[av_one_full first min_height=” vertical_alignment=” space=” custom_margin=” margin=’0px’ padding=’0px’ border=” border_color=” radius=’0px’ background_color=” src=” background_position=’top left’ background_repeat=’no-repeat’ animation=”]
[av_heading heading=’URBAN FARMER ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
[/av_heading]
[av_textblock size=” font_color=” color=”]
Exploring the benefits of seaweed
LIVING up to its status as an agriculture-business(agri-business), marine and aquatic institution in the country, a school in Malita, Davao Occidental, has explored one of the many benefits of seaweed by converting it to an organic foliar fertilizer.
Developed by the Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic School of Technology (SPAMAST), the fertilizer is derived from the drippings of Kappaphycus alvarezii, a species of the red alga.
The Kappaphycus Drippings or KD Foliar Fertilizer, which is claimed to be 100 percent organic, has proven to increase the yield of rice, baby corn, soybean, mungbean, sweet pepper, cauliflower, mango, pechay, and orchid.
Developers at the SPAMAST claimed that the fertilizer has proven to promote enhanced growth in terms of height and diameter as well as enhance seed germination.
They said that when used for pechay, it increased the number of its leaves and leaf area index.
A kilo of Kappaphycus seaweed can yield up to 650-milliliter (ml) liquid fertilizer.
It contains nutrients that are said to contribute to soil fertility, including nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, and manganese.
The recommended rate of application is 20-ml of KD per liter of water, which can be sprayed directly and generously to the plant early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Drippings of the Kappaphycus seaweed contain nutrients that contribute to soil fertility, including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, copper, zinc, iron, and manganese.
Foliar fertilizers are directly applied on the plant’s leaves, which absorb nutrients through its stomata and epidermis.
“KD Foliar Fertilizer can provide fisherfolk with additional livelihood,” Graciella Caballero of SPAMAST said.
“With a kilo of seaweed, a large plastic bag, and direct sunlight, a fisherfolk can generate 650ml of liquid fertilizer, which can be sold for P75 a liter,” Caballero added.
SPAMAST is a member of the Southern Mindanao Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development Consortium (SMAARRDEC), one of the consortia established by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (PCAARRD-DOST).
The KD Foliar Fertilizer technology is one of those that were displayed at the recent Davao Agriculture Trade Expo (DATE).
Geared towards the development of the agriculture industry in Davao Region, the three-day event was recently held at the SMX, SM Lanang Premier in Davao City.
DATE 2016 featured Mindanao’s golden crops and is packaged to cover the basic aspects of a successful agriculture extending beyond production to cover financing, processing, marketing, and even exporting.
DATE 2016 also highlighted the first-ever agri marketing conference which aimed to provide a venue for business matching and networking and to link agri-traders, businessmen, and consumers./PN
[/av_textblock]
[/av_one_full]
