BIBLIOGRAPHY ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013. A Data Entry on the Farming Practices
of Buguias Vegetable Farmers. Benguet State University. La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Christine Grace B. Sidchogan, MDevCom
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to document the farming practices of Buguias, Benguet
vegetable farmers. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the common farming
practices of Buguias farmers in terms of crops planted and the stages of production; and
the factors affecting the decision of farmers to adopt such farming method.
It also aimed to store the results in a simple website for information storage and
retrieval.
The findings of the study showed that the farmers have the same practices on carrot,
cabbage and potato production.
Respondents have the same preferences when it comes to varieties of carrot,
cabbage and potato. Carrot and potato varieties were selected according to its compatibility
with the soil, while in cabbage, the variety selected were based on the market price.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
The study also found out that there were farmers still using Gramoxone despite it
being banned. This herbicide was acquired by the respondents from vendors at the La
Trinidad Trading Post.
The respondents identified their problems when it comes to farming; the lack of
capital because of bankruptcy and the lack for irrigation system, especially during dry
season. Thus, because of lack of water for irrigation during summer, some do not plant any
crop. This is the major dilemma of the respondents from Bangao and Poblacion, except for
the eastern part of Poblacion.
Carrot and potato were the planted vegetables this January to March with potato
have the largest area which is 16.5 hectare and carrot with 15.5 hectares. Farmers in
Buguias were inorganic growers since they used commercial fertilizers and sprayed
chemicals on the crops. They also employ a certain cropping pattern which is crop rotation
since it may control pests and diseases and to improve the quality of the soil. Results
showed that the farming practices of the respondents which is inorganic method had been
greatly influenced by parents.
The simple website was made for information storage and retrieval; and easy
access. The URL was www.buguiasfarmingpractice.weebly.com
Based on the findings, it is recommended that government agencies should help the
farmers for the solution of their problems. Moreover, a database on the farming practices
may be developed by Information Technology experts in the university and other
concerned agencies.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Socio-Demographic Profile of the Respondents
Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents according to age, sex, civil status,
educational attainment, years of farming experience, land ownership and the measurement
of the respondents’ farms.
Age. As shown in Table 1, the age bracket of 41-50 got the highest percentage of 48,
followed by 20-30 with 24 %. On the other hand, 16% of the respondents belonged to the
age range of 50 and above. These show that the respondents were adults while few were
above the age of 50. Such results also imply that nearly half of the respondents were part
of the labor force when using age as the basis.
Sex. Seventy percent of the respondents were males and the rest were females. It may
imply that males were more active in farming because married women were more engaged
in housekeeping. This case was also shown in the study of Lomiwes (2007) in Loo,
Buguias, where women were more active in taking care of household chores and managing
their sari-sari stores.
Civil status. Eighty-one percent of the respondents were married and only 16% were
single. This shows that married couples were more engaged in farming.
Educational attainment. Forty-four percent of the respondents reached high school level
and 42% reached elementary. Only one respondent never attended school.
This indicates that almost all of the respondents are literate.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Age bracket
20-30
24
24
31-40
12
12
41-50
48
48
50 and above
16
16
TOTAL
100
100
Sex
Male
70
70
Female
30
30
TOTAL
100
100
Civil Status
Single
16
16
Married
81
81
Separated
2
2
Widow/Widower
1
1
TOTAL
100 100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 1 continued…
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Educational Attainment
Elementary Level
42
42
High School Level
44
44
College Level
13
13
Never Attended School
1
1
TOTAL
100
100
Years of Farming Experience
3-10 years
19
19
11-20 years
25
25
21-30 years
38
38
31-40 years
18
18
TOTAL
100
100
Land Ownership
Owner
62
62
Tenant
38
38
TOTAL
100
100
Cultivated Area
Owner Cultivated
41.25 ha
66
Tenant Cultivated
21.25 ha
34
TOTAL 62.5 ha 100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Years of farming experience. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents had been farming for
21-30 years followed by 11-20 years with 25%. However, most of the respondents claimed
that they had been exposed to farming as early at the age of seven or eight when they helped
their parents at the garden. This shows that at young age, most children were exposed to
field works at the garden. The results also imply that the respondents have been involved
in farming practices for several years already.
Land ownership. The table shows that majority (62%) of the respondents were land owners
while the rest claimed that they were tenants. Findings were the same in the study of
Lomiwes (2007), where majority of the respondents cultivated their own land. Farm
measurement. All land owners were cultivating a total land area of 41.25 hectares while all
tenants were cultivating a total of 21.25 hectares. Findings show that tenants were
cultivating almost half of the cultivated measurement by the land owners. The same with
the findings of Sacla (2007) in his study at Catlubong, Buguias where most of the
respondents were land owners.
Table 2 shows that most (46%) of the respondents were cultivating .5 hectare while 29%
of the respondents claimed that they were cultivating .25 hectare. These imply that all of
the respondents cultivate a minimum of one-fourth hectare. This supports the finding in the
study of Sacla (2007) where all of the respondents till less than a hectare.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 2. Area cultivated by the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Area Measurement
.25 hectare
29
29
.5 hectare
46
46
.75 hectare
7
7
1 hectare and above
18
18
TOTAL
100 100
Vegetable Crops Grown by the Respondents
Table 3 shows that there were four major crops being planted by the respondents namely,
potato, carrot, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. Sixty-seven percent were planting carrot,
53% with cabbage, 50% with potato and 39% with Chinese cabbage. Other vegetable crops
grown by the respondents were lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and garden peas.
These show that the crops grown by the farmers in Bangao and Poblacion were varied.
Common Farming Practices of Poblacion and Bangao Farmers
Farming practices were categorized into three which were: pre-production practices,
production practices and harvesting practices. The Pre-Production practices included seed
selection and land preparation. The Production practices included ways of planting,
fertilizer application, pests and diseases management, weeds control, and irrigation. Under
the harvesting practices are: the maturity basis, months of the crops before harvesting and
the considerations of farmers before harvesting.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 3. Vegetables crops grown by the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Vegetables
Carrot
67
67
Cabbage
53
53
Potato
50
50
Chinese Cabbage
39
39
Lettuce
23
23
Beans
19
19
Broccoli
8
8
Garden Pea
7
7
Cauliflower
4
4
*multiple response
Pre-Production Practices
Cabbage. Two processes were considered in the pre-production of cabbage: seed selection
and land preparation.
Seed selection. Almost all (99%) of the respondents claimed that they selected the seed
varieties that were suitable to the soil type of their farms and the season. Only one
respondent selected seed variety as recommended by other farmers since the respondent
has a minimal experience in farming. All of the respondents bought the seeds they planted
from farm supplies. This shows that all respondents acquired seeds they needed from farm
supplies.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Cabbage varieties selected by farmers is shown in Table 4. Seventy-four percent of the
respondents planted the variety RB (Rareball), followed by Lucky Ball variety with 43%
and the Scorpio variety with 27%. These three varieties were said to mature easily within
two and a half months according to some of the respondents. Scorpio was chosen by other
respondents because during marketing, this variety had the highest market price than the
others. Other varieties being selected by the respondents were Condor, Sigma, Green Coal,
Nong Woo Bio and Wonderball. These varieties were rarely planted by the respondents
because of low market price during marketing.
Results show that a farmer plants more than one variety of cabbage. Results also imply
that farmers chose varieties based on the crop duration and the market price of the
variety.
On the seed treatment, all of the respondents did not treat the cabbage seeds before planting.
They said that the seeds were directly planted, and after some days, were uprooted for
transplanting. Treatments were done when seeds were contaminated through mixing
fungicides to the seeds.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 4. Varieties of cabbage commonly selected by the respondents
VARIETIES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
RB
39
74
Lucky Ball
23
43
Scorpio
12
27
Condor
6
11
Sigma
5
9
Green Coal
4
7
Nong Woo Bio
3
5
Wonder Ball
2
3
*multiple response
Land preparation. In the land preparation, in Table 5, 70% cultivated and hilled up the
plots then made bowl-likes (tal-ukan) side by side on the plots for the seedlings (Figure 2).
Another practice was they cultivated and hilled up the plots and flattened it for
transplanting.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Figure 2. Bowl-like dugs planted with cabbage seedlings
With the least percentage, some respondents cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened it.
They then applied chicken manure on the plots. They let the chicken manure to be
composted for 15-20 days, cultivated it again and lastly, they made make bowl-like dug
(tal-ukan) on the plots for the seedlings.
Table 5. Land preparation practices of the respondents on cabbage
PRACTICES
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Hilled Up and Flattened plots
9
17
(ready for transplant)
Hilled up, flattened plots then made bowl-like dug
37
70
for seedlings
Hilled up, flattened plots, applied and composted
7
13
chicken manure, cultivated, then made bowl-
like dug for seedlings.
TOTAL
53
100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Carrot. The same with cabbage, there were two processes in pre-production of carrot:
seed selection and land preparation.
Seed selection. Farmers selected the seeds of carrots themselves based on their experience
on the certain variety if it is suited for the soil and the season. As shown in
Table 6, carrot varieties that were mostly selected were; Tokita, Takii’s New Kuroda,
Chun Hong, Kuroda, Makita and Hung Nong. Other varieties were Teracota, Akari,
Firewedge, Condor and Nokia seeds. In the study of Sacla (2007) in Catlubong, Buguias
where Takii’s and Tokita were the top two varieties selected by the respondents.
Most of the respondents bought the carrot seeds directly from farms supplies
(93%) while some of the respondents acquired seeds through middlemen.
With regards to seed treatment, almost all (98%) of the respondents did not treat the
seeds. Moreover, two of the respondents treated seeds before planting by adding fungicide.
Treatment were done when seeds were infected.
Table 6. Carrot varieties commonly selected by the respondents
VARIETIES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Tokita
41
61
Takii’s New Kuroda
32
48
Chun Hong
25
37
Kuroda
20
30
Makita
12
18
Hung Nong
6
9
Akari, Firewedge
3
4
Teracota, Condor, Nokia
2
3
*multiple response
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Land preparation. For the land preparation, 59% of the respondents cultivated and hilled
up the plots, flattened then furrowed it as shown in Table 7. Moreover, 28% cultivated and
hilled up the plots, flattened the plots, applied chicken manure with the soil and let it be
composted for 15-20 days, cultivated it again, flattened the plots and furrowed (Figure 3
and 4). With the least percentage is more likely the same with the latter practice, except
that after the chicken manure were composted, the respondents sprayed it with fungicide
before cultivating again.
Table 7. Land preparation practices of the respondents on carrot
PRACTICES
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Cultivated and hilled up the plots,
40
59
flattened then furrowed
Cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened and
19
28
applied and composted chicken manure,
cultivated again, flattened and furrowed
the plots
Cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened and
8
13
applied and composted chicken manure,
sprayed fungicide, cultivated again,
flattened and furrowed the plots
TOTAL
67
100
Potato. Pre-production of potato have two processes: seed selection and land preparation.
