li{e.

The reseorcher of ihestudy recomrnended thoi morestudies be conducted on theef{icocy of Giberellic ocid onporometers like toiol soluble solid.Since seeds {rom the treotmentwith lOOppm roie o{ Giberellicocid wos lighier compored io theother treotmenis, the reseorcherolso suggested thct therelotionship of the time ofopplicotion ond the developmentof ihe seed be considered infurther studies. Thisrecommendotion wos on ihepremise thot seedless mongoescommond higher price in themorket.

The results o{ the st;Cvgove options to rlongo or'olet-s toimprove the quoliiy of the'vleld.

Tni: o t,C e //oS r)(r(rcj . - e.'- fly" Frutl Quolify /tttpt:..'erlr3 " c':Corcboo AlcrrrEo b;' G'r:e': r: A:idApplicctfiort" bl Gcr'.'i,r'c i,1 i,e/c/crs,Ltpct Ag t i culf u to/ E'.i)er', Inerri Sroiio|,

Lrpcr Boicrngos , 2001.

\'

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OOS

CITRUS INDUSTRY

5 I r";3 ;3;1 * h* ffi* at *

By RITA T. DELA CRUZ

' itrus is one o{ the most: imporlont commerciolly::

QroWrl {ruits worldwidewith o globol produciion of overI 02 million metric tons. Brozil,Uniied Stotes, qnd Mexico ore thethree top citrus producingcountries in the world with o I O-20% increose in production everyyeor. Meonwhile, the Philippinescontributes I 63,090 mt or 0..l6%to this toiol world production.Citrus ronks iourth omong thefruit crops with the greotestcontribution to the country'seconomy, next to bonono,mqngo, ond pineopple.

ln the Philippines olone,the noiionol per copiioconsumption of citrus is 5.2 kgonly compored to the 35-40 kg inmony developed countries. lnterms o{ oreo ollotted forproduction, citrus plontotion inthe Philippines covers more thon35,000 heciores. Production-wise, ciirus is olso not {or behindespeciolly with co/omondin,mondortn, ond pumme/o whichthe Philippines widely grows ondproduces due to their promisingpotentiol {or developmeni ondglobol compelitiveness.

Although the countryproduces enough citrus iorPhilippine consumption qnd siillexport to other countries still o lotof the produce goes to wosie.

One molor constroint identi{ied isthe ine{{icient posthorvest hondlingsystem. This is true in MolobingVolley o{ Kosibu, Nuevq Vizcoyo,the emerging mo jor citrus growingoreo in Luzon.

Nuevo Vizcoyo isconsidered the citrus copitol o{ thecountry. lts soil ond climote oreconducive for propogoting citrusvorieties. The oreq is well known forits "Vizcoyo orenges" which orehorvested from July to Jonuoryevery yeor ond ore brought todifferent urbon morkets in Luzonthrough locol troders.

At the heort of this citrus-producing oreo is the MolobingVolley Multi-purpose Cooperotivelnc. (MVMPCI), o cooperotive of ollthe citrus {ormers who produce theoronges. The {ormer-membersthemselves propogote the bestcitrus vorieties especiolly ihose thotcommond high volue in the morketsuch os the Solsumo (Joponesemondorin) ond Ponkon (Chinesemondorin). Former-members olsoproduce other vorieties likeC/emenfine (US mondorin),Woshinglon novel ,Volenclo, ondHamlrn oronges. These importedvorieties hove been success{ullyodopied to locol conditions. Thepoieniiol oreo thot is best suited forcitrus production is 2,000 heciores

ond formers ore hope{ul thoi ot leostholi of this oreo will be plonted withcitrus over the next five yeors.

Aside from production, onef{icient posthorvest hondling sysiemis olso o cruciol element instrengthening the stond of thePhilippine ciirus industry.

The key to good posthorvesthondling is coreful hcrvesiing. Thequolity o{ perishoble foods isqchieved irom the moment they orepicked or horvested. From this'point,it is ideol thot {ormers shouldmointoin posthorvest conditions sothot deteriorotion is minimized, ondquolity is preserved ol its best. Bui thisis eosier soid thon done since most o{ihe citrus {ormers lock hlgh-techequipment ond necessory focilities toproperly hondle their produce.Formers olso lqck promotionolstrotegies to expond iheir outlets. Theleoding source of overproductionwostoge is the lock o{ posthorvestiocilities to preserve ond processthese products.

The study conducted by Ms.Roweno Q. Gutierrez, supervisingscience reseorch speciolist ot theBureou of Posthorvest Reseorch ondExtension (BPRE) identi{iedposthorvest hondling os the moiorconstroini to otioin high e{ficlencyond produciivity in ciirus production.

,>

photo source: wwvr'.lree-piclures pholos.corl

BAR R&D Dig'est: July-Septernber 2OOS

CITRTTS INDL]STRY

-e olher.{ive impodont oreqs'-.eriiorred ore: l) loborious ond'?c oJs Posthorvest oPerotions, 2)'-icir posthorvesi losses,3) lock ofgroding stondords ond procedures, 4)

cver ripening o{ fruits, ond 5) limitedovoilobility of lobor.

Through ropid oPProisol,socio-eco'nomic ond morket survey,ond documentotion ond ossessment o{

existing posthorvest hondling ond

morketing operolions o{ MVMPCI, the

reseorchers were oble to identify ondrecommend on improved posthorveslhondling syslem fit for the citrusindustry. Generolly, the recommended

siroiegies ore: I) put in ploce supportstruciures, 2) strengthen R&D on

citrus, 3) enhonce rnorket linkoges

between producers ond consumers,

ond 4) provide needed infrostructuresupporl the {orm to morkei roods .

Specificolly, on the Productionlevel, the reseorchers recommend the

{ollowing octivities to strengihen the

citrus industry: 1) e{{ectivemonogemeni of pests ond diseosesporticulorly {ruitflies to reduce {ruitdomoge; 2) formulote locollYproduced iruil wox; ond 3) imProveihe quolity of produce in ierms of toste

io goin {ull occeptonce porticulorly inthe world morket.

ln terms o{ morketing, the

reseqrcher recommends o more

He grows...from Pdge 9

seoson. One month before the{lowering stoge, I opply ureo ond two

months before riPening, I Puicomplete {ertilizer for color chongeond potossium {or sweetness "

'And hove you shored Yourtechnology to olher formers?" I

osked him."This lond i5 God s gift to

the peopie. Ii you love Yourfellowmen, you shculd be unsel{ish

li you become c millionoire, letoihers become millionoires bY

oggressive strotegy in sourcing {ormorkei outlets io occommodoletheir production ond moreimportontly develop o competiiivepricing scheme. Pockoging ond

lobeling of products ore olsocruciol in estoblishing the identityof Nuevo Vizcoyo citrus in themorket.

in'.-"n,.'" wos bosed from the study,"Towords the lmprovement o{ the

Hondling ond Tronsporl System oi theMolobing Volley Citrus lndustry" bYR.Q. Guiierrez, R.G. ldogo, R.S.M deloCruz, ond R.S.R. Ropusos o{ the Burecu

o{ Posthorvesl Reseorch ond Exiension,

CLSU Cornpound, Science CitY o{Murioz, Nuevo Eciio. You moy contocl

shoring your knowledge. I hove

dreoms for this beouti{ul ond fertile

lond. I om now into exotic fruits,loter on into cut {lowers. I willinlegrote these [orms inlo orecreotionol ond educotionql tourist

spot where one c0n enioY ond leornot the scrrne time. There wrll be

bonco rides on o mcrn-mode loke o1the iop o{ the mounioin."

