A farmer-group comprising of around 50 farmers attended the field day on technology demonstration on Hybrid Yellow Corn Production Using Site Specific Nutrient Management (Nutrient Expert) at Cabaritan Sur, Naguilian.
Held on March 31, 2022, the office of the Provincial Agriculture La Union organized the activity along with its implementing partners, the Department of Agriculture region 1, and LGU Naguilian. The one-hectare demo farm was planted with two hybrid corn varieties, DK6919S of Dekalb and P3530YHR of Bayer.
During the activity, the speakers emphasized the significance of the agricultural sector, encouraging farmers to continue to apply what they have learned about SSNM and other technologies brought to them by the DA and share it with their fellow farmers. They also asked the farmers to have their soils analyzed to avoid over-application of fertilizer. They also assured that the agriculture department will always give full support to them. They are Dr. Gilbert Rabarra — OIC of DA RFO 1 Research and Development Division, Committee Chair on Agriculture, Hon. Aurelio Flora, Mr. Marcelo Otanes —Provincial Corn Coordinator, and Municipal Agriculturist Mr. Willy Estabillo.
Meanwhile, Mr. Ruel Ramos, the techno-demo coordinator explained that SSNM is a set of scientific principles for proper corn nutrition management. He said it aims to help farmers in deciding on when to apply fertilizer, right source, right place of application, and right amount of fertilizer to avoid applying too much since some are already present in the soil.
In the results of the cost and return analysis, the cost of producing a kilo grain of yellow corn costs P11.33 and the total cost of production at one hectare is P93,405 when using the SSNM technology.
Based on the crop cut activity, there is a projected average yield of 8.27 ha. and 8.22 ha. from the P3530YHR and DK919S, respectively.
The report also revealed that a farmer could attain optimum yield of the hybrid varieties used with the recommended fertilizers for every hectare. For basal application, the recommended rates are: 6.5 bags complete (14-14-14),0.5 bag Urea (46-0-0), and 0.5 bag Muriate of potash (0-0-60); and for side-dress application, 2.5 bags of urea is recommended.
