Early maturing varieties recommended for dry season

MANILA, Philippines — Local farmers with insufficient water supply are urged to adopt early-maturing varieties and water-saving technologies for the coming summer harvest, the Department of Agriculture said.

The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) said early-maturing varieties or those maturing in less than 110 days require lesser water compared with other inbred varieties.

“A rice crop that matures in 100 days will require approximately 1000 millimeters of water while a crop that matures in 150 days will require 50 percent more.

For rainfed and irrigated areas, using these varieties will reduce the water needed and the number of days in supplying water,” said PhilRice in-house agriculturist Fredierick Saludez.

Average yield of these varieties ranges from four to 10 metric tons per hectare and matures between 105 and 110 days compared to 115 to 125 days for other varieties.

“Reduction in yield happens when rice plants are exposed to stress like drought, especially during the flowering stage. With early-maturing varieties, this is less likely to happen,” Saludez said.

A series of studies from the plant breeding and biotechnology division showed an average of 64 percent yield reduction, under drought condition, during dry season from 2015 to 2018.

Saludez recommended water-saving technologies, such as  alternate-wetting, and drying (AWD).

AWD is a water-saving technology that reduces the use of irrigation water without penalizing crop yield.

Based on studies, rice farmers in lowland areas can save water by up to 50 percent if properly implemented. Locally available materials such as bamboo or PVC tubes with four inch diameter and 25 centimeters in length are used to install AWD.

Mario Ermita of Masinloc, Zambales  said AWD was effective as it helped him save water in irrigating his farm.

Farmers were also advised to put holes (3-5 mm) to serve as a water passage, around the tube with 5 cm distance.

This will be inserted into the soil up to the 15 cm marked for dry season and 20cm marked for wet season.

Saludez urged agriculturists from the local government units, rice technicians, extension workers, and rice advocates to promote the use of these technologies for farmers to avoid yield losses during the dry season.