As;f guessirlg ogcin rnYquestions noticing my rc.rised brow

he scid, "God is generous lo us.We hove the wotet c good clirnoie,unpoiluied environment, ond

thern ot tel. no. (044) 4560213 or fox:(044) 15601 I 0

Olher sources:'l . Fruits: The Nctionol Reseorch,

Development, ond Exlension Agendoond Progrom {or Fruiis. 2003Publicotion prepored bY DA BARNoiionol RDE Network for Fruiis

2.' GNI, lock o{ post-horvest {ocilitieshounds l{ugoo citrus producers" bYBen Moses Ebreo os retrieved {rorn:

http ://www. nvizcoyo. gov. ph/news/ne

wsT.html3. "Totol Citrus Production in the Top

Producing Countries" os retrieved{rom:http ://ww*.{os. u sdo. gov/hlp/Ho*_Circulor/ 2004/08 04/8 3l-O 4%20 Cit r u s%2 0 Feol u re. Pd f

industrious people. The lodging

house where you siopped is {or

visitors who will stoy for thenight."

"lt ls dif{icuit to comehere," I remcrked.

"The di{{icuity in con.ring

here is the 1oy o{ it if you go ioheoven, ii is much nrored i{f icu lt. "

Whcrt rnore could I soYto this philosophicoi citrusscienlist who hos singuiorlYchcrnged the lcndscope o{ his

beoutiful Molobing VolleY?

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2O05

SUCCESS STORY

By VIRGINIA A. DUtDULAO, Ph.D

t A /e reoched o big two-

V V 'il::l:,:i-"Jilffi::: o*he Commission on Norionolhouse in o proirie qfter o bumpy lntegrotion wos Judge Dolongon, oride negotioting o zigzoggingrood thot climbs olongmountoinsides ond rovines {romthe town o{ Solono, NuevoVizcoyo, the fog thinning os ifofroid of our intrusion os weopprooched the highest oltitude

We were Cely Mirondo,citrus projeci coordinotor ofRegion 2, Arlhur, our driver ondmysel{. Three hours eorlier, wewere deboting whether weproceed to Molobing or not. lf ilrqins we could not come downond would sioy in the Volley for

proceed. I strongly desired tomeet the 'king o{ citrus' innorthern Philippines.

"You look Joponese," Iimmediotely commented os hemet us in his citrus form.

"Yes, ond I work like oJoponese ever since I sioded

leople disploced by the-mbu

I'ROMISING INDUSTRY

By RITA T. DELA CRUZ

n the outside, it looksexoctly like on elongotedpototo but its white,

iuicy, ond sweet {lesh tostes like opeor or somewhot like the toste ofturnip due lo its succulence ondcrunchiness. ln Ecuodor it's colled

liquimo, in Peru ond Bolivio it'sllokumo, but in oll other ports ofSouth Americo, where il isobundontly grown ondnoiurolized, it's just their good 'olyocon (Smo//onthus sonchifo/ius).

Here in the PhilipPines,yocon is rorely known or perhoPsmony Filipinos will not evenrecognize one if ever they sowone. This plont wos first broughtinto the country in l99B ond fromthen on, it hos been plonted ondreproduced in some ports of the

Philippines. Since yocon thrives in

temperofe oreos, the Plont is eosY

to grow without fertilizers ondinseciicides, which mokes it

inexpensive {or the formers togrow.

(l I .l%), protein (0.8%),fiber (0.6%), lipids (0.6%),ond cellulose (0.5%). Oneyocon tuber is olsocomplete in other essenliolelements such os iron,colcium, sodium,potossium, corotene,mognesium, ond VitominsA, Bl, 82, ond C.

Among the rootcrops,yocon hos the lowest colorie content(54 col). lt is more thon twice lowerin colories thon sweeipototo (123col) ond relotively less thon pototo(77 col), ond toro (60 col) Thismokes yocon o perfect nutritiousdiet food. Yocon is high inoligo{ructose (olso colled fructo-

oligosocchoride), o dietory sugorwhich the humon body is unoble tometobolize, hence its poteniiol usefor diobetics ond body weightcontrol. Moreover, reseorchersfound thot on increosed intoke o{oligoiructose is ossocioted with iheimprovemeni of gut heolth becquseo{ the stimulotion o{ the beneficiolbifidus bocterio in the colon.

Medicinol volueAside from its noturollY

nutritious content, yocon olsoprovides o loi o{ medicinol bene{itsio those who suf{er from diobetes,obesity, constipotion, insomio,or-thritis, hyperlension ond kidneydiseoses, to nome o few. Sinceyocon is not yet os PoPulor os other

rootcrops, findings ond studies on

Nrs w&;*r;"*,.;a Pholo source: rdelocruz

its octuol heolth beneiits ore limited.And like ony supplementory food,yocon does nol promise immedioieresults but os heolth food, iischorocteristics ore meont not only tcmointoin good heolth but olso toimprove it.

Yocon is high in inu/in, ofructose sugor, moking it o sucrose-free {ood {or the diobetics. lt storescorbohydrctes in the form of inulinond not in the form of storch, whichis common in other rootcroPs.

Yocon is olso good {orconstlpotion due to iis high {ibercontent thoi ossists in digestion. Thehigh moisture content in yocon olsomokes it o good blood purifier.

The leoves ond roots o{yocon con be both used for theirmedicinol volue porticulorly for ihediobetics. Both ore rich in inuiinwhich helps normolize the bloodglucose. For ihe root to toke iis fullheoling e{fect, it must be first kept for1 O doys be{ore consuming it, so thotit reoches its full level of sweetness.Then, simply peel it, cui into thinslices, ond eot it row. lts heoling

+

Nulritionol volueThe yocon is o distont

relotive of the sun{lower fomily.

Unlike the sun{lower, it is noigrown {or iis seeds bui mosily forits edible roots, which is noturollysweet bui low in colories. lt isrecognized os o heolih {ood dueto its nutritionol ond medicinolvolue. The yocon tuber contoins

86-90% woter ond certoin iroceso{ phosphorus (22o/o), glucide

IO BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OOS

PRO\IISI\G I\DT STR\

''--j' : ial ' l'1trI aeo()av"itl'l ll

::iri-il.r mcrie y / I 0 dovs.i.4ecrnv,'hile, llre lecives ore

:rest corrsulrreci o{1er cirying tlrerrr

rrcrluro 1y in trre shcrcle. Tlre clriedieoves ore tlrerr cul irrio suricrble sizescrnd boilecl in woiel iust like crreq ulcr r tecr. Resecrrchers recotl nretrcl

diobetics to drinL oi leost two cups ofthis tecr doily. After opproxirnotely 4-

5 doys, initiol resulls ore olreodyn oticeo b le.

Mqrketobility of yoconYocon is eosy 1o grow ond

since ii is recognized crs o heolthfood, it promises o high morketobilityespeciolly Io heol'lr-conscio.-rsconsu mers. However, fo rrnersproduce only few yocon presently

due to limiteci nrorket outlet. There isyet c r.reed to pror.t'rote ihis cropporliculoriy iis heolth benefiis,

Doolnoro Multi-purposeCooperotive is one o{ the few

comrnerciol producers o{ yocorr here

in the Philippines. The Cooperotiveproduces 100% orgonicclly grownyocon in the {oggy ond unpollutedmounloins of Cloverio, Mirrdonoo. ltolso distribuies yocon in {ew shops in

Meiro Monilo selling orgonicolly-grown {ood ilems. ln the recently

h-.lcl 2 Agricu lureFisheries Techrrc For u r.t'r,which wcrs coorclincrledby ihe Burecru oiAgr icultur.ol Resecrcir(BAR), tire Docrlrrorcr1"4 u iti- pu r.pose

Coopercrtive po rlici poiedin the exh ibits o ndproduc's drsploy whe einthey conducted o {reetoste promo to those whowont to know v.rlrcrt yoconlooks ond lostes like.

