Natural Resources Conservation and Management Centers (NRCMC)

This project targets to develop and establish safe, effective, and quality oral and topical dosage forms from the five plant extracts with promising anti-inflammatory activity and non-toxic profile.

This project was conducted in 2 consecutive years. It aimed to determine the fertilizer management of Ilocos white garlic and evaluate its effect in storage. Specifically, to evaluate the level of potassium at different application dates; to determine the performance of Ilocos white garlic as affected by levels of phosphorus and split application of potassium; and the performance when added with organic fertilizer with those P and K treatments and asses the bulbs when stored in 6 months.

Results of the two year of evaluation showed that dates of application, levels of phosphorus and split application of potassium did not affect the agronomic performance of Ilocos white garlic. A significant difference was observed on the results across years, wherein the growth and yield performance of the garlic plants showed superiority in Year 2 than in Year 1. This difference was clearly attributed to the weather conditions during the evaluation period. The weather condition in Y2 was more conducive to garlic production than in Y1.

No significant weight losses and damaged clove/bulb of Ilocos white garlic applied with different levels of potassium at different application dates, levels of phosphorus and split application of phosphorus when stored for 6 months. Meanwhile, with the addition of organic fertilizer at the rate of 5.0 t ha-1 to different levels of phosphorus and split application of potassium, a 33% and 38.46% higher yield, was obtained respectively as compare to those without organic fertilizer. Longer and wider leaves, lesser incidence of purple blotch and tangle top, bigger bulb sizes were obtained from those with organic fertilizer compared to those without organic fertilizer.

Alokon (Broussonetia luzonica) is a popular indigenous vegetable in the Ilocos Region as well as in Cagayan and Apayao. The inflorescences or the flowers and the tender young leaves are widely marketed to a price ranging from 200 pesos to 500 pesos during season. These are commonly used as one of the main ingredients to various native Ilocano dishes such as pinakbet, dinengdeng, and even steaks to improve textures and aroma. However, literature on alokon crop and the propagation management technology is still limiting and there is no known yet local variety identified in the Philippines. Since, one of the major constraints of alokon is the difficulty of root growth, the focus of this research is on the propagation method by stem cuttings of a mature branch determining the response of cuttings applied with different rooting hormones and used of different potting media, employing different cutting length, soaking time and different concentration of Hormex to enhance its domestication, propagation and establishment of duplicate mother trees of selected ‘varieties’ at MMSU. Use of Hormex as rooting hormone and RS+OF+DRH as potting media consistently had the most numbered of buds, number of leaves per bud, highest survival rate, longest root, and highest net income and ROI. Stems cut into 40cm produced the highest survival rate while stems soaked in 4hrs had the most number of buds. Use of 5ml/liter concentration of Hormex produced the most numbered of leaves and longest bud but were comparable to 10-25ml/ and highest survival rate was obtained when 10-25ml/liter concentration was used.

Seed shortage is oftentimes the limiting factors in scaling-up the rehabilitation of denuded areas. This is due to the unpredictable fruiting seasons of most trees and short viability of recalcitrant seeds. Hence, this study was conducted to provide information on the phenology of superior mother trees of selected indigenous timber species to develop seed calendar that could facilitate seed collection and planning of nursery operation and timely production of quantity planting stocks.

Results revealed that peak of flower bud inception of V. parviflora, D. dao, W. pubescens and A. thurifera starts after leaf flush during the first rain in May while flowering activity of S. supa and I. bijuga comes earlier during mid-summer. However, flowering activity of V. parviflora continuously occur towards the early dry months in January in synchronize with fruit development and maturation. Fruit development and maturation had the longest phenophase of 8-9 months in A. thurifera and W. pubescens, 3-4 months in V. parviflora, 4-5 months in I. bijuga and 2-3 months in D. dao and S. supa. Timing of flowering and fruiting remains unchanged in almost all the timber species. Thus, the ideal time of collecting seed or fruit of D. dao is August – September, V. parviflora is September- October, S. supa is May – June, I. bijuga is October-November, and A. thurifera is April – May.

The success of any reforestation or rehabilitation activity depends on the appropriate choice of species, adequate knowledge of potential species and their performance under a given site condition. Hence, this study was conducted to identify the most promising indigenous timber species (ITS) for the rehabilitation of denuded hilly areas in Ilocos Norte.

