Balanced fertilization boosts rice harvest

Balanced fertilization, which is highly recommended by the Department of Agriculture (DA) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), has resulted in record-breaking rice harvests by local farmers.

Based on a report issued by the Region III Office of the DA, farmer Pablito de la Fuente of Barangay Sibul in Talavera, Nueva Ecija harvested 269 cavans of hybrid rice per hectare and earned a net income of P71,744 by applying a combination of four bags of 14-14-14 and 10 gallons of the organic-based liquid Florida Green.

DA-Region III quoted De La Fuente as saying that before he tried balanced fertilization and before he planted hybrid rice, his average yield was only 80 cavans per hectare. With balanced fertilization, De la Fuente said he was able to reduce his usage of chemical fertilizers from 10 bags to four bags per hectare and yet his total harvest increased dramatically.

Balanced fertilization is the practice of minimizing the application of chemical fertilizers with the use of organic soil enrichers to improve the texture and quality of the soil for the enhancement of plant growth.

De la Fuente applied Florida Green basal on the soil a day before planting with a dilution rate of two liters per 14 liters of water. Subsequently, he applied Florida Green foliar with a dilution rate of 300 milliliters per 16 liters of water on the leaves 15 days after planting. The second spraying was done 30 days after planting. The schedule of the final spraying was 60 days after planting.

For his unprecedented harvest performance, De la Fuente received P50,000 from the provincial government of Nueva Ecija.