The outhor wos one of thecurious onlookers oi the shortdemonstrotion ond toste promo

ond indeed yocon tcrstes like peor(without tlre sondy texture) oropple (due io iis sweetrress ondcrunchiness) . From the shod-demo,the outhor leorned thoi the rool ofthe yccon con be consumed evenwhen the {lesh ore dried. ln {ocl,the dernonstrotor mentioned iholonce the roots hove been dried inthe sun, they become sweeier.

Yocon hos o greotpotentiol os o hecrlih food, il onlyneeds proper pockoging ond morec gg ressive i nformotiondissemincrtion oboui its monybenefils. The public needs io know

iis poteniiol crnd thereon followsthe noturcrl course to yocon sfutu re.

Sources:l . "Miroculous Yocon" brochure

produced by Doolnorc Mu ii

l)urpose Cooperotive, Clcrverio,M ndcrnoo

2."Pockel guide to nine exoilc Andeonroots ond tubers" os relrieved {rorr:hft p : / /

"vww. ci poioio. orq,i,Al1oi-ket /ART

guide/orlgurde5. htrr3."Ycrcon in the Philippines" crs retrievecl

f r orn. h tl p : i / vo con - ph i 1. t' r i pod. cor'tt,i

4."Fuiure foods: Yocon" os retrieved{rorrhtlp: //www.f uturefoods. corn/yocort. hlm/

5."Why Philippine Doclnoro YcrconExcel?" os retrievd frornhtf p : / / rvww. cloudforesi. conr/ ca{e / fo r

un/l7l32.htnl

developing ihe highly regorded{ruit. He chollenges ihegovernment ond every Filipinowho wishes for sustoinobledevelopment ond prosperity lobecome o leoder ond innovotorond noi mere iollowers of thedeveloped counlries.

-Source:

DA AMAS Situofroner repod onMongosleen os of Sepienrber 2005 onihe websife:http : 1 /www. phr/online. conr. p h / ^' webd

ev i d o - o nta s f tno n gosfeen. hlnr i

Flourishing mangosfeen ...lrom pc,ge I INorth Coloboto. During thoimeeting, he soid thol theoccreditotion of his iechnologiesis being processed ot fhe Bureouof Food ond Drugs (BFAD) ondrso.

He is recognized in hiscommunity os o significontcontributor to Kidopowon'sdevelopment by providing iobs toihe people ond shoring hisknowledge in mongosteenproduclion. He is busY overseeinghis forms ond businesses in ond

out of the counlry whilecontinuing his medicol procticeond studies on mongosteen. Hesoid he is olso promoting

orgonic forming which he isprocticing in his {orm. He cloimsthot he does not opplyherbicides on his irees. He olsorecommends woier impou nding0s 0 source oi irrigoiion.

Needless to soy, thisinqenious medicol doctor cumogriculturol scienlist isexhcrusting oll possibilities for

O l)lrOlO jO!r(lrr CC5.v j rre.jll

COVER STORY

ne will not be surprised if new fruit discoveries oresprouting oll over the fruit boskei of the Philippines,Dovoo City. Come to think of it, people reolly go

oui of iheir woy to {ind new fruits thot boosl the fruil industry.Cne of the newest fruit discoveries is the Drcaon fruitlHylocereus undolus Britt & Rose) locolly colled "Pithoyo."Others coll it Thong loy or coctus fruit.lt thrives well in wormclimote.

The drogon fruit is o notive of Centrol ond SouthAmericon countries ond wos introduced in the Philippines inthe I 90Os through troding ond exchonge of goods by theSponiords ond the Filipinos. Todoy, the crop is grown inVietnom, Thoilqnd, Moloysio, ond Toiwon. The Philippines isgoining o competitive edge through moss propogotion ondproduction in Coviie ond Dovoo. However, Dovoo is deodserious in moking ihe fruit o port of its booming fruit industry.

ln o receni drogon fruit horvest {estivol held on l2August 2005 in Monombulon, Tugbok, Dovoo City, thereseorch personnel o{ the Deporlmeni of Agriculture -Southern Mindonoo lntegroted Agriculturol Reseorch Center(DA-SMIARC) testi{ied ihot the fruit showed poientiol ondcompetitive odvonioge for the locol fruit industry becouse ofits production ond economic performonce. This con beottributed to the crop's growth ond odoptobility performonceos evidenced by its big ond heovy fruits thot demonded higherprice during ihe horvesl festivol.

During the festivol, other Mindonoo regionscommitted their support in moking the {ruit o port of theirogriculturol progroms through porlnership of the locolgovernment unifs, fruit growers ond privote sector, ondnetworking in reseorch ond development, morketing ondenterprise developmeni, ond processing ond productdevelopment. Bosed on ihese commitments, DA-SMIARC isnow exponding its propogotion ond production qreos tooddress the required plonting moteriols o{ interested porlies.lncidentolly, the Ayolo Group of Componies (AGC) hondlingihe ogribusiness sector storted their shore of crop productionwith on initiql 5,000 hills. lf proven to hqve economicreturns, the AGC will expond to wider oreos complete withtechnicol qnd finonciol supporl.

Physicol chorocleristicslhe fruii is round, often red colored with prominent

scoles. The thin rind encloses ihe lorge moss of sweetlyflovored white or red pulp ond smoll block seeds. Somevorieties ore pinkish or yellow colled o 'priceless treosure'. ltcon be token os fruit, flower, vegetoble, heolth procluct cncjmedicine.

The crop belongs to the cocti fomily either osclimbing cocti - epiphytic with oeriol roots to cling tosupporling hosts or structures or singly growing without onysupport. There ore two common drogon iruit vorietiespropogoted in the country, nomely the red vorieties

By MAF-

Ihe drogon fruit is o nofive of Cond wqs introduced in fhe Philipqnd exchqnge of goods by fhe 5

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OO5

l]. AQUINO, Ph D

COVER STORY

(Hylocereus undolus and Hylocereus polyrhtzus) ond yellowvoriety (5e/enicereus mego/onihus). The red voriety(Hylocereus undotus) is {ovored over the yellow vorielybeccuse of its unique physicol feotures such os color, toste,ond size.

Bio-physicol requirements qnd cuhurqlmonogement

Drogon fruit grows best in oreos with uniformlydistributed roin{oll throughout the yeor. Pitoyo prefers freedroining soil such os the sondy to cloy loom types wiih pH o{5.3 to 6.7 with high orgonic motter. Howeve4 piloyo is olsogrown successfully in sondy soils, ovoiding woter-logged oreosond soline soils. Mounding is recommended {or flot terroinihot is subiect to periodic flooding. Pitoyo is shollow rootedwith mosl roots concentroted qt the top l5 3O cm soil depth.Optimum elevotion is I 0O to B0O obove seq level pre{eroblywith 3O% shode to full sun, os Pitoyo grows slowly whenshoded.

PropogotionPitoyo is propogoted by seeds or stem cuttings. The

lotter is more preferred. Stem cutiings ore roised in nurserieslor 2-3 monihs.

Plont Estoblishmenf. Recommended ploniing distonceis 3 meters between concrete posts ond 4 beiween rows. Anorrower spocing ollows quicker production thon widerspocing. Higher density plontings olso produce quickerreturns, but plonts begin to crowd eoch other sooner.Ploniing is done with 3 to 4 plonts per post. Rootedcuttings moy be plonted directly or kept in 9 xl3 blockpolyethylene bogs. For direct rooted cuttings, ihey oreplonted ot l5 cm owoy from the post ot on ongle leoningtowords the post. Direct plonting is 5 cm depih, bui iortronsplonts, the hole depth should be the some heighi osthe plostic bogs soil depth. lrrigote ond protect newlyemerging folior buds from onts ond other insects.

