Farmers in Paracelis, Mountain Province and Tabuk, Kalinga had a hands-on practicum on banana macro-propagation using corms as part of their final requirements under the School-on-Air (SOA) on Banana that is currently implemented by the Department of Agriculture-Cordillera (DA-CAR) with DZRK-Radyo Pilipinas as the partner radio station.
Macro-propagation in bananas is promoted as a stop-gap strategy while waiting for the source of tissue-cultured planting materials. It is done by generating suckers from clean planting material by removing apical dominance. There are two types of macro-propagation namely field-based technique and corm detached technique. For the practicum, the farmer-enrollees learned about the corm detached technique.
Mr. Marfel Angelo Fontanilla, Dr. Gerry Digma and Dr. Lorna Caraang, Professors of Apayao State College in Luna, Apayao served as the subject matter specialists and facilitators for the onsite practicum. Two practical learnings have been conducted in Paracelis, Mountain Province and Tabuk, Kalinga being the covered areas of the SOA this year. The first practicum, conducted on July 18-19, 2024, was focused on corm cleaning, decapitation, and decortication, which are the first steps in corm detached technique macro-propagation. This was followed by the second practicum on August 28-29, 2024, to follow up results of the first practicum, Information Officer II and SOA on Banana Focal Person Jovelyn Danao said. The farmer-enrollees were also taught about proper potting and hardening of suckers before planting in the open field.
Prof. Digma said that the actual conduct of macro-propagation is very important in encouraging banana farmers to adopt the technology based on the desirable results.
“Idi damu idi first nga practicum ti macro-propagation, masmasdaaw da apay nga masapul nga iluto jay saba wenno suruten jay proseso. Ngem nakita da ti resulta na nag-anak ti lima, uppat, duwa ket isu nang-engganyo kenyada nga ay nalaka gayam agpaado ti saba basta suruten diay proseso na,” he said.
During the first practicum, the farmers were surprised why there is a need to cook the banana. But when they saw the results [of macro-propagation] that it produced five, four, two suckers, they were encouraged seeing how easy it is to propagate banana if the process is followed properly.
He added that the practicum provided fresh insight to the farmers which complemented their learnings on air.
Meanwhile, the farmer-enrollees also thanked the subject matter specialists and the SOA Program where they learned important knowledge and skills, particularly in banana production and management.
“Adu ti naadal ko nga mabalin ko met i-aplikar idiay kasabaan. Dati nga maikaskasta ket 10mx10m nga distance tapos maysa lang nga puon ti imulmula mi ket ti naadal ko ket mabalin gayam ti 5mx5m distance ken 2 plants per hill tapnu nu agapit ket ad-adu ti maapit. Mayat ta naisuro dakami nu kasano ti agpatubo idiay corm enggana jay panakaimula na,” Thelma Bacani, farmer from Paracelis municipality shared.
I learned a lot [from the SOA] which I can apply in my banana farm. Before, we usually followed the 10mx10m distance and one plant per hill but then I learned that we can actually follow the 5mx5m distance and 2 plants per hill to maximize the area and increase harvest. We also appreciate that we were taught about banana propagation using corms up to planting.
The SOA on Banana was launched in the covered municipalities on June 13, 2024, with 100 total farmer-enrollees. Covered areas are among the major banana-producing municipalities that can be reached by the partner radio station. A similar program was first offered in Apayao last year with 80 total farmer graduates. By JBAgrifino with reports from JVDanao
