DUMINGAG, ZAMBOSUR--If the use of organic fertilizer and the hole method of planting works well with cassava, then so it must be with other plants and vegetation, a farmer shares what he learned with the gahong-gahong method.
Simply put, “if A is equal to B, which is also equal to C, then A has to be the same as C,” thus explains Robert “Toto” Biadog, who tried the Cerilles method in his farm located in Lower Timonan.
Actually, Biadog was just following Mayor Jun Pacalioga’s directive to his constituents to try digging a few holes in their backyard and copy the Cerilles method of planting the cassava root crop.
Pacalioga has said been repeating that cassava is a sure earner and with the use of the application of the new method, Biadog and his brother-in-law, Gerry Albite, benefited a lot in terms of livelihood since they tilled their farm.
In the past, farmers in the area used to harvest only about three kilos but ever since Pacalioga introduced the gahong-gahong, harvested cassavas now weight an average of 20 kilos or more.
Gahong-gahong is done by digging of a hole, then filling it with organic fertilizer, before planting anything on it.
Biadog tried to experiment. He wanted to make sure the Cerilles method is not only good for cassava planting but also in his other root crops, believing this contributes a lot in providing the needed nutrients to make the soil fertile.
So he planted half of their four-hectare with corn, rubber, cassava, monggo, coconut, taro and banana using the Cerilles method and the rest of the land using the ordinary technique.
He then filled the holes with rice straw plus a little topsoil. For his coconut trees, he put in two man loads of rice straw, but for the rest of his crops, he only put in one load then left it to decompose for a month before planting.
Seven months passed and Biadog could see his banana growing three times its normal height and already has three offshoots compared to the 5-feet banana in the land where gahong-gahong was not applied
All of his other crops like corn, rubber, cassava, coconut and taro grew well because of his method applied.
Biadog explains he intends to learn more on the procedure on how to process different kinds of organic fertilizers, like the one taught in trainings by the LGU organic farming committee (OFC).
The OFC, led by Jesus Semine, regularly conducts trainings on how to make organic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in different barangays as part of the LGU campaign to install an organic farming system in the entire municipality.
REPORT BY JULIUS BREVA
Simply put, “if A is equal to B, which is also equal to C, then A has to be the same as C,” thus explains Robert “Toto” Biadog, who tried the Cerilles method in his farm located in Lower Timonan.
Actually, Biadog was just following Mayor Jun Pacalioga’s directive to his constituents to try digging a few holes in their backyard and copy the Cerilles method of planting the cassava root crop.
Pacalioga has said been repeating that cassava is a sure earner and with the use of the application of the new method, Biadog and his brother-in-law, Gerry Albite, benefited a lot in terms of livelihood since they tilled their farm.
In the past, farmers in the area used to harvest only about three kilos but ever since Pacalioga introduced the gahong-gahong, harvested cassavas now weight an average of 20 kilos or more.
Gahong-gahong is done by digging of a hole, then filling it with organic fertilizer, before planting anything on it.
Biadog tried to experiment. He wanted to make sure the Cerilles method is not only good for cassava planting but also in his other root crops, believing this contributes a lot in providing the needed nutrients to make the soil fertile.
So he planted half of their four-hectare with corn, rubber, cassava, monggo, coconut, taro and banana using the Cerilles method and the rest of the land using the ordinary technique.
He then filled the holes with rice straw plus a little topsoil. For his coconut trees, he put in two man loads of rice straw, but for the rest of his crops, he only put in one load then left it to decompose for a month before planting.
Seven months passed and Biadog could see his banana growing three times its normal height and already has three offshoots compared to the 5-feet banana in the land where gahong-gahong was not applied
All of his other crops like corn, rubber, cassava, coconut and taro grew well because of his method applied.
Biadog explains he intends to learn more on the procedure on how to process different kinds of organic fertilizers, like the one taught in trainings by the LGU organic farming committee (OFC).
The OFC, led by Jesus Semine, regularly conducts trainings on how to make organic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in different barangays as part of the LGU campaign to install an organic farming system in the entire municipality.
REPORT BY JULIUS BREVA