Nuclear science also has an important role in agriculture.

Through irradiation, it has developed a plant growth regulator that promotes growth and yield of rice. Irradiation has resulted in seedless calamansi and new desirable forms of ornamental plants.

NUCLEAR SCIENCE and technology are not only for building power plants that produce cheaper and cleaner electricity. They also have important applications in other fields such as agriculture, medicine, and the environment. RICE ENHANCED - In agriculture, one very recent achievement of the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI), an agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST), is the development of a plant growth enhancer that results in higher rice yields ranging from 15 to 30 percent.

This is called the “Carrageenan Plant Growth Regulator,” (CPGR) which was achieved by subjecting carrageenan (a seaweed extract) to irradiation. By so doing, the carrageenan is degraded to minute particles that are easily absorbed by plants. The increase in yield was demonstrated in multi-location trials in Bulacan, Nueva Ecija, and Iloilo.

CPGR promotes heavier tillering, longer panicles, and heavier grains. The plants treated with CPGR have been observed to produce strong stems, and

There is a huge contrast between rice treated with CPGR (on the left of the photo above) and untreated rice on the right side. Rice treated with CPGR (inset photo) produce long panicles and have high yields.