Quality seeds and hybrid corn
WHILE I am strongly advocating for the planting of more high- value crops in the Philippines like cacao, coffee, cassava and rubber, among others, I still believe in the future of corn provided quality seeds are used.
And when I am speaking about quality seeds, nothing beats hybrids not only for their higher yields but also for their vigor, resistance to diseases, and uniform growth.
For starters, let us differentiate hybrids from the open pollinated variety (OPV) type of seeds, which are still used by many farmers in the Philippines because of lack of access to hybrid materials.
Simply put, hybrid seed is a cross between two or more unrelated inbred plants, to produce a variety that has certain desired qualities like, as I have mentioned earlier, higher yields, vigor, resistance to diseases, and uniform growth.
OPVs, on the other hand, are a product of decades or even centuries of natural evolution of a certain plant variety. And over decades or centuries, OPVs have also evolved to adapt to their environment.
But hybrids have already proven to outyield OPVs and heirlooms by up to 500 percent, and given that smallholder farmers have to deal with problems caused by climate change, the logical move is to start using hybrids.
OPVs and heirlooms are still used by farmers who cater to the high-end market, like those will food products.
But for feeding the world, nothing beats hybrids and genet
In the Philippines, the use of hybrids is growing fast for rice and corn farming, which remain the two of the most popular crops in the country.
The use of high quality seeds, has led the country to 100-per
From my being the strategic adviser of Prasad Seeds Philippines Inc. (PSPI), I can say from experience that hybrid corn seeds provide the best yields from healthy plants.
The prasad experience
The contract-growing arrangements PSPI has forged with smallholder farmers in Central Luzon is a good example of an inclusive business model, and the use of hybrid seeds help assure that both parties gain from the partnership.
Since PSPI places a very strict standard on the type of seeds it will buy from its farmer-partners in exchange for a better buying price, the company sees to it that it assists adequately and properly its farmer-partners, who are mostly smallholders.
So as part of its agreement with its farmer-partners, PSPI provides growers with farm inputs like fertilizers, pesticides, and labor budget as loan necessary for proper crop maintenance. Also, the company provides guidance in the form of Package of Technology (POT) and recommendations through its field agronomists on how to properly manage crops.
PSPI then buys the harvested seeds in cobs at a jointly agreed upon competitive buy back price per kilo.
incentive for chopping the male plants after pollination but not later than 75 days after planting, and for proper detasseling following the PSPI standards.
After harvesting, the advances to the farmer-partners shall be deducted by PSPI from the gross income. The remaining will serve as the grower’s net income to be release not more than 15 days after harvest.
The responsibilities of PSPI’s farmer-partners are provide land suitable for hybrid corn seed production, and have access to necessary farm facilities and equipment including source of irrigation.
The farmer-partners also provide labor (planting, fertilization, pesticide application and irrigation) that shall serve as their equity equivalent to approximately 18 percent of the total cost of production. Also, they should maintain and manage the crop in accordance to the POT and recommendations from
Of course, the farmer-partners must sell the harvested seeds solely to PSPI at a jointly agreed upon competitive buy back price per kilo.
From what I have seen so far in my field visits to the plots of the farmer-partners of PSPI, hybrids really exhibit vigor and resistance to diseases, and have even withstood some of the usual downpour during the last months of the year.
are also optimistic of better yields from their hybrid corn plants, or higher than the national average of 3.3 metric tons per hectare ( based on figures from the Department of Agriculture). Hybrid corn can yield up to twice per hectare compared to the national average.
Use of quality seeds
Besides providing hybrid seeds for its farmer-partners, PSPI also makes sure its seeds are of high quality or free from impurities. This means that upon harvest, the inferior seeds are removed so as not to “contaminate” or degrade the stock of the highquality seeds.
High-quality seeds can only assure higher percentages of vigor and germination, so they should be free from seed-borne diseases, impurities like sand and stones, and injuries caused by the mechanical separation of the kernel from the cob.
Low- quality seeds have low vigor and may not even produce at all. Worse, low-quality seeds produce sickly plants that can become a host for diseases that can infect healthy plants on the any smallholder farmer.
So the right postharvest technologies for corn should be adopted by farmers’ cooperatives, and it is worth noting that the Philippine Center for Postharvest Develop agency under the Department of Agriculture) has developed a corn sheller that has a capacity of 2 to 2.5 tons per hour, shelling recovery of 99.86 percent and purity of 99.73 percent, while keeping the level of damaged kernels to only 2 percent.
pneumatic corn planter that can sow seeds at a rate of 2.5 hectares in eight hours. The wonder of using mechanical or pneumatic corn planters is uniform spacing and depth are achieved, assuring higher survivability of the seeds planted or up to 99 percent. On the other hand, planting seeds manually can assure a survival rate of 85 to 90 percent.
The use of hybrid seeds of high quality, and mechanization for postharvest and planting, or even tilling and applying of fertilizers, yield of corn farms. But it all starts with using quality hybrid seeds.
So I will keep you readers updated on the yields PSPI’s farmer- partners will achieve come harvest time. But I can tell now that many of them are excited, like me.