Fertilizotion. Apply o hondful of complete fer-tilizer (14-I4 14\ 3 months ofter plonting ond continue fedilizeropplicotions every 3 monihs thereofter. Pitoyc olso requiresorgonic ferlilizer. Nitrogen is necessory during ihevegetotive growth o{ the plont ond is redLrced duringdormont ond pre-flowering sioges (loter December io mid-Morch). Apply folior sproys every 2 weeks durinqvegetotive stoge ond less during fruiting stoge. Frequencyoi ferlilizer opplicotion vories occording to personol

I

aphoto source: DA SA,1|ARC

ral qnd Soufh Americqn counfriesres in fhe 1900s through trodingriords snd the Filipinos .

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OO5

PROMISING INDUSI'RY

- :igrrer'rt ond preferences. Oplimunrt':euency ond quoniity depends on-re plont s resporlse. Pitoyo is very.espor.rsive to soil ond folior fer-tilizeropplicotions. Plonts thot ore l'2vecrs need 200 nitrogen grnltree/yr,100 P O. gmflree/'yr, ond l5 K,Ogm/lree/yr. Meonwhile, for the 2-3yrs ond the 4 yeors-obove, ihey need5OO nitrogen gm/lree/yr,200 PrO,gm/tree/yr, 400-500 K,() gm/lreelyrond; B0O- I 000 nitrogen gmllree/yr,400-500 P,O, gm/treeiyr, 500-800K O gmlireelyr, respeciively.

Pruning. Mo jor ond minor pruningis o regulor orchord opercriionregordless of oge o{ Pitoyo. Prune toobtcin on open, monogeoble ondproductive umbrello shoped conopy.

Crop Protection. The roots, stems,folior ond {lower buds, {lower ondfruit ore ottocked by o ronge of pestsond diseoses. Pests include mites,thrips, onts, scole insecis, meolybugs; beetles, slugs, borers,nemotodes, fruitflies ond rodentssuch os mice, birds, or bois.Chloropyrifos-bosed insecticidesmoy be used to conirol onts ondother pests os well. Copper-bosedfungicides (coppeq copperoxychloride, dithone M45, cuprovoit,moncozeb, etc.) con be opplied ot

oppropriote dosoge ond sproy osneeded. Systemic fungicides suchos benomyl, corbendozim,ozoxystrobin, etc. ore olsoeffective {or o wide ronge ofpitoyo diseoses. Avoid, however,pesticide sproying when neoringhorvest time. Bogging of greenfruit using cleor perforotedpolyethylene bogs (Chino-mode)ore recommended to proiect {ruitfrom fruitfly stings.

Weeding. Gosol i ne-d rivenweedcutters ore recommendedfor orchords. Hondweed within

the inner 3Odiometer o{ eochpost to ovolddomoge to plonls.Control weeds osthey horbor pestsond compete withsoll nutrients.

lrrigotion. Woterrequirement ofPitoyo is similor topopoyo. lrrigcrtion iscriticol duringfedi lizer o pplicoiionsond {ruiting. Excessdrying o{ soil ond

opholo source: DA SMIARC

less irequent irrigotlon result inobnormolly high splitting of fruii.For newly plonted Pitoyo, ollowsoil io dry beiore irrigotion toovoid collor rots.

Horvesting. Horvesting indicesinclude full red colorotion of theterminol petol ond swelling o{ thenovel end io the point ofcrocking. Bosed on Dovooploniing, horvest period include :First Cycle of horvest, June-October; 2'o Cycle of horvest,December-Jonuory. Fruit ishorvested from 30-50 doys ofterflowering with o 5-6 iruit cropcycles o yeor (between Moy ondNovember) The fruit con bestored oi 5'C with 90% reloiivehumidity up to 4O doys Averogeweight per fruit ronges from 2OOg to 1.2 kg.

Sou rces:

1 ."Piloyo or drcgon {ruil (Hylocereusundoius Briti & Rose): A productionmonuol under lndong, CoviteAgroclirrcriic Conditions" by Alex Litton2."Dragon fruit product orr" Aproduciion guide published by DASMIARC Knowledge Mor.rogernenl FITS

Center, Bcgo Oshiro, Dovoo Crly.

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OO5

ROOTCROPS

49 hove died. Heolth experts oreconcerned thot if someone controctsthe ovion ond humon flu virus oi thesome iime, the viruses might mixqnd mutote into o new ond deodlyvirus. ln lhe worst cose scenorio, thiscould leod io o globol humoninfluenzo pondemic, soid SomuelJutzi, director of the Food ondAgriculture Orgonizoiion (FAO) sAnimol Produciion ond HeolthDivision (OlE).

"The diseose will be present

thon $lO billion, occording ioOxford Economic iorecostinq.

It is, iherefore, in theinterest of our poultry industry ondpublic heolth thot strict biosecuritymeosures need to be oppliedthroughout the poultry choin, fromforms ond smoll producers todistribution chonnels, morkets ondretoilers. Public oworeness o{ thediseose risks musl be roised.

Pro?ecting ysursel{Like ony other diseose, ihe

best woy to protect yourself ondyour loved ones from bird flu is toproctice so niiotion meosuresespeciolly if you hove contoct withbirds or fowl.

For poultry roisers,scienlists of the United StotesDeportment o{ Agriculture (USDA)recommend o "Keep on oll-in, oll-out philosophy o{ {lockmonogement" by protecting {locksfrom coming into contoct with wildfowl, only ollowing workers to enterthe poultry houses. Othermonogement meosures includeproviding cleon clothing onddisin{ecting {ocilities for form

the wet morket (buyers, sellers,ond consumers) where live birdsore sold, ihe scientistsrecommend the followingpreventotive meosures: useploslic insteod of wooden crotesfor eosier cleoning; keep scolesond floors cleon of monure,{eothers, ond other debris;cleon ond disinfect ollequipment, croies, ond vehiclesbefore returning them to the{orm; keep incoming poultryseporote from unsold birds,especiolly if birds ore {romdifferenl lots; cleon ond disinfeclthe morketploce ofter every doyof sole; do not return unsoldbirds to ihe form.

For more specificinformotion obout cleoning onddisinfeciing prociices, conioctthe neorest iield office o{ theBureou of Animol lndustry.

Sou rces:I . "Where the germs ore" Reoder's

Digest. June 2005"Fighting bird flu ot its origin toprevenl humon flu pondemic" 23Februory 2005. FAO Newsroom"Bird {lu siluotion in Asio remoins

for severol yeors inthe couniries thotexperienced recentoutbreoks" the FAOreports. Avion {lu ison ongoingemergencv diseosethot spreods ocrossborders. lt hqsserious heolthimplicotions for

Like any olhe r diseose, the best way io prciecfyaurself clnd your loves ones from b;rC flutc prccfice sonifaticn rile CIsures especiallyyou hcve confcct wiih brrCs cr fowl.

is.rt7',t

a pholo source: Dr. Miquel Morquez

both humon ond onimol sectors inlhe offected countries. In oddilion tohumon suf{erinq, the recent ovion fluoutbreoks devostoted mony locoleconomies. The FAC reports thot

close io l4O million birds hove diecior been destroyed in the Aslonepidemic to dote, ond loss of theirfiocks left mony formers in deepdebt. Totol pouliry {orm losses inAsio in 2004 ore estirnoled ot rnore

workers or helpers; cleoning oncidisinfecting equipment ond vehiclesregulorly; not looning or borrowingequipment or vehicles {rom otherforms; ond ovoiding visits to otherpoultry {orms. After visiiing onolherform or live-oird mcrrkei, olwoyschonge fooiweor ond clothingbefore working wiih your ownf lock.

