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Archives
Apr. 1-30, 2006
National peanut festival: A celebration of hope
by Rudyard R. Roxas
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| A farmer with his newly harvested peanuts from the DA-RFU2 demo field. |
Officers and staff of the Bureau of Agricultural Research together with visiting scientists from the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) graced the initial staging of the “National Peanut Festival” on 12 April 2006 at the Regional Field Unit 2 (RFU 2) station in the province of Isabela.
Organizers of the event, the RFU 2 of the Department of Agriculture headed by Dr. Gumersindo D. Lasam, pushed for the staging of the celebration, come hell or high water. In this case, it was literally high water.
The event which was previously scheduled a couple of months before had been delayed due to the onslaught of typhoons during the months of December 2005 and January of this year. These flooded the demonstration field where the new peanut variety, ICGV 86564, was being tested.
Peanut stakeholders from as far as Masbate in the south and Batanes in the north trooped to the town of Ilagan, Isabela, which is 410 kilometers from Manila, to witness the launching of this peanut variety that could withstand abiotic stresses.
The large-seeded peanut, popularly known in India as ‘Asha’ (meaning hope), has the potential of being a better alternative to corn, one of Cagayan Valley’s prime agricultural product. Asha was developed in the research stations of ICRISAT in the Indian state of Andra Pradesh to withstand drought. As was observed in the trial fields of DA-RFU 2, it can also withstand severe flooding. Demo fields planted with Asha were submerged to flood waters during the three critical stages of the test: flowering stage (35 DAP), pegging stage (48 DAP) during the December floods, and pod formation stage (65 DAP) in January.
Despite the floods, yield obtained from eight different planting treatments using ammonium phosphate fertilizer ranged from 1.2 tons/ha (on a 30cm x 10 cm broad bed and furrow plot with two bags/ha fertilizer) to 3.458 tons/ha (on a 50cm x 10 cm flat row plot with 4 bags fertilizer). The highest yield observed with a 2 bags/ha fertilizer was on flat row 30 cm x 10 cm plot.
In support of the government’s commercialization program, seed stocks were distributed to farmer recipients and seed grower, and certificate of eligibilities were awarded to local government units (LGUs).
Among the immediate beneficiaries of the peanut variety trial are farmers and LGUs of the towns of Ilagan, Jones, Echague, and Angadanan in Isabela; Enrile Maddella and Iguig in Cagayan; Basco, Batanes; and Kayapa, Diadi and Bagabag in Nueva Vizcaya.
The Asha field trial is a partnership project of DA-BAR and ICRISAT through the cooperation of the DA-RFU 2 that aims to develop and facilitate the transfer and promotion of suitable peanut variety/technology. Aside from the Cagayan Valley region, the project aims to reach Regions 1, 3, 4, 10 and 11 by the year 2007. 
April 1-30 2006 Articles:
:: Sec. Panganiban commends 50 grad scholars produced by BAR's IDG
:: Dir. Eleazar, Dr. Alcala represent RP in World Rubber Summit in Malysia
:: Dir. Eleazar receives recognition as past LDC executive director
:: AVRDC surveys Philippine tomato, pepper viral diseases
:: NRM seminar tackles food linkage to ecosystem
:: Sweet sorghum and pigeon pea technologies commercialized
:: Livestock technology packages gain boosts
:: Workshop validates project logframe on income and market development
:: DA senior researchers train on rubber disease
:: CEMIARC finetunes projects at BAR
:: ICRISAT's leading scientists lecture during BAR seminar
:: Learning from the Koreans: A study visit to the land of the morning calm
:: National peanut festival: A celebration of hope
:: Golden kuhol crusher grinder: A cheap, gender-friendly machine
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