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Low
productivity is among the major problems confronting corn
farmers in the province of Bukidnon. But now, farmers can
gain more from their open-pollinated variety (OPV) white corn.
This is
according to the report of researchers from the Department
of Agriculture – Northern Mindanao Integrated Agricultural
Research Center (DA-NOMIARC) in Malaybalay City, Bukidnon.
Under
the four-year project of DA-NOMIARC, “On-Station Technology
Demonstration on Low Input Technology Options (LITO) in OPV
White Corn Production,” the researchers assessed the
performance of two LITOs in terms of farm yield and income.
LITO 1
is the combination of three bags 16-20-0 (ammonium phosphate),
one bag 0-0-60 (muriate of potash), two bags 46-0-0 (urea),
and six bags of organic fertilizer (Sagana 100). LITO 2 involved
the use of the same amount of inorganic fertilizer but with
20 bags of chicken manure as organic fertilizer.
Both technology
options gave higher yields and net benefits over farmers’
practice. Between the two options, LITO 2 proved to be better.
It produced a higher average yield of 4.77 t/ha during the
wet season (WS) and 4.56 t/ha during the dry season (DS) compared
with 4.69 t/ha during WS and 4.14 t/ha during DS of LITO 1.
The
net benefits from LITO 2 averaged P31,990/ha during WS and
P43,320/ha during DS while LITO 1 averaged P31,550/ha and
P37,020/ha during WS and DS, respectively.
The
research team also evaluated the integration of Bio-N in the
last two years of the project to further reduce production
cost. The researchers concluded that the application of Bio-N
can replace as much as 33% of the inorganic nitrogen (N) without
much yield difference. Also, Bio-N offers better nutrient
uptake during DS as a result of microbial activity. It is
therefore a good option for reducing the cost of inputs and
increasing the income of OPV white corn farmers. (Ma. Theresa
T. Bautista, S&T Media Service)
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