For people who frequent

crilicol" 4 July 2005. FAONewsroom

4. Avion Intluenzo - Focl Sheet. I 5Jonuory 2004

'c, Copyright 2004

World Heo lh Orgonizotion5. Bird flu crisis: Moss cull needed5. Avion influenzo A (H5N 1) in

Hurrons ond Poultry in Vietnom.I 3Jonuory 2004

/ Highly Pothoqenic Avion lnlluenzo,iebrucrry 2002 bv lhe VeterinoryServices of ihe United StotesDeportment o{ Agricuilure

l6 BAR R&D Digest: ]uly-September 2O05

STICCESS STORY

- !. '*

iluu: i'i 'n i ri,tr *, lF*

f f fithi"g is my livelihood. lm oone-mon bond trying iomuddle my woy through life

bringing up my two children,"soid the eornesl but geniolTeodoro Podomodo or simplyMong Teddy when osked howf,siring helps him in life. Mongfeddv, 52, is one of ihe few octivefcrrmer-cooperotors of cogelilopio culture in Poooy, llocosNorte He owns {ish coges ofiiiopio olcng the NcrnguyudonCove Tnis wcs mocie possibie bythe Regiono FreshwolerAquocullure Tecl'rno Demo Cenier(RFATDec) of the 3urecu ofFisheries crnd Aqucrtic Resources(BFAR) to prcvide rvelil-rooci fcrsrnoil fisherJoik

Tilopio coge cultureCcrcle cu iUre is the

L t(trr te C t e.,' rq ir'' , r Cr-gc'S Icrny existing L.oclies of ,,voter rhc;tconnot be drcriner-l or seineci suchos lokes, lciqe reser-voirs, forrr

ry sf Jllsng feddy

By RIT,\ T DELA CRUZ

':'t

ponds, rivers, cooling woterdischorqe concrls, esiucries, ondcocslol ernboyrnents (o boy in ccocstline) . Coge culture is populorin orecs where fishing ond forrningore lhe two most commonlivelihoods.

When osked why MongTeddy opted to choose tilopicr tocuiture, he mode no quolms insoying "becouse tiiopio is eosy tomonoge." lndeed, lilopio is one themost suiiob e f ishes for coge c,.;liurebecouse it con be cultured oi hiqhder'si'es n r-esh coges where *otercon freely circulote.

Coge culiure clso cffers crlol of odvontcqes. AccorcJing 1o,Vlcrng Teddy, with coqe culiur-e, tbeL.reecl rrg cycie of tilopic is disruptedclue lo ihe rrixirrg of tl're sexes. Srncethev cre recred in ccrges, stuniinq,,";irici. is nroior corrsir.crnt in ponclci:ture, is iikety to be ovoicjecl. Theeggts fr crn tbe f-^rrole iilcpicr oreeosiiy obcrlecl beccrr,se they fo Iihrough tlre ccge botforr thirs,

. phrjl.r !ource: rclelocr,,z

unoble io develop even if they orefertilized.

Aside {rom the flexibility inmonogement, there ore other benefiisin culturing tilopio in coges, nomely:ecse ond low cosi of horvesting,securily of the spoce, thus providingclose observotion oi fish {eedingresponse onC heollh, economicollreotment of pests crnd diseoses, ondthe reloiively low copitoi invesirnentneeded to stcrt this live ihood.

DrowbqcksLike ony business enierprise,

big or smcrll, drcrwbocks oreinCispensobie. This is oiso true wrthfish ccge c.rlture crs otiested by MongTeddy. ,Accor.ding to him, the mor-tclityrcrle for iiiolticr cocle cr ture is crt lO-2A 9/o or higher durinq extrerre'ryecithers. There is o bicr rrsk of lossfrcrr pooching cr Corroge io cogestrom predcrtors, slorl'rs, or evenhurnons i.e., burclcrr-s ond crooks.Tiicrpio hos less tolercnce to poor*c,'er q,,crli-y orci 'hoy o'e toto y

)

BAR R&D Digest: July Septernber 2OOS I7

SL]CCESS STORY

--.ierte''der1 on {eeds for nutritioncr'-cr s!.rsteronce. There is olso oc.eoier. risk for diseose outbreoksclro sirce the whole populotion isco'r{ ned in one speci{ic creo only,' ,e sp.eod of r,re diseose soulright. Another problem in fishcoge culture is its lego stotus sincelhe bodies of woter used for cogeculture ore public woter.

Life os former-cooperotorMong Teddy siorted os

former-cooperolor in 1994. Asformer-cooperotor of RFATDec, hisoccuponcy is f ree, oll he needed toinvest on ore: copilol {or ihe{ingerlings ond the supplies i.e.,

bornboo, {ishnei, ond ieeds.Mong Teddy now owns o

iotcrl of eighl coges o{ tilopicr,which he loboriously tends oll byhimself so he does noi poy forextrcr lobor. Eoch o{ tlre fish cogemeosures l0m x l5m. He puioboui l,5OO fingerlings in eoch o{the coge, which he requested fromBFAR-Looog City. Mong Teddy isreoring ihe Mozomblque tilopio(Oreochromis mossombicus), oneof the most populor breeds oftilopio in the Philippines.

li tokes 4-5 months be{oreiilopio is reody for horvest. Hisoveroge horvest is obout I 00 kilosper horvest. These would be

induction (DAFI). At this stoge, the{ruits thot ore the size o{ o thumb orteospoon ore siill free from pestsond diseoses. Bogging reduced thenumber of chemicql spr:oyings {romseven to five, sloshing 22% oll thecost of chemicol control. Boggingolso improved the quolity of iruitssince lotex burn ond othermechonicol domoge were reduced.

PruningThe study found ihot the

m0ngo growers procticed threepruning iechniques: conventionol,center, ond troditionol pruning.Center wos the preferred techniquebecouse it ollows befier sunlighipenetrotion oi the center o{ the {ruittree. lt olso resulted to the dworfingof the trees thot mode monogemeniof the fruits eosier.

The growers observed oreduction in pest ond diseoseoccurrence through pruning ondthus, on increose in mongoproduction.

For more info. on lhe sfudy, pieosecontocl Ms. Morio Exce/sis M. Orden ol

directly delivered lo rnorketvendors oround Poooy ond soldot /5 pesos o kilo. According toMong Teddy, he could recover ollinves'ments in o yecrr er-su,ing omodest pro{ii

For more lhon c decodenow, his eornings from his tiloplofish coge were oble to send histwo chlldren to college. Hiseldest, o glrl, finished B.S.Computer Science ond hisyoungest, o boy, hos iusi {inishedhis iwo-yeor vocotionol course.Both his chiidren ore nowworking ond ore helping MongTeddy cnd his wi{e in their doilyends.

o pholo sourcer CLSU

(444) 4560 704.

Ofher sources;I Orden, MM., Poderes A.5.,

Aveno, .1.L., ond Sonios, A L.Effects of pruning ord Sogg nglechnologies on p'oduct,viry ondcosl in morgo prod,ction inselected oreos rn the Philippines.Cenlro I Luzor,. Sicle U nive rsitty,Nuevo Ecilo. a,'gtsr 2003.

2 Agribusrness ond McrketingAssisionce Se,.vice, Deporlmeni ofAgr iculture. A4cngo lndusttySiluoiioner Repo,.t.http : / / ww',v. d o. gov. ph / o g ribiz / mongol .html

Improving mdnllo...from pdge s

ond Zomboles in Luzon, Cebu ondGuimoros in Visoyos, ond Dovoodel Sur in Mindonoo. A totol of322 mongo growers ondcontroctors were interviewednotionwide.