Seed selection. On the seed selection practices, most of the respondents chose the variety
based on their experiences. The consideration was the soil type of their gardens. The variety
chosen of almost all the respondents is the Granula variety and with the least percentage
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
was Ranyag variety. The results are same with the study of Baniaga (2008) where majority
of the respondents selected the Granula variety.
Figure 3. The plots are flattened ready for furrowing
Figure 4. A farmer is furrowing the plots for the carrot seeds Most of the farmers bought
the germinated potato tubers they planted from other farmers. Some of the respondents said
that they have their own planting materials. Others also bought potato cuttings from
Benguet State University, and with much capital, they bought imported planting materials
from farm supplies.
Most of the respondents did not treat the planting material before planting; only eight
respondents treated the germinated potato tubers by spraying fungicides. The respondents
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
said that application of pesticide to the germinated potato tubers was done especially if it
was attacked by pests because if they will not apply pesticides, the potato tubers will not
grow since the pests had already eaten the germinated leaves.
Land preparation. On the land preparation, all of the respondents practiced the cultivation
and hilling up of the plots, flattening it then furrowing at the center of the plot.
These imply that the respondents practiced only one way in land preparation for potato.
Production Practices
Cabbage. There were five processes in the cabbage production: planting, fertilizer
application, controlling pests and diseases, controlling weeds and irrigation.
Ways of planting. All of the respondents practiced transplanting in cabbage. In
transplanting the seedlings, distance was observed by the farmers. Seventy percent allotted
seven to eight inches, and some allotted nine to 10 inches distance of the seedlings in
transplanting. Distance was observed for the growth of the heads of the cabbage.
Fertilizer application. In fertilizer application, as shown in Table 8, 57% of the respondents
claimed to use only one NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus -Potassium) fertilizers, the T16 (16-
16-16) and the T14 (14-14-14). T14 was the widely used fertilizer with 64%, followed by
Urea (46-0-0) and T16. This indicates that the respondents used only three types of NPK
fertilizers. NPK fertilizers were applied by all of the respondents to the cabbage seedlings
through top dress then side dress the plots (Figure 5).
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
All of the respondents used chicken manure. This shows that chicken manure is a primary
fertilizer in cabbage production. The same with the finding of Polagis (2009) in her study
at Poblacion, Buguias where all of the respondents used chicken manure. Eighty-seven
percent of the respondents applied top dress in applying the chicken manure; the remaining
13% did the basal application. Top dress is a fertilizer application method wherein a
fertilizer was spread thinly in the soil surface.
Figure 5. Side dressing of cabbage was done by one of the respondents
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 8. Fertilizers applied and application method on cabbage
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
34
64
T16 (16-16-16)
19
36
Urea (46-0-0)
23
43
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Top Dress
53
100
Chicken Manure
53
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Top Dress
46
87
Basal
7
13
*multiple response
Farmers applied these fertilizers in different number of days after planting. Table 9 shows
that majority applied complete fertilizers 19-23 days after transplanting the seedling.
Majority also applied chicken manure five to six days after transplanting. These indicated
that fertilizer and chicken manure applications were made after the new roots of the
seedling grew. After the application of the NPK fertilizers, the farmers applied
sidedressing.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 9. Fertilizer and chicken manure application after planting
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
NPK Fertilizers
10-14 days
4
7
15-18 days
11
21
19-23 days
36
68
24-26 days
2
4
TOTAL
53
100
Chicken Manure
5-6 days
37
70
7-8 days
9
17
15 days before transplanting
7
13
TOTAL
53
100
Pests and diseases management. On the pests and disease, cutworm had the highest
percentage on the pests and club root on the diseases with 64% and 40%, respectively.
Other pests and diseases that the respondents encountered mostly were beetles, diamond
back moth larvae, armyworms, leaf miners, slugs and leaf spots.
All the respondents controled these pests with chemical pesticides. This supports the
research of Medina (1987) on the pesticide use of farmers in Loo, Buguias.
Table 10 shows the pesticides used by farmers to control pests. Findings show that farmers
use more than ten insecticides and five fungicides. This supports the findings of Gayaso
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
(2010) that farmers relied almost exclusively on chemical pesticides in their desire to meet
the growing demands of consumers for high quality vegetables.
Majority of the respondents sprayed pesticides two-three times in a month during summer
and four to five times during the rainy season. These imply that the season affects the times
where the farmers sprayed pesticides.
Most of the respondents claimed to have sprayed pesticides before the increase of pests in
the crop and some sprayed the crop before the attack of pests. Respondents who used
Fenus, Sumicidine and Lorsban said that these were the most effective insecticides,
especially for Lorsban since it is newly introduced and it contains stronger chemical.
Lorsban is an insecticide used to eliminate insect pests such as diamond back moth,
cutworms and armyworms.
Weed control. Weeds control practices of the respondents were manual weeding
(100%) and 24% used herbicides.
Herbicides used by the respondents were shown in Table 11 with Afalon leading it. Afalon
is an herbicide which eliminates weeds through inhibiting photosynthesis; and do not
persist on soil. Respondents said that they used Afalon because it is not toxic to their crop
since it is a green labeled herbicide.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 10. Pesticides sprayed by the respondents on cabbage
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Insecticides
Fenus
21
40
Sumicidine
17
32
Lorsban
15
28
Success
14
26
Karate
11
21
Siga
11
21
Bida
11
21
Prevaton
7
13
Padan
7
13
Selecron
7
13
Magnum
6
11
Penant
4
7
Fungicides
Dithane
17
32
Manager
16
30
Mancozeb
9
17
Score
7
13
Vondozeb
4
7
*multiple response
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 11. Herbicides sprayed by the respondents
HERBICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=13
%
Afalon
9
69
Gramoxone
7
54
Power
4
30
Clearout
3
23
One Side
2
15
Sencor
2
15
*multiple response
Other herbicides used by the respondents were Gramoxone, Power, One Side,
Clear Out and Sencor. These results imply that there were farmers who are still using
Gramoxone despite that it being banned in Malaysia, Argentina, Philippines and in many
European countries. This herbicide has been proven to cause blurred vision, kidney and
skin damages, intestinal illness, breathing difficulties, and death due to lung injury (Heal
Toxics, 2012). Some of the respondents who were using Gramoxone said that they bought
the herbicide from vendors selling farming tools at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post.
However, respondents using Gramoxone claimed that they used it only if the weeds
surrounding their farms are hard to eliminate by weak herbicides. Respondents using
Gramoxone said that when spraying the herbicide, they wore protective gears such as face
masks, boots, plastic gloves and overcoats to avoid skin contact with the chemical.
Irrigation. With regards to irrigation, all of the respondents used sprinklers in irrigating
their crops. Shown in Table 12 were the times the respondents irrigated their cabbage in a
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
month. During the wet season, majority (58%) irrigated their crops two to three times while
during dry season, 74% irrigated the cabbage six to seven times. These show that during
wet season, cabbages are rain-fed mostly.
Carrot. Production of carrot has five processes: planting, fertilizer application, controlling
pests and diseases, controlling weeds and irrigation.
Ways of Planting. All of the respondents planted the seeds directly. The distances of the
furrows vary from three, four and five inches. The distance was observed by the
respondents to ensure the growth and development of the tubers.
Table 12. Times of irrigating cabbage in a month
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Wet Season
2-3 times
31
58
4-5 times
22
42
Dry Season
6-7 times
39
74
8-9 times
14
26
TOTAL
53
100
Fertilizer Application. Fertilizers (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) being applied by the
respondents is shown in Table 13 with T-14 (14-14-14), Urea (46-0-0) and T-16 (16-16-
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
16). Fifty one percent usually mixed the Urea with the T-14 while 49% used one fertilizer
only, either T14 or T16. The same with the results in the study of Sacla (2007), almost all
of the respondents used chicken as the primary fertilizer, except for one respondent who
used compost instead of chicken manure.
With regards to the application of these fertilizers, the NPK fertilizers were applied
through band/row application (100%) while the chicken manure were mostly applied in
two ways, basal and band/row application. Band/row is a fertilizer application where the
fertilizer is put on following the lines between the furrows of the carrots. Basal application
is a method where the fertilizer is mixed with the soil.
The results imply that some of the respondents applied the chicken manure the same with
the way they applied the NPK fertilizers.
Respondents who applied band/row method of the chicken manure claimed that they
usually did the basal method. However, when the price of chicken manure increased, they
shifted to band/row method because they used less chicken manure. These imply farmers
preferred to use method that does not require expensive input.
NPK fertilizers were mostly applied after the thinning (Figure 6). Thinning was applied to
provide enough space needed by the carrot in their growth. After one month and one week,
most of the respondents applied NPK fertilizers, and then applied side dressing. Some did
fertilizer application one month and one and a half month after planting. This is in contrast
with the finding of Sacla (2007) where majority of the respondents applied fertilizer a week
after the application of chicken manure.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Figure 6. Thinning of carrots was done one month after planting
Chicken manure were mostly applied right after planting, it serves as the covering of the
seeds.
Forty two percent applied chicken manure 15-20 days before planting by mixing it with
the soil and the remaining applied 10-15 days after planting.
These imply that most respondents applied chicken manure after planting. Some claimed
that it is more practical because they used less chicken manure than in basal application.
They related that chicken manure’s price is continuously increasing.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 13. Fertilizers applied and application methods on carrot
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
44
66
T16 (16-16-16)
26
34
Urea (46-0-0)
34
51
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Band/Row
67
100
Chicken Manure
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Band/Row
39
58
Basal
28
42
*multiple response
Pests and diseases management. Pests and diseases that were mostly encountered by the
respondents were cutworms, crickets, leaf miner, slugs, chicken maggots, blight and
powdery mildew. With these pests and diseases, all of the farmers used pesticides to control
it. This supports what Polagis (2009) said that all farmers used pesticides to control pests.
Shown in Table 15 were the pesticides being used by the respondents.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 14. Fertilizer and chicken manure application after planting
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
NPK Fertilizers
One month
8
10
One month one week
62
78
One and a half month
10
12
TOTAL
67
100
Chicken Manure
After planting ( Seed Covering)
40
50
15-20 days before planting
33
41
10-15 days after planting
7
9
TOTAL
80
100
Lorsban, Bida and Magnum were the top three insecticides used by the respondents. These
three were the most effective in eliminating insect pests according to the experience of the
respondents. Moreover, respondents preferred Dithane and Mancozeb since it is green
labeled which means that it is not toxic.
