STATION
PhilRice Negros Branch director: Gerardo F. Estoy Jr.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PhilRice Negros develops, improves, and promotes rice and rice-based technologies for Western and Central Visayas with special focus on organic rice farming. The station handled five projects: (1) Project on Rice Areas towards Intensified and Sustainable Environment (PRAISE); (2) Development of Organic Rice-based Production Systems (OBRA); (3) Collaborative Rice Extension for Achieving Community Transformation (REACT); (4) Rice Business Innovations System (RiceBIS); and (5) Strengthening Regional Rice Seed System (RSS) in the Visayas. This year, PRAISE project established one rice-based cropping pattern in the station, in which rice was planted with upland kangkong, eggplant, and string beans. Soil fertility status of the station’s seed production area was assessed. Fertilizer recommendations of 120-45-60kg and 90-45-45kg of N, P2O5, K2O were applied in the DS and WS, to gain 6t/ha in DS and 5t/ha in WS. Rice Tungro Disease (RTD) and stem borer were identified as the most prominent problems for both seasons. The suitable sowing period for DS establishment was from last week of October to November and June for WS. To facilitate enhanced monitoring and data gathering of pest incidences and management practices in the seed production and research areas, 2 android-based applications were developed: WIDGEN (a weed identification application) and Open-data Kit (for monitoring and recording cultural management practices, pest incidences, and other important observations and generate real-time recommendations). For the OBRA project, a baseline survey of organic rice farmers was conducted in Candoni, Negros Occidental. Seventy-one organic rice farmers were interviewed. Organic fields are almost equally distributed in three ecosystems: irrigated (40%), upland (33%), and rainfed (26%). Majority of farmers used good seeds of inbred rice varieties, mostly exchanged from other farmers while some used certified seeds distributed from the government through the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund Program. Varietal demonstrations under the REACT project were established in the Central Philippines State University (CPSU) in Kabankalan and Moises Padilla campuses and at PhilRice Negros station. In the Moises Padilla site, NSIC Rc 358, Rc 216 and PSB Rc 18 performed well under the PalayCheck System. The Kabankalan site was applied with organic farming, in which NSIC Rc 222 achieved 3.9t/ha. Genotypes 3
