CITY OF SAN FERNANDO—The Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) on Friday launched here a plant growth promoter (PGP) it has developed from seaweeds which could increase rice yields by as much as 30 percent.
The PNRI said Vitalgro Carrageenan plant growth promoter contains phytohormone-like compounds that support the growth and development of crops.
Dr. Lucille Abad, PNRI-Department of Science and Technology (DOST) chemistry research section head and also inventor of the product, said the product supports stem growth and allows the efficient absorption of plant nutrients. Abad said the PGP can increase rice yields by 15 percent to 30 percent.
She said carrageenan came from seaweeds (known locally as guso or gulamang dagat) and is organic since it is edible. The seaweed was subjected to irradiation with gamma rays at the PNRI facility.
“[The irradiation] was a slow process so if we irradiate 2,000 liters, it will last up to four days,” Abad said. “So now we achieve the same effect with the use of electron beam. This now allows us to go commercial.”
Dr. Gil Magsino, agriculturist from University of the Philippines-Los Baños (UPLB), conducted the pilot test in Pulilan, Bulacan, and gave insights on how it was done during his talk.
Juliet Franciso, an agriculturist from Pulilan, Bulacan, also gave a testimony on the effectivity of the carrageenan technology.
Francisco narrated that Typhoon Lando (international name: Koppu) wreaked havoc on Bulacan just before harvest time when the field testing of the product was conducted.
She said rice stalks that were sprayed with the Vitalgro Carrageenan remained upright compared to those in the devastated fields surrounding the test area.
Wilfredo F. Sibal, DOST chief science and research specialist, said the seaweed-based PGP project kicked off when Engr. Mario G. Montejo was still science and technology secretary
Sibal said field testing showed that carrageenan can increase rice yield, and provide pest and disease resistance to plants.
He said the use of hybrid seeds, mechanical rice transplanter and the seaweed-based PGP can increase rice yields to as much as 200 cavans per hectare.
“We are grateful to Dr. Abad of the PNRI for coming up with this research idea,” Sibal said.
Claro Q. Torres, technical sales manager of Sunripe Agri Machineries Inc., said his company is the distributor of Vitalgro Carrageenan PGP.
Image credits: Ashley Manabat