During the dry season, most of the respondents sprayed pesticides four to five times while
during wet season they sprayed six to seven times. This indicates that the spraying of
pesticides vary from the season and with the emergence of pests such as slugs and leaf
miners.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 15. Pesticides used by the respondents on carrot
PESTICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Insecticides
Lorsban
29
43
Bida
23
34
Magnum
22
27
Sumicidine
19
24
Karate
15
19
Rover
12
15
Fenus
11
14
Selecron
9
11
Success
9
11
Padan
8
10
Trigard
4
6
Fungicides
Dithane
24
36
Manager
23
34
Hyper
13
19
Vondozeb
9
13
Rainfast
6
9
Pilarich
5
7
*multiple response
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Weed control. Farmers control weeds through manual weeding and use of herbicides.
Herbicides being used by the respondents were: Afalon, Gramoxone, Sencor, One Side,
Power and Clear out. Results indicate that a farmer uses more than one herbicide. The same
results were observed in cabbage where most respondents use Afalon because as claimed
by some of the respondents, it can eliminate the weeds but do not affect much the carrots.
Carrots affected by Afalon turned the leaves yellowish but do not die.
Some of the respondents used herbicides since it is easier than manual weeding and it
required less time in eliminating weeds.
Irrigation. All of the respondents used sprinkler method in irrigating. Carrot is seldom
planted by farmers during the rainy season since carrot leaves were sensitive to typhoons.
Most respondents planted during dry season and (48%) irrigated the crop five to six times
per month.
Table 16. Herbicides sprayed by the respondents
HERBICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Afalon
56
84
Gramoxone
21
31
Power
15
22
One Side
12
18
Clear Out
8
12
Sencor
6
9
*multiple response
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Potato. There were five processes in potato production: planting, fertilizer application,
pests and diseases control, weed control and irrigation.
Ways of Planting. The germinated potato tubers were planted directly with distances which
vary from seven to nine inches and 10 to 12 inches distances. Most of the respondents
observed the distance of the tubers with seven to nine inches because according to them, it
is the ideal distance for potato planting. Respondents claim that seven to nine inches
distance was good enough for the potato tubers to grow underground.
Fertilizer Application. Fertilizers used were the same with the cabbage and carrot; however
there were differences on what fertilizer. As shown in Table 17, majority of the respondents
used T14 (14-14-14). Half of the respondents claimed that they mixed up the Urea and the
T14 while the other half used any of the T14 and T16. All of the respondents used chicken
manure. Fertilizers and the chicken manure were applied through top dress method.
Fertilizers were mostly applied after nine to 10 days after planting and the chicken manure
was three to four days after planting when the potato leaves have grown.
Pests and diseases management. Pests and diseases encountered by the respondents were
shown in Table 18. Thrips has the highest percentage on the pests and blight on the
diseases. Thrip is a tiny sucking insect with four long thin wings with hairs; it feeds on the
sap of plants. Blight is a plant disease, caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses, in which
symptoms range from brownish blotches on the foliage to withering of the entire plant
without rotting.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 17. Fertilizers applied and application method on potato
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
27
54
T16 (16-16-16)
23
46
Urea (46-0-0)
21
42
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Top dress
50
100
Chicken Manure
50
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Top dress
50
100
*multiple response
This is in contrast of the finding of Baniaga (2008) in Bangao, Buguias where leaf miner
is the major pest of potato.
Pests and diseases were controlled by the respondents by means of pesticides. This supports
the statement of Mendoza (nd) that for almost three decades, farmers in the Philippines
have been using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and growth regulators in their crop
production strategies.
Shown in Table 19 were the pesticides used by the respondents in potato. The table implies
that the respondents used more than two pesticides in pests and diseases control and they
used more fungicides than insecticides. These show that potato was more infected by
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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fungal diseases. Times of spraying a month vary from eight to nine times and 10 to 11
times.
Top three insecticides used by the respondents were Lorsban, Rover and Karate. According
to the respondents, these three were the most effective in eliminating the pests, especially
for Lorsban because it was the newest on the three so it contains stronger chemicals.
Lorsban were used to eliminate pests such as cutworms. Moreover, Manager, Leadonil
and Dithane were the on top on the fungicides used by the respondents. The same with the
insecticides used, the three were experienced by the respondents to be more effective to
control fungal diseases.
Table 18. Pests and diseases encountered in planting potato
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
Pests
Thrips
28
56
Cutworms
13
26
Leafminers
10
20
Diseases
Blight
39
78
Blackleg
24
44
Anthracnose
14
28
Bacterial wilt
7
14
Soft rot
5
10
*multiple response
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 19. Pesticides used by the respondents in potato
PESTICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
Insecticides
Lorsban
30
60
Rover
17
34
Karate
17
34
Bida
15
30
Siga
12
24
Trigard
11
22
Selecron
7
14
Fungicides
Manager
18
36
Leadonil
14
28
Dithane
11
22
Manzate
11
22
Vondozeb
8
16
Telgar
7
14
Rainfast
6
12
Daconil
6
12
Curazeb
3
6
Curazate
3
6
*multiple response
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Weed Control. On the weeds control, almost all employed manual weeding as well as some
also used herbicides (42%). Herbicides mostly used were the same with the herbicides used
in cabbage and carrot such as Afalon, Gramoxone, Clear Out, Sencor, Power and One Side.
These imply that the weeds encountered by the respondents in carrot and cabbage were the
same with the weeds encountered in potato. According to the respondents, the weeds they
encountered in growing carrot and cabbage were the same with the weeds they encounter
in potato, thus, they used the same herbicides.
Irrigation. All of the respondents used the sprinkler method in irrigating potato though the
number of times of irrigating varies from 10 to 11 and 12 to 13 times a month. This
indicates that the number of times of irrigating the crop is more frequent than the number
of times they sprayed pesticides. The respondents said that the times of irrigating must be
higher than the times of spraying so as to wash the pesticides sprayed for the chemicals not
to stick on the potato leaves.
Harvesting Practices
Cabbage. Harvesting cabbage were affected by two factors: consideration of the
respondents before harvesting and the maturity basis of the cabbage.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. Farmers harvested their cabbage with
several considerations. Factors they considered were; cabbage price at the market; the
maturity of the crop; and the availability of trucks to transport the produce to the market.
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Market price of the crop at the market was the major consideration of the respondents
because they wanted their investments to be returned and to avoid bankruptcy. This shows
that vegetable price at the market affects the time of harvesting of the farmers.
Maturity basis. Respondents harvested cabbage based on the maturity with three months
and its physical appearance, which includes heads were well-rounded and hard when
pressed. Some of the respondents said that harvesting at the right maturity is better because
buyers pay lesser price if the heads were over and under-sized.
Carrot. The same with the factors on cabbage, the consideration of the farmers and the
maturity basis affect on when to harvest the carrot.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. The considerations of farmers before
harvesting were the vegetable price at the market, the maturity; and the availability of
trucks to transport the produce to the market. Some also consider the weather because some
buyers would not buy their produce if it is wet and muddy since buyers reasoned out that
the tubers decay easily if it is wet.
Harvesting at the right maturity of the crop is the best according to the respondents
considering the leaves and the tubers of the carrots because the lesser the leaves, the lesser
also the price in the market; and the smaller the tubers, the lesser the price.
Maturity Basis. Farmers harvested the crop based on its maturity and the physical
appearance such as leaves turning yellowish and tubers were big enough. This supports the
finding in the study of Polagis (2009) where the farmers harvest of the crops according to
its maturity and size.
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Maturity was highly observed by the respondents because when the crop was stocked in
the garden, the leaves turned yellow. The leaves fall then that leads to the decreased number
of it, thus, buyers paid lesser.
Most of the respondents harvested carrot at three months. The maturity also depends on
the varieties but majority of the respondents harvests carrot after three months.
Potato. Maturity basis and the consideration of the respondents were under the harvesting
practices of the respondents. Processing is a post-harvest practice.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. The respondents considered some factors
before harvesting such as: the vegetable price at the market; maturity of the crop; some
consider the availability of truck for the produce’s transportation; and the availability of
people to help harvest. Harvesting potato requires more people than other crops.
Maturity basis. Majority of the respondents harvest the crop based on the physical
appearance and the maturity according to the months. After three months, most respondents
harvested their potato already. Some of the respondents said that in potato, they considered
much the market price before harvesting because potatoes can be stocked in the garden
even until five months.
Processing. Eighty two of the respondents processed the excess produce or the tubers they
did not sell. They stored the excess potato tubers for it to germinate and serve as their
planting material the next season. Some of the respondents said that producing your own
planting material for the next season is better than buying. This will decrease their
expenses. Others would also store the excess produce to sell it to farmers who need
germinated potato tubers.
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Marketing Practices
All of the respondents marketed their produce through middlemen except for one who sold
his own produce at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post (LTVTP). Some of the
respondents said that even the middlemen have to get 10% of the gross income; they still
let the middlemen sell their produce because they do not have knowledge on how to sell
their produce.
Three percent claimed to sell their produce at the Abatan Public Market especially if their
produce is less in volume. Three respondents sold their produce at the Nueva
Vizcaya Trading Post especially if the vegetable prices at the LTVTP were very low. This
shows that majority of the produced vegetables is brought to the LTVTP.
Respondents said that bringing their produce to the LTVTP is better because it is nearer
than the Nueva Vizcaya Trading Post; there were more buyers; and farm to market road is
better than the road going to Nueva Vizcaya.
These support the finding of Sacla (2007) where the farmers bring their produce to La
Trinidad Trading Post because of the availability of middlemen and buyers.
Agricultural Experiences of the Farmers
Agricultural experiences of the farmers include problems encountered by the farmers;
crops planted from January to March; crops last harvested from December to
February; cropping pattern, and; planting schedule of crops.
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Problems Encountered by Farmers in Farming
Problems encountered by the farmers were the lack of capital, lack of irrigation system,
pests and diseases; vegetable importation; typhoons; queue at the Swamp area during
marketing and the narrow and rugged farm to market roads.
High costs of inputs yet low vegetable prices leads to bankruptcy and lack of capital for
the next planting season was one of the problems encountered by the respondents. Example
cited by some of the respondents was the low price of carrot from December to February.
Their investments was not returned so some did not plant again and others borrowed capital
from the middlemen who sold their produce.
Lack of irrigation system was a problem of the respondents especially during summer. The
sources of water they used in their crops were from creeks and canals but during summer,
these sources were drained, therefore some do not plant. It was observed during the data
gathering; only the eastern part of Poblacion has an irrigation system established by
National Irrigation Administration or NIA.
Different pests and diseases were one of the major problems of the respondents. Most
respondents said that pests and diseases attacked crops during the wet season and the more
the occurrence of pest, the more number of times that they sprayed pesticides to control the
pests.
Other problems identified by the respondents were typhoons that destroyed their crops.
Super typhoons destroy the crops; example is carrot. During typhoons, leaves of carrots
were destroyed, thus, during marketing; the price is affected because of the destroyed
leaves.
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The importation of vegetables leads to low vegetable prices, claimed by most of the
respondents. Some respondents also said that imported vegetables have higher quality than
their produce thus consumers preferred these over the locally-produced ones.
