New products, technologies ready for commercialization

A seaweed-based air freshener. New vaccines for ruminants and poultry. Live feed substitutes for shrimp and fish larvae.

These are among new products and technologies introduced at the 2nd National Agriculture and Fisheries Technology Forum sponsored by the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) last Aug. 7.

The forum, which coincided with the observance of DA-BAR’s 20th anniversary, ushered in a weeklong trade fair and exhibits mounted at the DA-BAR’s premises in Diliman, Quezon City. The fair and exhibit were participated in by about 25 government and private institutions and entities, who also showed their already commercialized products and technologies.

During the Aug. 7 forum, scientists and researchers of government and private institutions and entities presented scientific papers on the new technologies and products that they have developed.

A report on commecial seaweed extracts was presented by Dr. Marco Nemesio Montaño of the University of the Philippines Diliman-Marine Science Institute (UPD-MSI).

He aptly named the product Seamoy, a seaweed-based air freshener that makes use of sweet floral scents to give rooms, cars, lockers, and cabinets a clean, fresh smell.

The new developed, easy-to-handle product is low-cost since it is based on the dried seaweed itself and not on semi-refined carrageenan. The cost for making it is about P6.50 each, or even lower if produced in large scale.

Biovac HS, developed by the UP Los Baños-College of Veterinary Medicine (UPLB-CVM), is a vaccine used in preventing or controlling hemorrhagic septicemia, a fatal disease attacking cattle, carabaos, and small ruminants (goats, sheep).

Dr. Helen Molina of UPLB-CVM also reported that another vaccine developed, Biovac-HS oil, is used in the immunization of cattle, buffaloes, and goats against hemorrhagic septicemia.

Live feed substitutes that suit the nutritional needs of shrimp and fish larvae, known as Kappa-Carrageenan Microbound Diet, has been formulated by the government-hosted Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center Aquaculture Department (SEAFDEC AQD) based in Tigbauan, Iloilo.

Easy to prepare, the formulation (complete food) has been  tested in  large-scale production at SEAFDEC AQD and in hatcheries, Myrna Teruel reported.

A paper titled “Hot water treatment as method of disease control and disinfestation for ‘Carabao‘ mango” was co-authored by Dr. Kevin Yaptenco, Marcelino Reyes, Jose de Ramos, and Emmanuel Amatorio of the UPLB Postharvest Horticulture Training and Research Center (PHTRC).

The UPLB-PHTRC team reported that a hot water tank that can be used for hot water treatment (HWT) or extended hot water dip (EHWD) has been developed.

HWT is used for controlling anthracnose and stem-end rot diseases of “Carabao” mango. EHWD is a low-cost and effective alternative to vapor heat treatment (VHT) for disinfesting fruit against the destructive Oriental fruit fly.

The Biotech Enzyme Technology, developed by the UPLB National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH), is an efficient process that produces the best quality of essential oils, BIOTECH’s Fides Tambalo, Ronilo Violanta, Teresita Espino, and Roshena Arevalo attested in a report titled “Essential oil production from different plant sources.”

They said that microbial enzymes are used in processing oil-bearing materials to recover oil and non-oil constituents. Higher oil yield and better oil quality are obtained with the BIOTECH technology than competing ones.

Dr. Jovita Datuin of the DA-Regional Field Unit I-Ilocos Integrated Agricultural Research Center reported that the goat production  technology developed by DA-RFU I-ILIARC offers a basket of technology interventions to goat raisers, such as upgrading, proper housing, feeding management systems, strategic deworming, use of multipurpose tree species, and prevention of common diseases and parasites.  — Rudy A. Fernandez