Tips on fertilizer use out in seconds

IN just 60 seconds or less, farmers can now receive fertilizer recommendations through the mobile app version of Minus-One Element Technique (MOET).

A complementary device for the MOET kit, the soil nutrient calculator can provide the right amount, combination, and type of fertilizer to be applied.

PhilRice senior researcher Ailon Oliver V. Capistrano said the new mobile app, which is used before crop establishment, helps farmers avoid excessive or inadequate fertilizer application.

Before using the app, Capistrano said seven planting pots, which contain complete fertilizer formulation and the excluded elements including nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, sulfur, and copper, are set-up for 30-45 days before transplanting.

“The data from this set-up will then be used to generate location-specific recommendations. The MOET app can precisely compute precise nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and sulfur recommendations,” he said.

Capistrano said the app also sets target yield through its Fertilizer Requirement Calculator (FRC) and can estimate the rice yield of the farmers’ variety through Yield Predictor (YP).

“By simply comparing the target yield from FRC result and estimated yield from YP, agricultural extension workers and farmers can better decide, which fertilizer management to follow in achieving the highest possible yield. These features also provide corresponding costs of fertilizer inputs,” Capistrano explained.

Field validations in Central Luzon show that the MOET App recommendations are precise as the target yield calculated by the MOET FRC is close to the actual yield result at 92%.

Field trials in the dry season 2015 also show that yield from MOET app plots are higher at 9.04 t/ha than farmers’ plots, which yielded 7.4 t/ha. During the dry season 2016, majority of the farmers in Science City of Muñoz and Cabanatuan City who tested the MOET app gained significantly high yield. A record high of 11.72 t/ha was achieved in a MOET App plot while the lowest was 6.32 t/ha, which is still higher than the average national rice yield of 4.3 t/ha.

A complementary device of the Leaf Color Chart app, which measures nitrogen status, the MOET app is also used in updating the soil fertility map of lowland rice areas in the Philippines.