Narrow and rugged farm to market road and the queue at the Swamp Area before the trucks
will enter the LTVTP was another problem identified by the respondents. Due to the narrow
and rugged farm to market roads, trucks’ speed is slower. And because trucks travel farm
to market in an increased hour, mostly do not enter the LTVTP in the evening. Queue at
the Swamp area worsens the quality of the vegetable because of the hours before the
vegetable was brought to the trading post, the vegetables rot. The more was the damage of
the vegetable, the lesser the gross income of the farmers.
Findings were the same with the findings of Sacla (2007) where lack of capital, high cost
of inputs, occurrence of pests and diseases, narrow and rugged farm to market road and
low vegetable prices were the problems identified by the farmers that they were
encountering.
Crops Planted from January to March
As shown in Table 20, carrot was the crop most farmers planted this January to March,
followed by potato and Chinese cabbage, respectively. Other crops planted were cabbage,
lettuce and broccoli. In the total land area planted with, potato has the widest area, followed
by carrot. With the hundred respondents, 34 did not plant any crop this quarter because of
lack of water for irrigation.
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Table 20. Crops Planted by the respondents from January to March
CROPS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE PLANTED
n=68
%
AREA
Carrot
38
56
15.5 ha
Potato
30
44
16.5 ha
Cabbage
18
26
6.75 ha
Chinese Cabbage
23
34
6.5 ha
Lettuce
7
10
1.5 ha
Broccoli
5
7
1.5 ha
*multiple response
Crops Last Harvested from December to February
Crops recently harvested from December to February by the respondents were shown in
Table 21 with carrot with the highest number of respondents. Cabbage has the highest tons
while lettuce has the lowest. On the vegetable price, only potato has a price that was more
than Php.10. This indicates that the price of these vegetables for the last three months were
low and some of the respondents claimed that they did not harvest their carrots, they let it
rot on their garden to be composted since harvesting it would not return their investments
because of low price. Some also claimed that they harvested their carrots but not sold.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Figure 7. Carrots that were not sold and left rotten in the common dumping area along the
road
Table 21. Crops last harvested by the respondents
CROPS
FREQUENCY
KILOGRAMS
PRICE/kilo
(tons)
(mean)
Carrot
20
72.8 tons
Php. 2
Potato
10
34.5 tons
Php. 15
Cabbage
9
119 tons
Php. 6
Chinese Cabbage
7
53 tons
Php. 6
Lettuce
3
4 tons
Php. 7
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Cropping Pattern of the Respondents
Thirty-two percent of the respondents did not employ a certain cropping pattern while 68%
employed the crop rotation of root crops and crucifers. Most of the respondents who
employed this kind of pattern said that it would prevent the soil from diseases such as club
root. This indicates that farmers knew ways on how to preserve the fertility of the land they
till.
Crop rotation is growing different crops in succession: a system of farming in which a
piece of land is planted with different crops in succession, in order to improve soil fertility
and control crop pests and diseases (MS Encarta, 2009). This confirms the claim of the
respondents and the finding of Baniaga (2008) in her study that crop rotation would avoid
the occurrence of soil diseases.
Planting Schedule of Crops by the Respondents
Six percent of the respondents did not have schedule on the planting of certain crop; they
claimed that they would plant any that would have a high price in the estimated month of
harvest.
The remaining 94% plant certain crops in different months. From October to December,
64% plant carrot followed by the months of January to March with 45% while the months
of April to June is 27% only.
For cabbage, most of the respondents planted cabbage on the months of January to March
with 45% followed by July to September with 38% while the months of April to June and
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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October to December has least percentages. These show that cabbage can be planted all
year round.
Farmers who produced potato plant most on the last and first quarter of the year. Seventy
two percent of the respondents plants potato on the months of October to December. Potato
growers do not plant mostly during wet season because the leaves of the potato were very
sensitive to rain and wind.
For the Chinese cabbage, 63% of the respondents planted most on the months of October
to December followed by the months of January to March with 39% and the other months
have low percentages.
Results show that crucifers can be planted all year round while tubers were mostly planted
on summer days because the leaves of tubers were sensitive to typhoons according to the
respondents.
Farming Method of the Respondents
There were three farming methods used by the respondents; 96% inorganic; 3% organic,
and a percent of the combination of the two.
Inorganic farmers reasoned out that: it is the method they know eversince (84%);
chemicals are needed for the survival of the crops (20%), and they do not have enough
knowledge to apply organic method (1%). This supports the claim of the respondents on
the years of farming experience that they have been exposed to work at the garden at young
age.
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Organic farmers claimed that they just shifted from inorganic to organic to try if it is easier
and better than inorganic. The respondents said that if they tested it and it is better, they
would continue to use organic method. This shows that they want to experience the two
farming method and figure out the easier and better method.
One respondent who claimed to employ a combination of inorganic and organic method
stated that she composted plants and animals manure for fertilizers and applied chemical
pesticides to control pests. The respondent said that composting is better than buying
chicken manure since it decreased the expenses.
Factors Affecting the Decision of Farmers
on the Farming Method Adopted
Ninety six percent of the respondents did not shift on the farming method they employed
which is inorganic. They said that shifting is too difficult for them because it does not
ensure the profitability of the method they will shift to. Another reason was that they do
not have enough knowledge to shift to a certain method. Only four respondents shifted,
one shifted from Organic to Inorganic and the remaining three shifted from Inorganic to
Organic method.
The shifter from organic to inorganic reasoned out that when he started farming, he used
organic method since he has a little knowledge on it. However, pest outbreak happened to
his farm and that time he did not have enough knowledge to control it so he shifted to
inorganic. This implies that in Organic farming, a farmer should be much knowledgeable
on the method before adopting it.
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The three shifters from inorganic to organic have only one reason in shifting, to test if it is
better than inorganic. They said that they shifted this January and February.
They claimed that if organic method is better, they would adopt it.
Information Sources on the Farming Method Adopted
Table 22 shows that 88 of the 96 inorganic farmers claimed that they learned the method
they are employing from their parents, family members or relatives. This shows that most
of the inorganic farmers adopted the method their parents were employing. This supports
the finding of Lomiwes (2007) that most of the farmers grew up experiencing works in the
garden at young age.
Nineteen of the respondents acquired their knowledge on the farming method they employ
from friends, neighbors and co-farmers. Most of them were lowlanders who decided to try
farming in the highlands.
The information source of the organic farmers is radio and specifically to the BSU-on-the-
air program of DZWT hosted by Dr. Silvestre Kudan. Only one respondent claimed that
she attended a seminar hosted by Cordillera Highland Agricultural Research
Management or CHARM.
Table 22. Information sources of the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=96
%
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ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Parents/Family members/Relatives
88
91
Friends/Neighbors/Co-farmers
19
20
Experience and Observation
12
12
Barangay/Government Officials
4
4
Mass Media (Radio)
4
4
*multiple response
Data Entry in a Website
A basic website on the results of the study was created for information storage and sharing.
The website was created using the Weebly Website Creator as recommended by
Paul C. Garcia, Information and Communications Technology Director of Benguet State
University. According to him, creating a website through Weebly is easy since it does not
require highly technical skills and knowledge and on computer programming. He also
stated that Weebly websites are accessible to anyone, thus increasing the possibility of
sharing the gathered data by this study.
Weebly is a website creator that allows you to create pages with template skins and content
widgets. Users can easily drag-and-drop content widgets like pictures, text, video and
Google Maps (Crunchbase, 2012). They also have a new blogging platform that can be
added to the navigation bar of your personal Weebly page.
The created
weebsite’s
Uniform
Resource
Locator
or
URL is http://buguiasfarmingpractices.weebly.com (Figure 8).
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ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Figure 8. The home page of the website
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Majority of the respondents belonged to the age range of 41-50 years old, were able to
reach high school, had a farming experience of 20-30 years and owned the land they
cultivate.
Based on the results, four crops were the top produced vegetables, which are carrot, potato,
cabbage and Chinese cabbage.
With regards to the respondents farming practices on cabbage, potato and carrot, most of
the respondents have the same practices on the seed selection, land preparation, ways of
planting, fertilizer application, pests and disease management, weeds control, irrigation,
marketing and processing for potato.
When it comes to the problems encountered, major problems identified were the low price
of vegetables that leads to bankruptcy and lack of capital for the next planting season, and
the lack of water for irrigation.
Majority of the respondents planted carrot (56%) and potato (44%) this quarter (January
to March), with a total area of 15.5 ha and 16.5 ha, respectively.
Most of the respondents were inorganic farmers (96%) and did not shift to other farming
method (96%). Majority of the respondents acquired the information they applied in
farming from parent/family members and relatives.
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Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were derived:
1.
Farmers depend on chemicals to control pests;
2.
Some farmers still use Gramoxone even it is banned because of toxicity;
3.
Farmers seldom plant vegetables during summer because of lack of water
for irrigation;
4.
Vegetable prices for the last three months were very low;
5.
Alternate of crucifer and tuber is the main cropping pattern which the
respondents claimed that it will avoid soil diseases, and;
6.
Parents/family members/relatives had a great influence on the farming
method employed by the respondents.
Recommendations
Based on the finding of the study, the following recommendations were drawn:
1.
The concerned government agencies may ensure the implementation in the
banning of Gramoxone;
2.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) may help the farmers for the
solution of their problem on irrigation;
3.
The Department of Agriculture may conduct intensive information
dissemination on the Organic Agriculture Act since some respondents claimed that they do
not have enough knowledge on organic farming to adopt such;
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
4.
Concerned government agencies such as Department of Public Works and
Highways or DPWH may focus infrastructure projects on rural areas, and;
5.
A database on the farming practices may be developed by Information
Technology experts in the university or other concerned agencies for further usage of the
gathered data.
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Benguet.
ILBERY, B.W. 1978. Agricultural Decision-Making: A Behavioural Perspective. Sage
Publications.
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LOMIWES, J.T. 2007. Information Sources on Organic Farming of Farmers in Loo,
Buguias, Benguet. BS Thesis. Benguet State University. La Trinidad, Benguet.
MENDOZA, T.C. nd. Nature Farming in the Philippines. University of the Philippines
Los Baños.
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January
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011.pdf.
MEDINA, C.P. 1987. Pest Control Practices and Pesticide Perceptions of Vegetable
Farmers in Loo Valley, Benguet, Philippines. Program on Environmental Science and
Management. University of the Philippines Los Baños. Laguna, Philippines.
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PEART, R. AND D. SHOUP. 2004. Agricultural Systems Management. New York.
Marcel Dekker, Inc. P1.
POLAGIS, J. 2009. Farm Management Practices of Farmers in Barangay Poblacion,
Buguias, Benguet. BS Thesis. Benguet State University. La Trinidad, Benguet.
