ADOPTION of smart farming has been found to increase the yield of sugarcane in the Philippines.
This was the highlight of the accomplishments of a program dubbed “Boosting the sugarcane industry through smart farming techniques” that aims to boost the sugarcane industry, which resulted in 24 percent increase in average yield (measured by tons of cane per hectare) of sugarcane, and reduced fertilizer use by 15 to 25 percent.
The program, which has five project components, is led by Dr. Armando N. Espino, Jr. of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU).
It is being monitored and funded by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) through its Industry Strategic S&T Program (ISP) on Sugarcane.
Other agencies that implemented the component projects include: the DOST’s Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (DOST-PNRI); University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB); the DOST’s Metals Industry Research and Development Center (DOST-MIRDC), and the Philippine Center for Postharvest Development and Mechanization of the Department of Agriculture (DA-PHilMech).
The 24 percent increase in average yield was realized through the use of S&T interventions such as: use of varieties with high sucrose content and resistance to smut and downy mildew; improved nutrient and water management strategies; and mechanization of harvesting operations.
The summary results for Project 1 dubbed “Smart Water Management Strategies for Sugarcane” and implemented by CLSU, found an increase in sugarcane yield by 30 percent by adopting soil moisture and weather-based irrigation scheduling system; fertigation system; subsurface drip lateral installer; soil moisture monitoring device; and best water management schemes for drip and furrow irrigation methods.
For Project 2, “Smart Farming-Based Efficient Nutrient Management to Increase Sugarcane Productivity through Elemental Tracer and Related Techniques,” which is implemented by DOST-PNRI, increased nutrient use efficiency by 20 percent, reduced fertilizer use by at least 15 percent, and reduced loss of soil nutrients by 15 percent.
This was achieved through precise fertilizer recommendation for different soil fertility levels; utilization of best time and method of fertilizer application; and use of efficient variety x N-fixing endophytic bacteria combination.
For Project 3 under the “Development of Nanofertilizers for Sugarcane Production” and implemented by UPLB, resulted in reduced fertilizer use by at least 25 percent through the development of a nanofertilizer and optimized method and rate of nanofertilizer application.
For Project 4, which is “Design and Development of Sugarcane Harvesting Equipment for Small-scale Sugarcane Farm” and implemented by DOST-MIRDC, led to the reduction in labor requirement from 120 man-day per hectare (md/ha) to 36 md/ha and reduced equipment cost by 20 percent for small-scale farms.
This was made possible through the development of harvesting equipment, which includes cutter, leaf stripper, and loader for small farms that cover one to five hectares.
Under the “Design and development of harvester for medium-scale sugarcane farm” of Project 5, the DA-PHilMech developed an equipment which is capable of harvesting five tons of cane per hour that reduced labor requirement from 120 md/ha to eight md/ha./PN
