In photo: SeedWorks Philippines’ experimental station at Talavera, Nueva Ecija
By Alithea De Jesus
Even before the pandemic, there was already a growing number of “agri-preneuers” in the country, however, it is not that big in terms of the number of people involved compared now.
Interestingly, the number of people who developed an interest in planting suddenly increased and the monicker “PlanTito and PlanTita” came into being given the phenomenal growth of Pinoys suddenly get into planting and others are now even engaged in mico-agribusiness.
With the pandemic continually disrupting the world and affecting many businesses for one year now, many economists predicted that agri-business is the most resilient business and will stabilize the econony.
SeedWorks Philippines wants to contribute to the agricultural sector by ensuring that those who will get into agri-business will be more productive in terms of harvest showcased their hybrid vegetable seed varieties through its Go Gulay Field Day. The three-day agricultural event was mounted from January 20 to 22, 2021 at the company’s Experimental Station in Talavera, Nueva Ecija.
“SeedWorks showcased and demonstrated the best characteristics of our hybrid vegetable seeds through the Go Gulay Field Day amid the new normal,” said SeedWorks Philippines North Luzon Area Sales Manager Simeon Bautista. “
We have been consistently highlighting the advantages of hybrid crops that are high-yielding, highly tolerant to plant diseases, and resilient to adverse weather conditions with fruits that are of the highest quality for discerning consumers. We agree with the industry sentiment that sustainability is most crucial these times,” Bautista added.
The Go Gulay Field Day kicked off through an insightful opening program on Day 1 with representatives from the Department of Agriculture (DA) Region III, the DA Provincial Office (Nueva Ecija), and key selected distributors. The Municipal Agriculture Officer and the Provincial High Value Crop Coordinator took their turn on Day 2, while the company’s partner traders, financiers, and distributors gathered on Day 3.
SeedWorks’ three-day Go Gulay Field Day put the spotlight on these 11 high-yielding hybrid vegetable varieties:
- Prolifica/ Eggplant (talong) – A high-yielding variety that produces reddish-purple eggplant with higher shelf life and tolerance to wilt diseases.
- Exotica XL/ Long Green Hot Chili Pepper – A variety with extra-long and glossy light-green fruit (best for sinigang). The plant is tolerant to wilt and plant viruses.
- Exotica Erect 6/ Upright Red Hot Chili Pepper (labuyo) – Erect-type pepper with deep-red and high-pungency produce. The plant variety has high tolerance to viruses and leaf spot diseases.
- Banahaw Green/ String Bean (sitaw) – This variety yields dark-green string bean with a purple tip. It has a long shelf life and is tolerant to rust and bean mosaic viruses.
- Winner/ Bitter Gourd (ampalaya) – The bitter gourd variety produces long and green fruit with excellent shelf life and tolerance to mosaic viruses and Fusarium Wilt.
- Viagrow/ Ridge Gourd (patola) – The high-yielding variety produces long and dark-green ridge gourd with firm flesh. The plant is tolerant to downy mildew and viruses.
- Black Mamba/ Watermelon Dark Green – The hybrid watermelon variety is high-yielding and produces dark green and less seedy fruit with sweet, deep red, and firm flesh. The fruit has tolerance to downy mildew.
- Panay Sweetheart/ Watermelon Stripe – Sweet, striped watermelon with a firm and pinkish flesh comes with a long shelf life and can endure long-distance shipping.
- Ultima/ Big Squash – The high-yielding pumpkin variety produces big squash with excellent quality and high tolerance to viruses and diseases.
- Sakto/ Butternut Squash – This butternut-type squash has excellent fruit quality and high tolerance to mosaic viruses and downy mildew.
- Sweet Ninja/ Sweet Corn – The plant produces corn that matures earlier with sweet, yellow kernels and good tip filling. This sweet corn variety is ideal for dry season cultivation.
Through its hybrid plant varieties and advanced crop science technology, SeedWorks has been supporting the national government’s long-term goal to make the country a self-supporting and self-sustaining food producer. During the onset of the pandemic in 2020, the company backed DA’s ‘Plant, Plant, Plant’ program that distributed vegetable seedlings to households nationwide so they can cultivate crops for their consumption throughout this crisis.