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ROSE, Z. 2010. Factors Affecting Decision-making. Retrieved November 23, 2012 from
http://www.helium.com/items/1933259-factors-that-affect-decision-making
SACLA, H. 2007. Cultural Management Practices of Carrot Growers in Catlubong,
Buguias, Benguet. BS Thesis. Benguet State University. La Trinidad, Benguet.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
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A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013. A Data Entry on the Farming Practices
of Buguias Vegetable Farmers. Benguet State University. La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Christine Grace B. Sidchogan, MDevCom
ABSTRACT
The study was conducted to document the farming practices of Buguias, Benguet
vegetable farmers. Specifically, the study aimed to determine the common farming
practices of Buguias farmers in terms of crops planted and the stages of production; and
the factors affecting the decision of farmers to adopt such farming method.
It also aimed to store the results in a simple website for information storage and
retrieval.
The findings of the study showed that the farmers have the same practices on carrot,
cabbage and potato production.
Respondents have the same preferences when it comes to varieties of carrot,
cabbage and potato. Carrot and potato varieties were selected according to its compatibility
with the soil, while in cabbage, the variety selected were based on the market price.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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The study also found out that there were farmers still using Gramoxone despite it
being banned. This herbicide was acquired by the respondents from vendors at the La
Trinidad Trading Post.
The respondents identified their problems when it comes to farming; the lack of
capital because of bankruptcy and the lack for irrigation system, especially during dry
season. Thus, because of lack of water for irrigation during summer, some do not plant any
crop. This is the major dilemma of the respondents from Bangao and Poblacion, except for
the eastern part of Poblacion.
Carrot and potato were the planted vegetables this January to March with potato
have the largest area which is 16.5 hectare and carrot with 15.5 hectares. Farmers in
Buguias were inorganic growers since they used commercial fertilizers and sprayed
chemicals on the crops. They also employ a certain cropping pattern which is crop rotation
since it may control pests and diseases and to improve the quality of the soil. Results
showed that the farming practices of the respondents which is inorganic method had been
greatly influenced by parents.
The simple website was made for information storage and retrieval; and easy
access. The URL was www.buguiasfarmingpractice.weebly.com
Based on the findings, it is recommended that government agencies should help the
farmers for the solution of their problems. Moreover, a database on the farming practices
may be developed by Information Technology experts in the university and other
concerned agencies.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Socio-Demographic Profile of the Respondents
Table 1 shows the distribution of respondents according to age, sex, civil status,
educational attainment, years of farming experience, land ownership and the measurement
of the respondents’ farms.
Age. As shown in Table 1, the age bracket of 41-50 got the highest percentage of 48,
followed by 20-30 with 24 %. On the other hand, 16% of the respondents belonged to the
age range of 50 and above. These show that the respondents were adults while few were
above the age of 50. Such results also imply that nearly half of the respondents were part
of the labor force when using age as the basis.
Sex. Seventy percent of the respondents were males and the rest were females. It may
imply that males were more active in farming because married women were more engaged
in housekeeping. This case was also shown in the study of Lomiwes (2007) in Loo,
Buguias, where women were more active in taking care of household chores and managing
their sari-sari stores.
Civil status. Eighty-one percent of the respondents were married and only 16% were
single. This shows that married couples were more engaged in farming.
Educational attainment. Forty-four percent of the respondents reached high school level
and 42% reached elementary. Only one respondent never attended school.
This indicates that almost all of the respondents are literate.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 1. Socio-demographic profile of the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Age bracket
20-30
24
24
31-40
12
12
41-50
48
48
50 and above
16
16
TOTAL
100
100
Sex
Male
70
70
Female
30
30
TOTAL
100
100
Civil Status
Single
16
16
Married
81
81
Separated
2
2
Widow/Widower
1
1
TOTAL
100 100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 1 continued…
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Educational Attainment
Elementary Level
42
42
High School Level
44
44
College Level
13
13
Never Attended School
1
1
TOTAL
100
100
Years of Farming Experience
3-10 years
19
19
11-20 years
25
25
21-30 years
38
38
31-40 years
18
18
TOTAL
100
100
Land Ownership
Owner
62
62
Tenant
38
38
TOTAL
100
100
Cultivated Area
Owner Cultivated
41.25 ha
66
Tenant Cultivated
21.25 ha
34
TOTAL 62.5 ha 100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Years of farming experience. Thirty-eight percent of the respondents had been farming for
21-30 years followed by 11-20 years with 25%. However, most of the respondents claimed
that they had been exposed to farming as early at the age of seven or eight when they helped
their parents at the garden. This shows that at young age, most children were exposed to
field works at the garden. The results also imply that the respondents have been involved
in farming practices for several years already.
Land ownership. The table shows that majority (62%) of the respondents were land owners
while the rest claimed that they were tenants. Findings were the same in the study of
Lomiwes (2007), where majority of the respondents cultivated their own land. Farm
measurement. All land owners were cultivating a total land area of 41.25 hectares while all
tenants were cultivating a total of 21.25 hectares. Findings show that tenants were
cultivating almost half of the cultivated measurement by the land owners. The same with
the findings of Sacla (2007) in his study at Catlubong, Buguias where most of the
respondents were land owners.
Table 2 shows that most (46%) of the respondents were cultivating .5 hectare while 29%
of the respondents claimed that they were cultivating .25 hectare. These imply that all of
the respondents cultivate a minimum of one-fourth hectare. This supports the finding in the
study of Sacla (2007) where all of the respondents till less than a hectare.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 2. Area cultivated by the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Area Measurement
.25 hectare
29
29
.5 hectare
46
46
.75 hectare
7
7
1 hectare and above
18
18
TOTAL
100 100
Vegetable Crops Grown by the Respondents
Table 3 shows that there were four major crops being planted by the respondents namely,
potato, carrot, cabbage, and Chinese cabbage. Sixty-seven percent were planting carrot,
53% with cabbage, 50% with potato and 39% with Chinese cabbage. Other vegetable crops
grown by the respondents were lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, beans and garden peas.
These show that the crops grown by the farmers in Bangao and Poblacion were varied.
Common Farming Practices of Poblacion and Bangao Farmers
Farming practices were categorized into three which were: pre-production practices,
production practices and harvesting practices. The Pre-Production practices included seed
selection and land preparation. The Production practices included ways of planting,
fertilizer application, pests and diseases management, weeds control, and irrigation. Under
the harvesting practices are: the maturity basis, months of the crops before harvesting and
the considerations of farmers before harvesting.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 3. Vegetables crops grown by the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=100
%
Vegetables
Carrot
67
67
Cabbage
53
53
Potato
50
50
Chinese Cabbage
39
39
Lettuce
23
23
Beans
19
19
Broccoli
8
8
Garden Pea
7
7
Cauliflower
4
4
*multiple response
Pre-Production Practices
Cabbage. Two processes were considered in the pre-production of cabbage: seed selection
and land preparation.
Seed selection. Almost all (99%) of the respondents claimed that they selected the seed
varieties that were suitable to the soil type of their farms and the season. Only one
respondent selected seed variety as recommended by other farmers since the respondent
has a minimal experience in farming. All of the respondents bought the seeds they planted
from farm supplies. This shows that all respondents acquired seeds they needed from farm
supplies.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Cabbage varieties selected by farmers is shown in Table 4. Seventy-four percent of the
respondents planted the variety RB (Rareball), followed by Lucky Ball variety with 43%
and the Scorpio variety with 27%. These three varieties were said to mature easily within
two and a half months according to some of the respondents. Scorpio was chosen by other
respondents because during marketing, this variety had the highest market price than the
others. Other varieties being selected by the respondents were Condor, Sigma, Green Coal,
Nong Woo Bio and Wonderball. These varieties were rarely planted by the respondents
because of low market price during marketing.
Results show that a farmer plants more than one variety of cabbage. Results also imply
that farmers chose varieties based on the crop duration and the market price of the
variety.
On the seed treatment, all of the respondents did not treat the cabbage seeds before planting.
They said that the seeds were directly planted, and after some days, were uprooted for
transplanting. Treatments were done when seeds were contaminated through mixing
fungicides to the seeds.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 4. Varieties of cabbage commonly selected by the respondents
VARIETIES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
RB
39
74
Lucky Ball
23
43
Scorpio
12
27
Condor
6
11
Sigma
5
9
Green Coal
4
7
Nong Woo Bio
3
5
Wonder Ball
2
3
*multiple response
Land preparation. In the land preparation, in Table 5, 70% cultivated and hilled up the
plots then made bowl-likes (tal-ukan) side by side on the plots for the seedlings (Figure 2).
Another practice was they cultivated and hilled up the plots and flattened it for
transplanting.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Figure 2. Bowl-like dugs planted with cabbage seedlings
With the least percentage, some respondents cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened it.
They then applied chicken manure on the plots. They let the chicken manure to be
composted for 15-20 days, cultivated it again and lastly, they made make bowl-like dug
(tal-ukan) on the plots for the seedlings.
Table 5. Land preparation practices of the respondents on cabbage
PRACTICES
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Hilled Up and Flattened plots
9
17
(ready for transplant)
Hilled up, flattened plots then made bowl-like dug
37
70
for seedlings
Hilled up, flattened plots, applied and composted
7
13
chicken manure, cultivated, then made bowl-
like dug for seedlings.
TOTAL
53
100
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Carrot. The same with cabbage, there were two processes in pre-production of carrot:
seed selection and land preparation.
Seed selection. Farmers selected the seeds of carrots themselves based on their experience
on the certain variety if it is suited for the soil and the season. As shown in
Table 6, carrot varieties that were mostly selected were; Tokita, Takii’s New Kuroda,
Chun Hong, Kuroda, Makita and Hung Nong. Other varieties were Teracota, Akari,
Firewedge, Condor and Nokia seeds. In the study of Sacla (2007) in Catlubong, Buguias
where Takii’s and Tokita were the top two varieties selected by the respondents.
Most of the respondents bought the carrot seeds directly from farms supplies
(93%) while some of the respondents acquired seeds through middlemen.
With regards to seed treatment, almost all (98%) of the respondents did not treat the
seeds. Moreover, two of the respondents treated seeds before planting by adding fungicide.
Treatment were done when seeds were infected.
Table 6. Carrot varieties commonly selected by the respondents
VARIETIES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Tokita
41
61
Takii’s New Kuroda
32
48
Chun Hong
25
37
Kuroda
20
30
Makita
12
18
Hung Nong
6
9
Akari, Firewedge
3
4
Teracota, Condor, Nokia
2
3
*multiple response
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Land preparation. For the land preparation, 59% of the respondents cultivated and hilled
up the plots, flattened then furrowed it as shown in Table 7. Moreover, 28% cultivated and
hilled up the plots, flattened the plots, applied chicken manure with the soil and let it be
composted for 15-20 days, cultivated it again, flattened the plots and furrowed (Figure 3
and 4). With the least percentage is more likely the same with the latter practice, except
that after the chicken manure were composted, the respondents sprayed it with fungicide
before cultivating again.
