Hybrid rice seed cleaner developed

Here’s another new technology that is expected to further boost the government’s already vibrant hybrid rice commercialization program.

It’s a prototype seed cleaner developed and tested by DA-PhilRice scientists and agricultural engineers led by Dr. Eulito Bautista.

The device has been found suited for PSB Rc72H, a hybrid rice variety developed by PhilRice and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI). It has been recommended for commercial use.

PSB Rc72H, which is adapted to various agro-climatological conditions in the country, was the second hybrid rice variety to be developed in the country.

The first was PSB Rc26H or Magat, developed in the early 1990s, which thrives specifically in the Cagayan Valley (Region 2).

In the succeeding years, several hybrid rice varieties were developed. There were PSB Rc76H or Panay, NSTC Rc112H or Mestizo 2, NSIC Rc114H or Mestizo 3, SL-8H (developed by SL Agritech Corp.), Bigante (by Bayer-Crop Science, Inc.), Magilas 500 (by Mosanto Phils., Inc.), and Rizalina 28 (by High Rice).

Hybrid rice can raise farmers’ present yields by 15 percent. With proper management, farmers can increase yields by up to 258 percent. With proper management, farmers can increase yields by up to 258 cavans per hectare per season, as proven by farmer Ernesto Pablo Sr. in Rizal, Oriental Mindoro.

The prototype hybrid rice seed cleaner developed by PhilRice, therefore, is expected to boost further the country’s hybrid rice production program of the Arroyo administration being extensively promoted by DA under Agriculture Secretary Luis Lorenzo Jr. to enable the Philippines to become self-sufficient in rice at the soonest time possible.

Cleaning and grading hybrid rice seeds for better performance involves removing impurities such as broken seeds, dehulled grains, grit and weed seeds, leaves, trash, and immature shriveled and unfilled or empty spikelets.

"These operations are important to attain purity as required for high quality hybrid rice," pointed out PhilRice as reported by the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD), which monitored the research. — Rudy A. Fernandez