Return of Manila’s ‘nilad’ mangrove not far off

The time may not be long when "nilad", the mangrove species after which Manila was named, will again be part of the city’s landscape.

And in adjacent shorelines like those in Cavite, too.

The basis for this optimistic outlook is the success of government researches in developing a technology for the vegetative propagation of "nilad" by rooting stem cuttings of the species.

The scientific headway was achieved by researchers of the Los Baños-based Department of Environment and Natural Resources-Ecosystems Research and Development Bureau (DENR-ERDB). It was an offshoot of an ERDB project that originally intended to develop proper seed technology for "nilad" but ended seeking asexual means owing to initial observations that showed very low seed germination, short period of seed viability, and difficulty in storage.

The results achieve in the experiment showed that 78-85 percent of nilad cuttings developed roots after eight to 12 weeks.

With the breakthrough, the ERDB team headed by Senior Science Research Specialist Veronica Ordonia-Sinohin has established a Nila Trial Plantation for RAD, introducing or reintroducing the species in the historic "Walled City" that is Intramuros.

Also, nilad seedlings have been planted – and are now lushly growing– at the bank and near the lagoon inside the botanical park of the Manila Zoo, Sinohin told this writer.

Nilad have also been planted in riversides in Tanza, Cavite.

"The technology is a pioneering research work when we speak of mangrove," stressed ERDB Director Celso Diaz.

A publication title "Vegetative Propagation of Nilad (Scyphiphora hydrophyllacea Gaerin.) by Cutting" has been published with the support of DENR’s Foreign-Assisted and Special Projects Office. Authors are Sinohin, Juvy Pastor, Flora Sanjorjo and Gemma Babban. – Rudy A. Fernandez