Table 7. Land preparation practices of the respondents on carrot
PRACTICES
FREQUENCY PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Cultivated and hilled up the plots,
40
59
flattened then furrowed
Cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened and
19
28
applied and composted chicken manure,
cultivated again, flattened and furrowed
the plots
Cultivated and hilled up the plots, flattened and
8
13
applied and composted chicken manure,
sprayed fungicide, cultivated again,
flattened and furrowed the plots
TOTAL
67
100
Potato. Pre-production of potato have two processes: seed selection and land preparation.
Seed selection. On the seed selection practices, most of the respondents chose the variety
based on their experiences. The consideration was the soil type of their gardens. The variety
chosen of almost all the respondents is the Granula variety and with the least percentage
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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was Ranyag variety. The results are same with the study of Baniaga (2008) where majority
of the respondents selected the Granula variety.
Figure 3. The plots are flattened ready for furrowing
Figure 4. A farmer is furrowing the plots for the carrot seeds Most of the farmers bought
the germinated potato tubers they planted from other farmers. Some of the respondents said
that they have their own planting materials. Others also bought potato cuttings from
Benguet State University, and with much capital, they bought imported planting materials
from farm supplies.
Most of the respondents did not treat the planting material before planting; only eight
respondents treated the germinated potato tubers by spraying fungicides. The respondents
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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said that application of pesticide to the germinated potato tubers was done especially if it
was attacked by pests because if they will not apply pesticides, the potato tubers will not
grow since the pests had already eaten the germinated leaves.
Land preparation. On the land preparation, all of the respondents practiced the cultivation
and hilling up of the plots, flattening it then furrowing at the center of the plot.
These imply that the respondents practiced only one way in land preparation for potato.
Production Practices
Cabbage. There were five processes in the cabbage production: planting, fertilizer
application, controlling pests and diseases, controlling weeds and irrigation.
Ways of planting. All of the respondents practiced transplanting in cabbage. In
transplanting the seedlings, distance was observed by the farmers. Seventy percent allotted
seven to eight inches, and some allotted nine to 10 inches distance of the seedlings in
transplanting. Distance was observed for the growth of the heads of the cabbage.
Fertilizer application. In fertilizer application, as shown in Table 8, 57% of the respondents
claimed to use only one NPK (Nitrogen-Phosphorus -Potassium) fertilizers, the T16 (16-
16-16) and the T14 (14-14-14). T14 was the widely used fertilizer with 64%, followed by
Urea (46-0-0) and T16. This indicates that the respondents used only three types of NPK
fertilizers. NPK fertilizers were applied by all of the respondents to the cabbage seedlings
through top dress then side dress the plots (Figure 5).
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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All of the respondents used chicken manure. This shows that chicken manure is a primary
fertilizer in cabbage production. The same with the finding of Polagis (2009) in her study
at Poblacion, Buguias where all of the respondents used chicken manure. Eighty-seven
percent of the respondents applied top dress in applying the chicken manure; the remaining
13% did the basal application. Top dress is a fertilizer application method wherein a
fertilizer was spread thinly in the soil surface.
Figure 5. Side dressing of cabbage was done by one of the respondents
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 8. Fertilizers applied and application method on cabbage
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
34
64
T16 (16-16-16)
19
36
Urea (46-0-0)
23
43
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Top Dress
53
100
Chicken Manure
53
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Top Dress
46
87
Basal
7
13
*multiple response
Farmers applied these fertilizers in different number of days after planting. Table 9 shows
that majority applied complete fertilizers 19-23 days after transplanting the seedling.
Majority also applied chicken manure five to six days after transplanting. These indicated
that fertilizer and chicken manure applications were made after the new roots of the
seedling grew. After the application of the NPK fertilizers, the farmers applied
sidedressing.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 9. Fertilizer and chicken manure application after planting
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
NPK Fertilizers
10-14 days
4
7
15-18 days
11
21
19-23 days
36
68
24-26 days
2
4
TOTAL
53
100
Chicken Manure
5-6 days
37
70
7-8 days
9
17
15 days before transplanting
7
13
TOTAL
53
100
Pests and diseases management. On the pests and disease, cutworm had the highest
percentage on the pests and club root on the diseases with 64% and 40%, respectively.
Other pests and diseases that the respondents encountered mostly were beetles, diamond
back moth larvae, armyworms, leaf miners, slugs and leaf spots.
All the respondents controled these pests with chemical pesticides. This supports the
research of Medina (1987) on the pesticide use of farmers in Loo, Buguias.
Table 10 shows the pesticides used by farmers to control pests. Findings show that farmers
use more than ten insecticides and five fungicides. This supports the findings of Gayaso
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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(2010) that farmers relied almost exclusively on chemical pesticides in their desire to meet
the growing demands of consumers for high quality vegetables.
Majority of the respondents sprayed pesticides two-three times in a month during summer
and four to five times during the rainy season. These imply that the season affects the times
where the farmers sprayed pesticides.
Most of the respondents claimed to have sprayed pesticides before the increase of pests in
the crop and some sprayed the crop before the attack of pests. Respondents who used
Fenus, Sumicidine and Lorsban said that these were the most effective insecticides,
especially for Lorsban since it is newly introduced and it contains stronger chemical.
Lorsban is an insecticide used to eliminate insect pests such as diamond back moth,
cutworms and armyworms.
Weed control. Weeds control practices of the respondents were manual weeding
(100%) and 24% used herbicides.
Herbicides used by the respondents were shown in Table 11 with Afalon leading it. Afalon
is an herbicide which eliminates weeds through inhibiting photosynthesis; and do not
persist on soil. Respondents said that they used Afalon because it is not toxic to their crop
since it is a green labeled herbicide.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Table 10. Pesticides sprayed by the respondents on cabbage
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Insecticides
Fenus
21
40
Sumicidine
17
32
Lorsban
15
28
Success
14
26
Karate
11
21
Siga
11
21
Bida
11
21
Prevaton
7
13
Padan
7
13
Selecron
7
13
Magnum
6
11
Penant
4
7
Fungicides
Dithane
17
32
Manager
16
30
Mancozeb
9
17
Score
7
13
Vondozeb
4
7
*multiple response
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Table 11. Herbicides sprayed by the respondents
HERBICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=13
%
Afalon
9
69
Gramoxone
7
54
Power
4
30
Clearout
3
23
One Side
2
15
Sencor
2
15
*multiple response
Other herbicides used by the respondents were Gramoxone, Power, One Side,
Clear Out and Sencor. These results imply that there were farmers who are still using
Gramoxone despite that it being banned in Malaysia, Argentina, Philippines and in many
European countries. This herbicide has been proven to cause blurred vision, kidney and
skin damages, intestinal illness, breathing difficulties, and death due to lung injury (Heal
Toxics, 2012). Some of the respondents who were using Gramoxone said that they bought
the herbicide from vendors selling farming tools at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post.
However, respondents using Gramoxone claimed that they used it only if the weeds
surrounding their farms are hard to eliminate by weak herbicides. Respondents using
Gramoxone said that when spraying the herbicide, they wore protective gears such as face
masks, boots, plastic gloves and overcoats to avoid skin contact with the chemical.
Irrigation. With regards to irrigation, all of the respondents used sprinklers in irrigating
their crops. Shown in Table 12 were the times the respondents irrigated their cabbage in a
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
month. During the wet season, majority (58%) irrigated their crops two to three times while
during dry season, 74% irrigated the cabbage six to seven times. These show that during
wet season, cabbages are rain-fed mostly.
Carrot. Production of carrot has five processes: planting, fertilizer application, controlling
pests and diseases, controlling weeds and irrigation.
Ways of Planting. All of the respondents planted the seeds directly. The distances of the
furrows vary from three, four and five inches. The distance was observed by the
respondents to ensure the growth and development of the tubers.
Table 12. Times of irrigating cabbage in a month
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=53
%
Wet Season
2-3 times
31
58
4-5 times
22
42
Dry Season
6-7 times
39
74
8-9 times
14
26
TOTAL
53
100
Fertilizer Application. Fertilizers (Nitrogen-Phosphorus-Potassium) being applied by the
respondents is shown in Table 13 with T-14 (14-14-14), Urea (46-0-0) and T-16 (16-16-
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
16). Fifty one percent usually mixed the Urea with the T-14 while 49% used one fertilizer
only, either T14 or T16. The same with the results in the study of Sacla (2007), almost all
of the respondents used chicken as the primary fertilizer, except for one respondent who
used compost instead of chicken manure.
With regards to the application of these fertilizers, the NPK fertilizers were applied
through band/row application (100%) while the chicken manure were mostly applied in
two ways, basal and band/row application. Band/row is a fertilizer application where the
fertilizer is put on following the lines between the furrows of the carrots. Basal application
is a method where the fertilizer is mixed with the soil.
The results imply that some of the respondents applied the chicken manure the same with
the way they applied the NPK fertilizers.
Respondents who applied band/row method of the chicken manure claimed that they
usually did the basal method. However, when the price of chicken manure increased, they
shifted to band/row method because they used less chicken manure. These imply farmers
preferred to use method that does not require expensive input.
NPK fertilizers were mostly applied after the thinning (Figure 6). Thinning was applied to
provide enough space needed by the carrot in their growth. After one month and one week,
most of the respondents applied NPK fertilizers, and then applied side dressing. Some did
fertilizer application one month and one and a half month after planting. This is in contrast
with the finding of Sacla (2007) where majority of the respondents applied fertilizer a week
after the application of chicken manure.
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Figure 6. Thinning of carrots was done one month after planting
Chicken manure were mostly applied right after planting, it serves as the covering of the
seeds.
Forty two percent applied chicken manure 15-20 days before planting by mixing it with
the soil and the remaining applied 10-15 days after planting.
These imply that most respondents applied chicken manure after planting. Some claimed
that it is more practical because they used less chicken manure than in basal application.
They related that chicken manure’s price is continuously increasing.
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Table 13. Fertilizers applied and application methods on carrot
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
44
66
T16 (16-16-16)
26
34
Urea (46-0-0)
34
51
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Band/Row
67
100
Chicken Manure
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Band/Row
39
58
Basal
28
42
*multiple response
Pests and diseases management. Pests and diseases that were mostly encountered by the
respondents were cutworms, crickets, leaf miner, slugs, chicken maggots, blight and
powdery mildew. With these pests and diseases, all of the farmers used pesticides to control
it. This supports what Polagis (2009) said that all farmers used pesticides to control pests.
Shown in Table 15 were the pesticides being used by the respondents.
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Table 14. Fertilizer and chicken manure application after planting
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
NPK Fertilizers
One month
8
10
One month one week
62
78
One and a half month
10
12
TOTAL
67
100
Chicken Manure
After planting ( Seed Covering)
40
50
15-20 days before planting
33
41
10-15 days after planting
7
9
TOTAL
80
100
Lorsban, Bida and Magnum were the top three insecticides used by the respondents. These
three were the most effective in eliminating insect pests according to the experience of the
respondents. Moreover, respondents preferred Dithane and Mancozeb since it is green
labeled which means that it is not toxic.