The study determined thee{fects oi bogging ond pruningtechnology on fruit quolity os wellos the proportion of iruits occepted{or export. Yield ond income wereused qs indicoiors o{ productivity.Cost ond return onolysis wos modeto determine the profitobility o{ thetechnologies. Since peslmonogenrent gets o big portion ofcosl, pro{it onolysis wos done todetermine the pest monogemenlcost (PMC) using the indigenoustechnologies

BoggingBosed on the results o{ the

study, moioriiy o{ lhegrowers/controctors i nPongosinon, Zomboles, Guimoros,ond Dovoo use locol newspopersos bogging moteriqls. Bogging ofmongo {ruits is done55 to 60 doys ofter {lower

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OO5

SUCCESS STORY

By MIKO JAZMINE J. MOJICA

o pholo source; rde ocruz

r. Alfredo S. Villorico is qmedicol doctor but hos qnextroordinory interest in

forming. More thon 2O yeors ogo,he dreomt of growing mongosteenin the vost londs of Kidopowon,North Cotoboto. Agriculturistsdiscouroged him, soying nomongosteen would possibly growin the soils of their province.Armed with his medicolbockground qnd the will todisprove provinciol ogriculturists,he studied onything ondeverything there is to know oboutthe fruit ond its production. Todoy,he is the proud owner ol o 25-hectore mongosteen {orms inKidopowon, Polowon, ond otherports of the country.

Comporotive odvonlogeAccording to the lotest

situotioner report of theAgribusiness ond MorketingAssistonce Service of theDeportment of Agriculture (DA-AMAS) on mongosteen, thePhilippines is. "severelyunderplonted with mongosteen".But todoy, Dr. Villorico soid thotour couniry now beots Thoilondond Moloysio, the two couniriesdmong the top producers ofmongosteen. "This is becouse wehove olreody exponded the londoreo for plonting mongosteen dueto its comporolive odvontoge overthe other commonly produced

locol fruit," soid Dr.Villorico. He odded

thot the oreos devoted to rubberproduction in Mindonoo oreolreody converted 10 highcommerciol crops like mongosteen.Mony ore noi owore o{ this foctbecouse of the limited informotionond knowledge oboui itsproduction ond export potentiol.

Hord work, persistence,ond deep motivoiion drove Dr.Villorico to success{ully prove thotmongosieen could thrive inKidopowon. He hos been studyingmongosieen since l9Bl. He wosoble 1o prove thot mongosteen consuccess{ully grow in Kidopowonregordless of ihe voriety. Hisbockground in medicine ond hiswife's expertise on food ondnutrition worked to their greotodvontoge since he wos oble ioprove in his studies thot every porlof the mongosteen tree is useful.

Fruits of successDr. Villqricos numerous in-

depth studies ond experiments onmongosteen production,posthorvest hondling ondprocessing o re impressive.Commerciolly, mongosteen fruitsore processed inio loms, preserves,ond condies, while its medicinolproperties ore for curing diorrheoond olher intestinol disorders.

He wos olso oble todevelop other useful products outof this fruit such os teo drink,supplement copsule, ond {eminine

wosh. His teo con be drunk hot orcold, giving o smooth ond slightlysweel sensotion to the throot. Hissupplemeni copsule is goining greotinterest since he cloims thot it conprevent concer ond is effective inlowering blood pressure. Moreover,he lets his potienis who give birth touse his mongosteen feminine woshwhich he cloims to be o goodcleonsing ogent for the women'ssensilive privote ports.

ln foct, when he hod theopportuniiy to present histechnologies in on internotionolconvention, severol countries gotinterested ond instontly offered him ogood deol io commerciolize histechnologies. He soid thot CostoRico wos omong the most persistenttokers. However, he refused theseoffers becouse he wonted hisinnovotion to be known in thePhilippines. Although he is currentlycommerciolizing his technologies inthe United Stotes through o componyhe co-owns, he soid he mokes surethot they ore known os Filipino-mode.

Recognition ond chollengesThe ieom of the Notionol

Technology CommerciolizqtionProgrom (NICP) come ocrossDr. Alfredo Villorico ond histechnologies through the provinciologriculturist ond the reseorchpersonnel o{ ihe DA-CenirolMindo noo lntegroted Agriculturo IReseorch ond Formers TroiningCenter o{ Region I 2.in Kidopowon,-

) turnto page ll

BA-R' R&D Digest: July-Septernl:er 2OOS I9

COCONUT BIODIESEL

By MIKO JAZMINE J

he worsening hostilities inlroq, the impendinginstobility in Soudi Arobio,

ond the cotostrophic HurriconeKotrino thot recently hit portronsof the United Stote's moior oilrefineries Ie{t the world in o sioteo{ oil-price shock. According tothe report of the onlineencyclopedio, Wikipideo.com,ihe oil prices in the United Stotessoored from $50/borrel inMorch to on oll-time high recordof $70lborrel when HurriconeKotrino struck the US in eorlySeptember. Here in thePhilippines, Molocohong o{flciolsonnounced thot gosoline pricesmight hit P5O/liter ond diesel otP45-47 /liler in ihe succeedingweeks i{ the siiuotion worsens ininiernotionol irode.

Alternote energy sourcesThe unstoppoble oil-

price hike is creoting o resurgingoil crisis especiolly in developingcountries. The seorch forolternotive energy sources hodbeen initioied the world over tomeet the increosir.rg demond for

arland alleriate lhe cufleingcreoted by sky-high oil prices.

Gur caunlry has iried devsJePlngour own noturol gos. Ourscienlists from the University oi

the Philippines Mindonoo (UPM)tried to process biodiesel fromcoconut oil.

The procticql oilThe Philippines is known to

be omong the few countries in theworld which hove lorge sources o{coconut oil. According to UPMreseorchers, the production ondutilizotion of biodiesel or coconutmelhyl ester (CME) in thePhilippines storted over twodecodes ogo. However, most of thestudies regording these wereundocumented ond thus, were notd isser"rinoted.

The scieniists report thotbiodiesel is o vioble olternotive fordiesel fuel becouse of itseconomicol ond environmentolbenefits. The reporls cloim thotcoconut biodiesel con significontlyreduce corbon dioxide emissionsby os much os I O9%. Thisconforms well with Republic Act8749 also known os the PhilippineCleon Air Act of 1999. Moreover,since coconuis ore producedmossively in the country, the cost oiprocessir-rg lhe coconui biodieselwoDb nd be o burden ior ournoiionol budgei.

The Deportment oi EnergY(DoE) reporls thr:t the CME tYPe o{

biodiesel which wos lounched irr

our country hos o comporotiveodvontoge becouse it guoronteesexcelleni lubricity, solvency, onddetergency when used by engines.The Deporlment recognizes ihe useof CME os first-rote becouse itresults in better combustion, lesspollution, ond extro engine power.

Furthermore, it wospredicted ihot the use of coco-blodiesel would provide ondestoblish o long-ierm ondsusioinoble domestic morkei. Thiswill meon stobilizotion of domesticcoconut production ond highincome from copro, which willheighten og ribusiness opporlunities.

Processing biodieselThe UPM reseorchers, M.A.

Soriono-Cruz, l.C. Nolongon, ondH.E. Flores focused on improvingCME yield ond comporing one-stoge ond two-stoge blodieselproduction. Tronsesterificotion orolcoholysis, the most commonlyused method lo produce biodiesel,wos utilized. Sodium hydroxide wosused os o cotolyst to generole estersond glycerol. The refined coconui oilused in this study wos ocquired {romthe Mindonoo Coconut Oil Refineryin Dovoo City.

