Tips and Guides

Banana is one of the most common and widely grown fruit crops in the Philippines. It is also one of the country’s major dollar earners, and has consistently ranked next to coconut oil and prawns in terms of value earnings during the last five years.

In 1991, banana topped local production among the other major fruits such as pineapple and mango, thus eating up more than one-third of the production pie.

Banana has various uses. The ripe fruit is pureed, candied, and preserved in various forms when not eaten fresh. Its extract is used in the manufacture of catsup, vinegar, and wine. The unripe fruit is powdered and chipped.

In rural areas, the young leaves are pounded to suppress bleeding and treat wounds. The leaves are also widely used as packing materials for fruits and vegetables in market centers. Banana fiber is manufactured into rope, sack, and mat. Sheets of paper and paper boards are also made from banana peel. Banana blossom is exported dried. Filipino housewives use it in special dishes.

VARIETY

Banana is native to Southeast Asia where the climate is warm and humid. Of the 57 banana cultivars, the following are the most common in the Philippines:

1. Saba
grows to as tall as 20 feet; fruit is angular; has thick peel that is green when unripe, yellow when ripe; flesh is white when ripe; gestation period is 15 to 16 months.

2. Lacatan
grows to a height of five to nine feet; fruit is round, seedless; has thick peel that has green when unripe, yellow-orange when ripe; gestation period is 14 to 15 months. Read more…

Ito’y maitatanim sa lahat ng dako ng Pilipinas. Ang ampalaya ay mayaman sa kalsiyum, mineral, karbohaydreyt at Bitamina B. May dalawang uri ng ampalaya: ang puti at berde. Ang berde ang karaniwang itinatanim.

Paraan ng Pagtatanim

Magtanim ng 4-5 binhi sa bawat tundos na 5 sentimetrong lalim at 1 ½ hanggang 2 metrong agwat sa hanay ng mga tudling. Pagkaraan ng ilang araw, bawasan ang pananim at mag-iwan lamang ng 2-3 malulusog na pananim sa bawat tundos.

Sa sandaling tumubo at gumapang ang mga baging ng ampalaya, bungkalin ang lupa sa pamamagitan ng kamay o pang-ararong hila ng kalabaw. Gawin ito pagkaraan ng isang linggo.

At the end of the nineteenth century, several plant species were introduced into the Philippines. These came from different parts of the world and included fruits, vegetables and medicinal plants. Some proved to be valuable and easily adapted to the Philippine conditions while others were less promising and did not gain a wide acceptance among the populace. One of the introductions which proved to be suitable to the Philippine soil and climatic conditions was the avocado.

Known as ‘aguacate’ in Spanish and ‘alligator pear’, ‘Palta pear’, ‘Midshipmans butter’ and ‘avocado’ in English, it is called as ‘abokado’ in the Philippine vernacular. It was introduced into the Philippines in 1890 by the Spaniards through seeds coming from Mexico. However, it was only from 1902 to 1907 that avocado was introduced successfully into the Philippines by the Americans. Through the Bureau of Agriculture (now the Bureau of Plant Industry which is under the Department of Agriculture), planting materials were received from Hawaii, Costa Rica and the United States. In 1913, the Bureau of Agriculture, together with the College of Agriculture of the University of the Philippines Los Baos, started the countrywide spreading of avocado trees. Now, avocados are found growing all over the country, most of which are cultivated in backyards.

Varieties

The avocado varieties in the country have been developed mainly through introduction and selection. Many varieties have been introduced since 1903 and most of them have been lost. Today, only a few varieties exist. Most of them are selections from local seedling trees, and they are confined to only a few nurseries and backyards. These are:

* Cardinal: The fruit bottlenecked with an average weight of 400 grams. The skin is reddish-purple and thick (1.3 mm). The seed is small (40 g) and is loose to tight in the cavity. The flesh is yellow, moderately fibrous and constitutes 80 per cent of the whole fruit by weight. Read more…

Watermelon
(Citrullus lanatus)

Watermelon, locally known as pakwan or sandia, is one of the more popular fruit vegetables in the Philippines, especially during summer.

Preferred varieties are Sugar Baby and Charleston Gray. Varieties with yellow flesh and rind are not very popular.

Watermelon is planted to about 5,000 ha, the bulk of which is planted during the regular season (October to January) There are a few commercial growers during the off-season in Marinduque, Sorsogon and Pampanga.

Varieties

Watermelon has the following varieties

* Sugar Baby : round and dark green with red flesh.
* Goody Ball : round and dark green with red flesh.
* Charleston Gray : oblong and light green with red flesh.
* Maharlika : round and dark green with red flesh.

Soil Requirements

Watermelon grows best in dry, hot areas. It is best to plant before December. With proper management, watermelon can be grown in clay soils. Production is best, however, in sandy loam to clay loam soil.

Land Preparation

Prepare the soil thoroughly by plowing and harrowing twice. Prepare adjacent beds 0.75-1.0 wide. In between the beds, provide a space 0.5 m wide as canal for furrow irrigation, or as a pathwalk for manual watering. The next adjacent bed should be 5-7m from center to center of the canal.

Apply 5-10 t/ha animal manure and 5-7 bags/ha of complete fertilizer (14-14-14) several days before planting. Cover with plastic mulch, perforated 0.4-0.5 m apart.

Planting and Maintenance

Seedling Production

A 1-ha production area requires 300-500 g seeds or 6,000 to 10,000 seedlings. Soak seeds in water for 30 min and wrap in damp cloth overnight. Sow singly in 4 x 6 (inches) plastic bags with 1 part garden soil, 1 part animal manure or compost and part rice hull ask or wood ash. Place in partial shade and expose to full sunlight one week before transplanting.

Irrigate before transplanting. Transplant one seedling per hill. Irrigate immediately. Plant corn as trap crop and windbreak every 10-15m. Plant marigold as pest repellant.

Pruning and Fruit Thinning

Pinch off the main shoot after the 5th node. Allow two major vines to develop. Remove the first female flowers or fruits on the major vines. Allow 2-3 fruits/vine on the 10th and 12th nodes and thin to 1-2 fruits /vine depending on variety.

Nutrient and Water Management

Side-dress with 10-20 g/hill 14-14-14 every two weeks until the onset of female flowers. At fruit setting, side-dress with 10 g urea (46-0-0) and muriate of potash (0-0-60) at 1:1 ration 2 to 3 times every two weeks.

Irrigate regularly at 7-10 days interval or depending on the growth of the plants. Stop irrigation two weeks before harvesting.

Pest and Disease Management

* Cucurbit beetle : Spread wood ash; spray carbamates
* Cutworm : Spray tobacco extract or Bacillus thuringiensis
* Aphid/thrips : Use plastic mulch; spray hot pepper extract
* Leaf miner : Spray fipronil or Chlorox
* Downy mildew : Spray with mancozeb/Acrobat; spray with compost tea (Compost tea is prepared by fermenting compost for 10-14 days. The effluent is sprayed to control foliar disease).
* Anthractose : Spray with captan/Bentale; spray with compost tea

Harvesting

Harvest at 75 to 85 days from transplanting depending on variety. The indices of maturity are dried tendrils near a fruit and yellowing of the blossom end.

Source: PCARRD Production Guideo on Watermelon; photo from www.ashycook.topcities.com

Eggplant, is cultivated for the immature fruits which are roasted, fried, stuffed, cooked, pickled, or processed. Preferred types are the long, purple varieties with green calyx, but some regions also prefer the long or round, green-colored varieties. It is grown in 18,000 ha all over the country, but major producers are Ilocos, Central Luzon, and Southern Tagalog.