During the dry season, most of the respondents sprayed pesticides four to five times while
during wet season they sprayed six to seven times. This indicates that the spraying of
pesticides vary from the season and with the emergence of pests such as slugs and leaf
miners.
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Table 15. Pesticides used by the respondents on carrot
PESTICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Insecticides
Lorsban
29
43
Bida
23
34
Magnum
22
27
Sumicidine
19
24
Karate
15
19
Rover
12
15
Fenus
11
14
Selecron
9
11
Success
9
11
Padan
8
10
Trigard
4
6
Fungicides
Dithane
24
36
Manager
23
34
Hyper
13
19
Vondozeb
9
13
Rainfast
6
9
Pilarich
5
7
*multiple response
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Weed control. Farmers control weeds through manual weeding and use of herbicides.
Herbicides being used by the respondents were: Afalon, Gramoxone, Sencor, One Side,
Power and Clear out. Results indicate that a farmer uses more than one herbicide. The same
results were observed in cabbage where most respondents use Afalon because as claimed
by some of the respondents, it can eliminate the weeds but do not affect much the carrots.
Carrots affected by Afalon turned the leaves yellowish but do not die.
Some of the respondents used herbicides since it is easier than manual weeding and it
required less time in eliminating weeds.
Irrigation. All of the respondents used sprinkler method in irrigating. Carrot is seldom
planted by farmers during the rainy season since carrot leaves were sensitive to typhoons.
Most respondents planted during dry season and (48%) irrigated the crop five to six times
per month.
Table 16. Herbicides sprayed by the respondents
HERBICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=67
%
Afalon
56
84
Gramoxone
21
31
Power
15
22
One Side
12
18
Clear Out
8
12
Sencor
6
9
*multiple response
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Potato. There were five processes in potato production: planting, fertilizer application,
pests and diseases control, weed control and irrigation.
Ways of Planting. The germinated potato tubers were planted directly with distances which
vary from seven to nine inches and 10 to 12 inches distances. Most of the respondents
observed the distance of the tubers with seven to nine inches because according to them, it
is the ideal distance for potato planting. Respondents claim that seven to nine inches
distance was good enough for the potato tubers to grow underground.
Fertilizer Application. Fertilizers used were the same with the cabbage and carrot; however
there were differences on what fertilizer. As shown in Table 17, majority of the respondents
used T14 (14-14-14). Half of the respondents claimed that they mixed up the Urea and the
T14 while the other half used any of the T14 and T16. All of the respondents used chicken
manure. Fertilizers and the chicken manure were applied through top dress method.
Fertilizers were mostly applied after nine to 10 days after planting and the chicken manure
was three to four days after planting when the potato leaves have grown.
Pests and diseases management. Pests and diseases encountered by the respondents were
shown in Table 18. Thrips has the highest percentage on the pests and blight on the
diseases. Thrip is a tiny sucking insect with four long thin wings with hairs; it feeds on the
sap of plants. Blight is a plant disease, caused by bacteria, fungi, or viruses, in which
symptoms range from brownish blotches on the foliage to withering of the entire plant
without rotting.
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Table 17. Fertilizers applied and application method on potato
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
NPK Fertilizers
T14 (14-14-14)
27
54
T16 (16-16-16)
23
46
Urea (46-0-0)
21
42
NPK Fertilizer Application Method
Top dress
50
100
Chicken Manure
50
100
Chicken Manure Application Method
Top dress
50
100
*multiple response
This is in contrast of the finding of Baniaga (2008) in Bangao, Buguias where leaf miner
is the major pest of potato.
Pests and diseases were controlled by the respondents by means of pesticides. This supports
the statement of Mendoza (nd) that for almost three decades, farmers in the Philippines
have been using chemical fertilizers, pesticides and growth regulators in their crop
production strategies.
Shown in Table 19 were the pesticides used by the respondents in potato. The table implies
that the respondents used more than two pesticides in pests and diseases control and they
used more fungicides than insecticides. These show that potato was more infected by
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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fungal diseases. Times of spraying a month vary from eight to nine times and 10 to 11
times.
Top three insecticides used by the respondents were Lorsban, Rover and Karate. According
to the respondents, these three were the most effective in eliminating the pests, especially
for Lorsban because it was the newest on the three so it contains stronger chemicals.
Lorsban were used to eliminate pests such as cutworms. Moreover, Manager, Leadonil
and Dithane were the on top on the fungicides used by the respondents. The same with the
insecticides used, the three were experienced by the respondents to be more effective to
control fungal diseases.
Table 18. Pests and diseases encountered in planting potato
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
Pests
Thrips
28
56
Cutworms
13
26
Leafminers
10
20
Diseases
Blight
39
78
Blackleg
24
44
Anthracnose
14
28
Bacterial wilt
7
14
Soft rot
5
10
*multiple response
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Table 19. Pesticides used by the respondents in potato
PESTICIDES
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=50
%
Insecticides
Lorsban
30
60
Rover
17
34
Karate
17
34
Bida
15
30
Siga
12
24
Trigard
11
22
Selecron
7
14
Fungicides
Manager
18
36
Leadonil
14
28
Dithane
11
22
Manzate
11
22
Vondozeb
8
16
Telgar
7
14
Rainfast
6
12
Daconil
6
12
Curazeb
3
6
Curazate
3
6
*multiple response
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Weed Control. On the weeds control, almost all employed manual weeding as well as some
also used herbicides (42%). Herbicides mostly used were the same with the herbicides used
in cabbage and carrot such as Afalon, Gramoxone, Clear Out, Sencor, Power and One Side.
These imply that the weeds encountered by the respondents in carrot and cabbage were the
same with the weeds encountered in potato. According to the respondents, the weeds they
encountered in growing carrot and cabbage were the same with the weeds they encounter
in potato, thus, they used the same herbicides.
Irrigation. All of the respondents used the sprinkler method in irrigating potato though the
number of times of irrigating varies from 10 to 11 and 12 to 13 times a month. This
indicates that the number of times of irrigating the crop is more frequent than the number
of times they sprayed pesticides. The respondents said that the times of irrigating must be
higher than the times of spraying so as to wash the pesticides sprayed for the chemicals not
to stick on the potato leaves.
Harvesting Practices
Cabbage. Harvesting cabbage were affected by two factors: consideration of the
respondents before harvesting and the maturity basis of the cabbage.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. Farmers harvested their cabbage with
several considerations. Factors they considered were; cabbage price at the market; the
maturity of the crop; and the availability of trucks to transport the produce to the market.
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Market price of the crop at the market was the major consideration of the respondents
because they wanted their investments to be returned and to avoid bankruptcy. This shows
that vegetable price at the market affects the time of harvesting of the farmers.
Maturity basis. Respondents harvested cabbage based on the maturity with three months
and its physical appearance, which includes heads were well-rounded and hard when
pressed. Some of the respondents said that harvesting at the right maturity is better because
buyers pay lesser price if the heads were over and under-sized.
Carrot. The same with the factors on cabbage, the consideration of the farmers and the
maturity basis affect on when to harvest the carrot.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. The considerations of farmers before
harvesting were the vegetable price at the market, the maturity; and the availability of
trucks to transport the produce to the market. Some also consider the weather because some
buyers would not buy their produce if it is wet and muddy since buyers reasoned out that
the tubers decay easily if it is wet.
Harvesting at the right maturity of the crop is the best according to the respondents
considering the leaves and the tubers of the carrots because the lesser the leaves, the lesser
also the price in the market; and the smaller the tubers, the lesser the price.
Maturity Basis. Farmers harvested the crop based on its maturity and the physical
appearance such as leaves turning yellowish and tubers were big enough. This supports the
finding in the study of Polagis (2009) where the farmers harvest of the crops according to
its maturity and size.
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Maturity was highly observed by the respondents because when the crop was stocked in
the garden, the leaves turned yellow. The leaves fall then that leads to the decreased number
of it, thus, buyers paid lesser.
Most of the respondents harvested carrot at three months. The maturity also depends on
the varieties but majority of the respondents harvests carrot after three months.
Potato. Maturity basis and the consideration of the respondents were under the harvesting
practices of the respondents. Processing is a post-harvest practice.
Consideration of respondents before harvesting. The respondents considered some factors
before harvesting such as: the vegetable price at the market; maturity of the crop; some
consider the availability of truck for the produce’s transportation; and the availability of
people to help harvest. Harvesting potato requires more people than other crops.
Maturity basis. Majority of the respondents harvest the crop based on the physical
appearance and the maturity according to the months. After three months, most respondents
harvested their potato already. Some of the respondents said that in potato, they considered
much the market price before harvesting because potatoes can be stocked in the garden
even until five months.
Processing. Eighty two of the respondents processed the excess produce or the tubers they
did not sell. They stored the excess potato tubers for it to germinate and serve as their
planting material the next season. Some of the respondents said that producing your own
planting material for the next season is better than buying. This will decrease their
expenses. Others would also store the excess produce to sell it to farmers who need
germinated potato tubers.
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Marketing Practices
All of the respondents marketed their produce through middlemen except for one who sold
his own produce at the La Trinidad Vegetable Trading Post (LTVTP). Some of the
respondents said that even the middlemen have to get 10% of the gross income; they still
let the middlemen sell their produce because they do not have knowledge on how to sell
their produce.
Three percent claimed to sell their produce at the Abatan Public Market especially if their
produce is less in volume. Three respondents sold their produce at the Nueva
Vizcaya Trading Post especially if the vegetable prices at the LTVTP were very low. This
shows that majority of the produced vegetables is brought to the LTVTP.
Respondents said that bringing their produce to the LTVTP is better because it is nearer
than the Nueva Vizcaya Trading Post; there were more buyers; and farm to market road is
better than the road going to Nueva Vizcaya.
These support the finding of Sacla (2007) where the farmers bring their produce to La
Trinidad Trading Post because of the availability of middlemen and buyers.
Agricultural Experiences of the Farmers
Agricultural experiences of the farmers include problems encountered by the farmers;
crops planted from January to March; crops last harvested from December to
February; cropping pattern, and; planting schedule of crops.
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Problems Encountered by Farmers in Farming
Problems encountered by the farmers were the lack of capital, lack of irrigation system,
pests and diseases; vegetable importation; typhoons; queue at the Swamp area during
marketing and the narrow and rugged farm to market roads.
High costs of inputs yet low vegetable prices leads to bankruptcy and lack of capital for
the next planting season was one of the problems encountered by the respondents. Example
cited by some of the respondents was the low price of carrot from December to February.
Their investments was not returned so some did not plant again and others borrowed capital
from the middlemen who sold their produce.