Dlfferent treotment

combinotions oi sodirt hydroxide,

I turntoPage22

BAR R&D Digest: July-septernber 2OO5

P ROT]DL\' PHILT PPINE-MADtr

Pinoy's CoccDmetgoes globcrl

By MARIA LIZTETH SEVERA.J. BARONA

oconet hos mode the Filipinoproud. lt is like one o{ thosemoments when one of our

own coptures the ottention of theworld. When one of our inimitobleboxers did it, the notion virtuollystopped still, thrilled. The some wostrue when one of our young Filipinoscoptured her British ond internotionoloudiences with her wittyextemporoneous on Pinoy diosporo.

Now, one of the innovotionsof our entrepreneurs wowedinternolionol iudges ot The WorldChollenge sponsored by BBC Worldond Newsweek. Coconet now stondsolong wilh I 2 other innovotionfinolisls from oll over the world.

Coconut textile, cDconet inshort wos developed by Dr. JustinoArboledo oi Juboken Enierprise.Coconet is o mot woven from l0O%coir fiber ihot serves os "surrogote"roots by holding loose soil together toprevent soil erosion.

Lond degrsdqtion ondlivelihoods

Dwellers in uplond oreos putextro pressure on our uplond noturolresources like wotersheds to be obleto provide for the needs of theirfomilies. Unknown to them thepressure on the lond ond on ihewotersheds ore subiected todiminishing reiurns thot ultimotelyodversely offect these dwellers.

When erosion occurs, cropproductivity is r'educed becouse whotis woshed-off is the top soil thotcontoins the soil nutrients. Thereduced level of the bosic plontnutrients needed for crops, trees ondother plonts, decreoses the diversity

ond obundonce of soilorgonisms importont toploni growth.

The exigencyproblems on uncheckedond unmitigoted soilerosion prompted theFoundotion for oSustoinoble Society, I nc.(FSSI) ond JubokenEnterprise, lnc. to formCoco TechnologiesCorporotion, or CocoTech,to help provide long-termenvironment ondeconomic solutions to theeffects of londdegrodotion. Cocotechoims to; o) stobilize ondrehobilitote soils ondslopes, b) develop thedemqnd-morket for cocobosed products, c) revivethe coco fiber ond coirindustry, d) set thestondords for quolitycontrol production, e)continue the process o{developing new ondinnovotive technologies,ond f) provide livelihoodopportunities tomorg inolized commu nities.

Holding the soil inploce

The coconet creoted byJuboken Enterprise helps stobilizeslopes with loose soil. Speci{icolly,the nets ore used on criticol onddisturbed slopes with wotervelocities of 3 ftlsec ond 6 ftlsec,where new vegetotions ore likely bewoshed out with roin.

Before instolling the net,the slope is smoothened, rocksond unnecessory vegetotionwere removed. Anchoring thenets require bomboo pegs thotore 25 to 30 cm long. Everysquqre meter of coconetrequires on overoge of 3 pegs to+

BAR R&D Digest: July-Septernber 2OOS

PROUDLY PHILIPPINE-MADE

errsula urriflrrr-r conlocl of the rrei toihe soi .

rrsioilotiol stcrrls on the topri i-: s tpe vriih the nei lcid downcrre 'reter f rorn tl.re edge. The rretther. lncoi s downword olong ihecl irection of the woter flow Direcico;rtcrct of lne net io the soil must bemointoined oll the time.

The odvonioge of thecocorrei is thot iis instolloiion doesnot require speciolly skilled workers.The moteriols used ore olso noturol.Aitbouqh il is lobor intensive, it does

Coco-di€s€f...fro m pdge za

coconut oil, ond methonol usingtemperotures 32'C ond 65'Cwere corried out in the experimentond were replicoled three times.The Duncons Multiple Ronge Test(DMRT) wos used to determinethe best treotmenl combinolionthot produces the highest yield o{CME

Two-sloge coco-biodieselproduction

The results o{ theexperiments showed thot thebetter meihod of coco-biodieselproduction is the two-stogetronsesterificotion. A meon yieldo{ 30.08-92.33% wos obtoinedfrom one-stoge tronseslerificolion,ond 86.79-98.74% irom the iwo-sioge ironsesteriiicolion process. ltwos found thot the yield for bothprocesses were highesi ot 65'C.

The scientists ottest thotihe best somple of biodieselproduced {rom iheir experimentwos o{ good quolity ond issuiioble os o substituie {orcommerciol diesel or con beblended wiih it. They recommendo stondordized methodology forcoco-biodiesel production to

rrot require power or energyinvestments to insioll the neis. Andwhile concrete borriers to soilerosion hove lo be repoired ormcrintoined for crocks ondseepoge, tlre coconet is self -repo iring.

Perhops the most importonltroit of the coconet oside from itsbeing effective ogoinst soildegrodolion, is thot it isenvironmentol friendly.

Coconets ore now beinqsold crnd used throughout the

world. The World Chollengewebsite reporls tlrot lhe cocone'hos irrproved the lives of l50CFilipino fornilies ond helped oclcobout US$ 5 roughly P3O0pesos to iheir dcrily income.

:"'.J OU T'CS :

L Moterols speci{icotions for erosio:control net, from CocoTechnologies Corporol on

2.htlp. / i www.theworldchoI1enge.co Lk/ finolists4 htrrrl

3. hitp :l'/www. cocog ree n . net,/productlines. html

4. htip://www. gcrio. orglgeo/soil. him

moximize lhe yield of coconutmeihyl ester

Using coco-biodieselTo focilitote the

instituiionolizotion of coco-biodiesel, President Glorio Arroyoissued Memorondum CirculorNo.55 on Feb. 9,2004"directing oll deporfments,bureous, offices, ogencies ondinstrumentolities o{ thegovernment, includinggovernment-owned ondcontrolled corporotions toincorporote the use of onepercent (l%) b1l volume CoconutMeihyl Esier in their dieselreq u irements. "

At present, coco-biodiesel is siill in iis infoncy.Although severol siudies hoveproven the coco-biodieselodvonioge, there ore still lots o{work which need to be donebefore the public could occept itsvolue. Aworeness, promotion,ond oppreciotion of thistechnology ore some o{ thepossible initiol steps thot could betoken i{ we ore to seriouslyconsider using coconut biodiesel

over the commerciol fuel.

fhis orticle wos bosed on the study,"Iwo- stoge coconuf biodieseiproduclion" on AFMA Eest R ondD Poper I' runner-up, bosicreseorch colegory during the l6''Notiono/ Reseorch Symposiunr,October 2004.For more infornolion, pieoseconlocl Ms. Anno Morie Soriono-Cruz al te/ephone nos. + 6382-2934302, or + 63920-2827 064.

Sources:J Soriono-Cruz M.A., No/ongon,

1.C., ond F/ores, H.E. Two-stogecoconut biodiesel production.Universify of the Philipp;nesMindonoo. Morch 2004.

2 Oil price increoses of 2004 cnd200s.Htt p : / / e n.wtki pedia.org / wiki / Oil3rice_increos es-of _2004 *ond _200s

3. Biodiesel. http : / / www. doe. gov. ph

/,2 lte rnotive / < m e.hl m4 lnlernalionoi Fue/ Prices.

Htt p : / /www. glz. de I e n / the men / umwellin[rctstruklur /h onsport / I 02B5.htm

5 List of lnfernotional Fuel Prices2005.Htf p : / /www gtz.de / de / dok u ment

e / e n _l n te r nationo l_Fue/_Prices_2005.pdf

z2 BAR R&D Digiest: Juiy-Septernber 2

NEWSBITS

Pongonibcn bock ot DA's helm:-e r srori stint os secretory in 200 1, Domingo F Pongonibon is bock os

-^: iecc.ilreris steword. The oppointment wos mode f'nol ol o ceremony held oi thei -rec" of soils ond woter Monogement Convention Holl on 1 5 July 2005. Thenewly-instolled secretory welcomed his "second-chonce to moke o difference in thesector" where he devoted much of his coreer. He mode cleor his policies during thisoccosion soying his wotch will be o "people-centered" one, botting {or modernizedogr:iculture rooled firmly on the principles o{ equity, sustoinobility, ond subsidiority. Heloid out his sirotegies which ore os {ollows: o) invest more on productivity enhoncinginstruments vitol to ogriculturol growth like R&D, irrigotion, roods, ond other morket-supporl in{rostructure, b) improve qccess to knowledge-bosed technology, credii,morkets, ogribusiness expertise, ond pro{essionol monogement systems, ond c) forgestronger cooperotion between the ocodeme ond locol government units(LGUs).

