Improved legume varieties

Expect the dry areas in northern Luzon to bloom soon with improved legume varieties.

Modern varieties of peanut, chickpea (garbansos) and pigeonpea (kadyos) will be available for trial in the north, courtesy of the India-based International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT).

Currently headed by former Agriculture Secretary Dr. William D. Dar, ICRISAT recently signed separate memoranda of agreement with the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) headed by Dr. William C. Medrano and the Philippines Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) under Executive Director Patricio S. Faylon. The MOA binds the three entities to collaborate in enhancing the adoption of ICRISAT’s legume technologies in the Philippines.

ICRISAT and PCARRD have been collaborating since 1975. The latest workplan, signed last month (July), stipulates activities for 2004-2006 covering exchange of germplasm and breeding material, exchange of scientists and information/communication technology, and aims at improving livelihood and enhancing market opportunities of farmers.

To date, more than 3,300 samples of 2,785 germplasm accessions have been distributed in the Philippines.

In peanut alone, ICRISAT has supplied 26 sets of trials, 620 advanced breeding lines, and 71 segregating populations to institutions in the country in the past five years. These efforts have led to the development and release of improved, high-yielding varieties.

On farm research in Ilocos Norte has shown that chickpea can be grown in the dry areas of northern Luzon using residual soil moisture, with yields of up to 1.65 tons per hectare.

The Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU) in Batac, Ilocos Norte, has spearheaded the evaluation of short-and medium-duration pigeonpea ("kardis" to Ilocanos) in dry areas in the north. Cultivation was found profitable for green pods (as vegetable) and dry grain. – Rudy A. Fernandez