Lack of irrigation system was a problem of the respondents especially during summer. The
sources of water they used in their crops were from creeks and canals but during summer,
these sources were drained, therefore some do not plant. It was observed during the data
gathering; only the eastern part of Poblacion has an irrigation system established by
National Irrigation Administration or NIA.
Different pests and diseases were one of the major problems of the respondents. Most
respondents said that pests and diseases attacked crops during the wet season and the more
the occurrence of pest, the more number of times that they sprayed pesticides to control the
pests.
Other problems identified by the respondents were typhoons that destroyed their crops.
Super typhoons destroy the crops; example is carrot. During typhoons, leaves of carrots
were destroyed, thus, during marketing; the price is affected because of the destroyed
leaves.
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The importation of vegetables leads to low vegetable prices, claimed by most of the
respondents. Some respondents also said that imported vegetables have higher quality than
their produce thus consumers preferred these over the locally-produced ones.
Narrow and rugged farm to market road and the queue at the Swamp Area before the trucks
will enter the LTVTP was another problem identified by the respondents. Due to the narrow
and rugged farm to market roads, trucks’ speed is slower. And because trucks travel farm
to market in an increased hour, mostly do not enter the LTVTP in the evening. Queue at
the Swamp area worsens the quality of the vegetable because of the hours before the
vegetable was brought to the trading post, the vegetables rot. The more was the damage of
the vegetable, the lesser the gross income of the farmers.
Findings were the same with the findings of Sacla (2007) where lack of capital, high cost
of inputs, occurrence of pests and diseases, narrow and rugged farm to market road and
low vegetable prices were the problems identified by the farmers that they were
encountering.
Crops Planted from January to March
As shown in Table 20, carrot was the crop most farmers planted this January to March,
followed by potato and Chinese cabbage, respectively. Other crops planted were cabbage,
lettuce and broccoli. In the total land area planted with, potato has the widest area, followed
by carrot. With the hundred respondents, 34 did not plant any crop this quarter because of
lack of water for irrigation.
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Table 20. Crops Planted by the respondents from January to March
CROPS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE PLANTED
n=68
%
AREA
Carrot
38
56
15.5 ha
Potato
30
44
16.5 ha
Cabbage
18
26
6.75 ha
Chinese Cabbage
23
34
6.5 ha
Lettuce
7
10
1.5 ha
Broccoli
5
7
1.5 ha
*multiple response
Crops Last Harvested from December to February
Crops recently harvested from December to February by the respondents were shown in
Table 21 with carrot with the highest number of respondents. Cabbage has the highest tons
while lettuce has the lowest. On the vegetable price, only potato has a price that was more
than Php.10. This indicates that the price of these vegetables for the last three months were
low and some of the respondents claimed that they did not harvest their carrots, they let it
rot on their garden to be composted since harvesting it would not return their investments
because of low price. Some also claimed that they harvested their carrots but not sold.
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Figure 7. Carrots that were not sold and left rotten in the common dumping area along the
road
Table 21. Crops last harvested by the respondents
CROPS
FREQUENCY
KILOGRAMS
PRICE/kilo
(tons)
(mean)
Carrot
20
72.8 tons
Php. 2
Potato
10
34.5 tons
Php. 15
Cabbage
9
119 tons
Php. 6
Chinese Cabbage
7
53 tons
Php. 6
Lettuce
3
4 tons
Php. 7
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Cropping Pattern of the Respondents
Thirty-two percent of the respondents did not employ a certain cropping pattern while 68%
employed the crop rotation of root crops and crucifers. Most of the respondents who
employed this kind of pattern said that it would prevent the soil from diseases such as club
root. This indicates that farmers knew ways on how to preserve the fertility of the land they
till.
Crop rotation is growing different crops in succession: a system of farming in which a
piece of land is planted with different crops in succession, in order to improve soil fertility
and control crop pests and diseases (MS Encarta, 2009). This confirms the claim of the
respondents and the finding of Baniaga (2008) in her study that crop rotation would avoid
the occurrence of soil diseases.
Planting Schedule of Crops by the Respondents
Six percent of the respondents did not have schedule on the planting of certain crop; they
claimed that they would plant any that would have a high price in the estimated month of
harvest.
The remaining 94% plant certain crops in different months. From October to December,
64% plant carrot followed by the months of January to March with 45% while the months
of April to June is 27% only.
For cabbage, most of the respondents planted cabbage on the months of January to March
with 45% followed by July to September with 38% while the months of April to June and
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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October to December has least percentages. These show that cabbage can be planted all
year round.
Farmers who produced potato plant most on the last and first quarter of the year. Seventy
two percent of the respondents plants potato on the months of October to December. Potato
growers do not plant mostly during wet season because the leaves of the potato were very
sensitive to rain and wind.
For the Chinese cabbage, 63% of the respondents planted most on the months of October
to December followed by the months of January to March with 39% and the other months
have low percentages.
Results show that crucifers can be planted all year round while tubers were mostly planted
on summer days because the leaves of tubers were sensitive to typhoons according to the
respondents.
Farming Method of the Respondents
There were three farming methods used by the respondents; 96% inorganic; 3% organic,
and a percent of the combination of the two.
Inorganic farmers reasoned out that: it is the method they know eversince (84%);
chemicals are needed for the survival of the crops (20%), and they do not have enough
knowledge to apply organic method (1%). This supports the claim of the respondents on
the years of farming experience that they have been exposed to work at the garden at young
age.
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Organic farmers claimed that they just shifted from inorganic to organic to try if it is easier
and better than inorganic. The respondents said that if they tested it and it is better, they
would continue to use organic method. This shows that they want to experience the two
farming method and figure out the easier and better method.
One respondent who claimed to employ a combination of inorganic and organic method
stated that she composted plants and animals manure for fertilizers and applied chemical
pesticides to control pests. The respondent said that composting is better than buying
chicken manure since it decreased the expenses.
Factors Affecting the Decision of Farmers
on the Farming Method Adopted
Ninety six percent of the respondents did not shift on the farming method they employed
which is inorganic. They said that shifting is too difficult for them because it does not
ensure the profitability of the method they will shift to. Another reason was that they do
not have enough knowledge to shift to a certain method. Only four respondents shifted,
one shifted from Organic to Inorganic and the remaining three shifted from Inorganic to
Organic method.
The shifter from organic to inorganic reasoned out that when he started farming, he used
organic method since he has a little knowledge on it. However, pest outbreak happened to
his farm and that time he did not have enough knowledge to control it so he shifted to
inorganic. This implies that in Organic farming, a farmer should be much knowledgeable
on the method before adopting it.
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The three shifters from inorganic to organic have only one reason in shifting, to test if it is
better than inorganic. They said that they shifted this January and February.
They claimed that if organic method is better, they would adopt it.
Information Sources on the Farming Method Adopted
Table 22 shows that 88 of the 96 inorganic farmers claimed that they learned the method
they are employing from their parents, family members or relatives. This shows that most
of the inorganic farmers adopted the method their parents were employing. This supports
the finding of Lomiwes (2007) that most of the farmers grew up experiencing works in the
garden at young age.
Nineteen of the respondents acquired their knowledge on the farming method they employ
from friends, neighbors and co-farmers. Most of them were lowlanders who decided to try
farming in the highlands.
The information source of the organic farmers is radio and specifically to the BSU-on-the-
air program of DZWT hosted by Dr. Silvestre Kudan. Only one respondent claimed that
she attended a seminar hosted by Cordillera Highland Agricultural Research
Management or CHARM.
Table 22. Information sources of the respondents
PARTICULARS
FREQUENCY
PERCENTAGE
n=96
%
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
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Parents/Family members/Relatives
88
91
Friends/Neighbors/Co-farmers
19
20
Experience and Observation
12
12
Barangay/Government Officials
4
4
Mass Media (Radio)
4
4
*multiple response
Data Entry in a Website
A basic website on the results of the study was created for information storage and sharing.
The website was created using the Weebly Website Creator as recommended by
Paul C. Garcia, Information and Communications Technology Director of Benguet State
University. According to him, creating a website through Weebly is easy since it does not
require highly technical skills and knowledge and on computer programming. He also
stated that Weebly websites are accessible to anyone, thus increasing the possibility of
sharing the gathered data by this study.
Weebly is a website creator that allows you to create pages with template skins and content
widgets. Users can easily drag-and-drop content widgets like pictures, text, video and
Google Maps (Crunchbase, 2012). They also have a new blogging platform that can be
added to the navigation bar of your personal Weebly page.
The created
weebsite’s
Uniform
Resource
Locator
or
URL is http://buguiasfarmingpractices.weebly.com (Figure 8).
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
Figure 8. The home page of the website
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SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Majority of the respondents belonged to the age range of 41-50 years old, were able to
reach high school, had a farming experience of 20-30 years and owned the land they
cultivate.
Based on the results, four crops were the top produced vegetables, which are carrot, potato,
cabbage and Chinese cabbage.
With regards to the respondents farming practices on cabbage, potato and carrot, most of
the respondents have the same practices on the seed selection, land preparation, ways of
planting, fertilizer application, pests and disease management, weeds control, irrigation,
marketing and processing for potato.
When it comes to the problems encountered, major problems identified were the low price
of vegetables that leads to bankruptcy and lack of capital for the next planting season, and
the lack of water for irrigation.
Majority of the respondents planted carrot (56%) and potato (44%) this quarter (January
to March), with a total area of 15.5 ha and 16.5 ha, respectively.
Most of the respondents were inorganic farmers (96%) and did not shift to other farming
method (96%). Majority of the respondents acquired the information they applied in
farming from parent/family members and relatives.
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Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were derived:
1.
Farmers depend on chemicals to control pests;
2.
Some farmers still use Gramoxone even it is banned because of toxicity;
3.
Farmers seldom plant vegetables during summer because of lack of water
for irrigation;
4.
Vegetable prices for the last three months were very low;
5.
Alternate of crucifer and tuber is the main cropping pattern which the
respondents claimed that it will avoid soil diseases, and;
6.
Parents/family members/relatives had a great influence on the farming
method employed by the respondents.
Recommendations
Based on the finding of the study, the following recommendations were drawn:
1.
The concerned government agencies may ensure the implementation in the
banning of Gramoxone;
2.
The National Irrigation Administration (NIA) may help the farmers for the
solution of their problem on irrigation;
3.
The Department of Agriculture may conduct intensive information
dissemination on the Organic Agriculture Act since some respondents claimed that they do
not have enough knowledge on organic farming to adopt such;
A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
4.
Concerned government agencies such as Department of Public Works and
Highways or DPWH may focus infrastructure projects on rural areas, and;
5.
A database on the farming practices may be developed by Information
Technology experts in the university or other concerned agencies for further usage of the
gathered data.
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ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013
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A Data Entry on the Farming Practices of Buguias Vegetable Farmers |
ALBADES, MARICHEL D. APRIL 2013