BAR holds 2"o A/F Techno-ForumBAR held its second technology forum ot the RDMIC compound during the

celebrotion o{ the I B'n BAR onniversory August B-12,2005. The theme of thecelebrotion wos "Iekno/ohiyo tungo so mosogonong ogrikulfuro, pongisdoon, olindustriyo; . Eight technologies irithe or"o, i crops, livestock ond fiJeries, werepresenied. The {orum underscored BAR's commitmenl to define iis role inmodernizing ihe couniry's ogriculture secior through technologies ond newknowledge generoted through reseorch ond development.

Colloborotive wolershed-monqgement proiecl inougurotedFor-flung Borrio Sopong-Bulok wos witness io on influx o{ officiols from the

Deporiment of Agriculiure ond its otfoched bureous, BAR ond BSWM, includingheods of non-government orgonizotions ond iniernotionol orgonizotions {or thei no ugurotion of the BAR-funded "Com mu n ity-bosed Wotershed MonogementApprooch in lmproving Livelihood Opportunities Project",on 30 July 2005. Theihree-yeor prolect promoles on iniegroted woiershed development proiect throughuse of porticipotory opprooch in plonning, implementotion, ond moniioring o{proiect octiviiies. lt will olso hold skills troining, workshops, ond on-the-job troinings{or locols especiolly {or the women ond youih of ihe communities for oliernotiveson sources of income. Among those who ottended were Secretory Domingo F.Pongonibon, BAR Director Nicomedes P Eleozor, BSWM Director RogelioConcepcion, ICRISAT Director-Generol Williom Dor, ond FFF President LeonordoMontemoyor.

BAR qnd United Phormochem promole ogri technologiesAfter the MOU signing on colloborotive proiect to estoblish on ogriculiurol

technology developmeni center in Mobolocot, Pompongo, BAR Director NrcomedesP Eleozor ond United Phormochem President Elpidio Duco, including some BAR stoff,visited the demonstrotion {orm. During the visit, Director Eleozor emphosized thotATDC will be ihe show window {or other regions. The proiecr's officiol lounching isplonned to,be ottended by Secretory Domingo Pongonibon ond President GlorioMocopogol-Arroyo.

BAR loys down 5-yeor plonThe finol phose o{ ihe 5-yeor strotegic plon of the Bureou wos finolized

curing lhe sirctegic plonning workshop ot the Development Acodemy Philippines,Togovtoy City. The group revisited the Bureou's mission ond vision vis-o-vis PresidenlArroyos l0-poini ogendo. During the workshop, the group developed oction plonsond ideniified odjusiments to be mode in struclures, policies, cnd deploymeni oi

BAR R&D Dic{est: July-Septernber 2OO5

NEWSBITS

BARDicsSr

Entered os Second C/oss Moil ot Quezon Cifl Cenlrol Post Office Permil No. 752-01 NCRSublec/ lo Pos/o/ /nspecllon

resources to successfully implemenlits plons. The plons were guicied byDA's twin gools: creoting more iobsond moking woge goods offordqble.Director Eleozo'r's B-point ogendowos olso incorporoted in ihe process.BAR olso reviewed iis 2001-2005performonce. ond idenii{ied issuesoffeciing the BAR system ond itspolicies.

Sec Pongonibon otlends BARonniversory

Deporimeni of Agricu ltu reSecretory Domingo F. Pongonibonhelped usher in ihe Bureou o{Agriculturol Reseorch to its I B'n yeorof existence, which BAR DirectorNicomedes P Eleozor colled "onochievement on its own". SecretoryPongonibon gove the Bureou o pot inthe bock by ocknowledging theiechnologies generoted throughreseorch thot he soys would bechonging the lives of the {ormingcommunities ond the commonconsumers of the country. He olsoexpressed sotisfoction with thedireciion ihe Burequ hos ossumedthrough the Notionql TechnologyCommerciolizotion Progrom, ond theefforis BAR hos put on developing itsAgrilech Online ond on thelounching of the troining monuols ongeogrophic informotion systems.

GIS/RS monuql, AgrilechOnline lqunched

The Bureou of AgriculturolReseorch formolly lounched AgritechOnline ond troining monuols on

! m pl e nt e nlot t on of Geog ro phi cI nformotion Sysiems i n Agr'iculfu reond Nofuro/ Resources, ond Ano/ysisof Renrotely Serrses Doto outhored byBAR'S GIS expert Dr. EstebonGodilono, during the BARonniversory progrom, August B,2005. BAR's GIS experi, Dr. EsiebonC. Godilono outhored the troiningmonuols on GIS implementoiion qndremote sensing doto onolysis. Thebook oims to "provide understondingond hqnds-on knowledge of theissues ond requiremenis forimplementing ond opplyinggeogrophic in{ormotion systems ondtechnology in ogriculture ond noturolresources". Dr. Godilono is on experton spoce technology. He holds odoctorote degree in environmentolinformotion sysiem from CornellUniversity.

BAR slqff visit privole demoform

Director Nicomedes Eleozor,olong with severol BAR stof{ ondportners from the region visited to oprivotely owned {orm thotdemonstrotes the use of dripirrigotion for vegetoble production.The sioff ond visilors were givenleciures ond demonstrolions o{irrigotion equipments ond dripsystems by experts of NETAFIM, onlsroeli-owned compony oi its site inBorrio Bucol, Silong, Covite.NETAFIM is q business entity thoiprovides innovqtive solutions toincreose crop yield ond preservescorce wqter resources. lt offers

cutting edge core-drip irrigotiontechnology ond ogronomicexpertise folgrigoiionlondscoping, turnkey greenhouseproiects, wostqwoter recycli ng forenvironmeniol irrigoiion, ondodvonced crop monogement ondmonitoring sysiems.

NTCP fost-trocksimplementolion

The Bureou's NotionolTech nology Commerciol izotionProgrom holds o series o{octivities to fost trock itsimplementotion. During the week-long celebrotion of the BARonniversory, NTCP conducied itsand

-2'" Techno-Forum this yeor, ondheld o consultotion-briefing withthe Deportment oi Agriculture'sRegionol Fisheries Reseorch ondDevelopment Centers ond theRegionol lntegroted AgriculturolReseorch Centers. A poster-moking contesi for Quezon Cityelementory pupils wos olso held.At leost l5 schools porticipoted.

Mindonoo vegeloblestokeholders discuss globolcompetitive odvonloge

I ndustry-leoders, formers,government ond non-governmentofficiols held o MindonooVegetoble Congress on I B-.l9August 2005 ot ihe Grond MenSeng Hotel in Dovoo Ciiy. Theevent sought to bring to lightissues ond chollenges thoi orebeing {oced by the vegetobleindustry, ond come up withrecom mendoiions for vioblegovernment interventions ondprivote sector po rticipotion.Going by ihe theme, "MindonooVegetoble lndusiry Stokeholders'Colloborotion: A StrongerLinkoge to Morket", thestokeholders shored their bestproctices in vegetoble indusirydevelopment ihol con provide{ormers ond producers the bestmorket opportunities.