Forty-six days after sowing, the Upland Hybrid Rice TH 82 planted in a small demonstration plot in my farm has already started developing panicles in some of its tillers.
Today, rice seed grower Nathanael Fabila visited the demo farm and checked on the progress of the growth of the Hybrid Rice sown on May 27.
I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were already small panicles developing in some of the tillers he pulled out for testing.
TH 82 is the first Hybrid Rice Variety which could be grown through dry seeding in un-irrigated areas.
Developed by US Seedworks in its rice seed production areas in India, it has the potential hyield of up to 10-metric tons per hectare.
In my experimental farm, I installed a pressurized irrigation and fertigation system using Israeli technology which allows me to provide water to my crops through the rain pipe system.
The experiment is intended to show that with efficient irrigation and fertigation system, upland rice farmers who traditionally harvdested only up to 3 metric tons per hectare, could now produce as much as 6 to 8 metric tons twice a year.
While I have personally funded this demo farm, PhilRice and MinDA have collaborated with me by providing technical support and documentation.
US Seedworks Philippines has also supported the project by providing the seeds and inputs for free.
Ten more demo farms, this time funded by the Mindanao Development Authority, will be established in other parts of Mindanao to serve as show window to upland rice farmers.
#KungGustoMaramingParaan!
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