Based on the results, non-dipterocarp species such as V. parviflora, W. pubescens, I.bijuga, S. supa and D. dao are recommended for open and degraded areas. Dipterocarp species such as H. plagata, A. thurifera and S. guiso are also promising, however, these species require the provision of compatible species mixture to reduce direct exposure to sunlight and to improve the stem form especially during the early stage of growth.

The hilly areas in the Ilocos have marked nutrient deficiencies because of inherent low nutrient fertility and due to improper management. Due to the insufficient supply of nutrients, plant growth is stunted and plants become vulnerable to environmental stress. Thus, it is necessary to integrate fertilizer management strategies to supplement nutrient demand for plant growth to restore the productive capacity of these areas.

Based on the results, it can be deduced that the application of 50g 14-14-14 + 300 g OF is sufficient to enhance the growth characteristics, biomass, vigor and survival rate of the newly planted ITS. Although the application of 70g 14-14-14 + OF enhanced the growth and vigor, this did not enhance the survival rate of the different ITS.

Ecological Pest Management (EPM) is an approach to increasing the strengths of natural systems to reinforce the natural processes of pest regulation and improve agricultural production. This is because the greater the diversity of natural enemy species, the lower the density of the pest population, and as diversity of natural enemy species decreases, pest population increases. However, specific pest problems can be addressed in part by adding specific plants to the farm system, or by building and maintaining habitat on the farm that attracts and retains beneficial insects and pollinators, or by a combination of both strategies. In addition to habitat around crop fields, within-field polycultures or intercropping systems show great promise in a balance agro eco system. Hence, MMSU is always committed to provide solutions to the problems of the garlic industry. With the erratic weather conditions in the various agro-ecological systems, this brought pest outbreaks in the past years. To identify correct management techniques and crop assemblages that sustain the performance of the ecosystem, this research conducted three components: First is, Habitat management through manipulation of the farm ecosystem, second, Habitat management through the use of appropriate cultural practices and third, Enhancing the activities of biological control method in the farm ecosystem through the use of trap crops/band rows.

Based on the results of the study, Pest incidence and infection of the garlic plants were highly influenced by crop spacing. Higher occurrences of purple blotch and cercospora leaf spot was noted on closer planting (15cm x 15cm) as compared to wider spacing of 20cm x 15cm and 20cm x 20cm.The used of trap crops and hedge rows like marigold and corn is encourage not only to suppress the attacked of destructive pest but to increasing crop quality, attract natural enemies and reduce pesticide use.

Bokashi, an organic soil amendment originally formulated in Japan where it is widely used is composed of these three organic matters. It is a form of fermented organic fertilizer containing indigenous microorganisms and nutrients which are beneficial to soil and plants. The project involves in the formulation of different Bokashi mixture, characterization of different bacteria presents in the mixture, and investigating the influence of Bokashi on the development, growth performance in garlic and onion.

Bolinao native chicken is a unique genetic group in the Ilocos region which are predominant in the province of Pangasinan. However, this genetic group were found to be in small number. This may be attributed to indiscriminate breeding with exotic lines in different upgrading activities crossbreeding, replacement by commercial breeds or simply they are being neglected. Hence, conservation measures must be implemented, and these native chickens of have to be protected from extinction through intensive breeding programs, both at the species and population levels.

The project focuses the purification of the Bolinao Native Chicken. At present, the True-to-Type Bolinao chicken starts to lay eggs at about 24 weeks old. It can produce 60 eggs per year. The eggs laid weigh 41.35 grams on the average. Of the eggs produced, 48.19 % were fertile and 60.87% of the fertile eggs were able to hatch. To improve the current average performance of the Bolinao chicken, continuous breeding and selection is necessary.

The study is about the weather forecasting methods that are traditionally used by Ilocano folks as bases in predicting the onset of the wet season, occurrence of rain and adverse weather conditions. Their common indicators have indeed scientific bases. These traditional methods (weatherlores) were validated in different towns of Ilocos Norte and were found to be weather related. These indicators were used in planning their day to day farming activities especially during the wet season.

The research was implemented to determine the relationship between air temperature and the degree of purple blotch damage to the yield of garlic. This study will serve as guide in determining the optimum temperature and degree of purple blotch damage for higher yield of garlic.

The research focuses on the phenophases of different cultivars/varieties of garlic. Such study leads to the identification of phenophases that are susceptible to the occurrence of pests and weather conditions that influence the occurrence and severity of the diseases. The information derived is useful in determining the appropriate time of applying pest management strategies based on weather conditions and phenophases of garlic.