Special Fertilizer Ups Tobacco Yield
Posted by Unknown in Fertilizer, Philippines, Tobacco on Sunday, 12 May 2013
By: Zac B. SarianManila Bulletin
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| THE BIG DIFFERENCE — Photo shows the big difference between the Burley tobacco (left) sprayed with Power Grower Combo and the unsprayed plants at right. Power Grower Combo is a special fertilizer formulation by Alfonso G. Puyat which results in very fast growth of the plants when it is sprayed on the leaves. The sprayed tobacco grew to about six feet compared to less than four feet for most of the unsprayed tobacco plants. The leaves of the sprayed plants are bigger and more numerous than the unsprayed ones. The sprayed plants are owned by Frederick Pinpinio (right) of San Miguel, Balungao, Pangasinan, who is shown here talking to visitors Fernando Gabuyo and Oftoficiano Manalo. |
A special
fertilizer that has been proven to more than double the yield of
sugarcane and fruit trees also does wonders on Burley tobacco. This is
the Power Grower Combo, a plant growth promotant formulated by Alfonso
G. Puyat.
Earlier, the
special fertilizer formulation doubled the yield of sugarcane in the
farm of Mauro Merculio in Victoria, Tarlac. This time, the trial in a
farmer’s farm in Balungao, Pangasinan, shows the yield of Burley tobacco
could be more than doubled with the Power Grower Combo.
Frederick
Pinpinio of San Miguel, Balungao, Pangasinan has a standing crop of
Burley tobacco on one hectare from which he has harvested two times as
of this writing. His tobacco plants that were sprayed just two times
with the Puyat growth enhancer have grown to about six feet tall whereas
the plants of the unsprayed adjacent field were mostly four feet or
less in height.
The sprayed
plants produced much bigger and more numerous leaves. The leaves of the
sprayed plants were two feet long and one foot wide. On the other hand,
leaves of the unsprayed plants measured only 17 inches long and seven
inches wide. When the leaves were dried in the sun, as is the usual
practice in Burley tobacco, the dried leaf of the sprayed plant weighed
12 grams whereas the one of the unsprayed plant was 5.1 grams.
As per the estimate of Frederick, one plant could yield as much as one kilo of dried leaves.
He has planted
15,000 plants in the one hectare that he rented for P5,000 per planting
cycle. That means, he could harvest about 15 tons from one hectare. At
the usual price last year of P70 per kilo, the 15 tons could be worth
more than one million pesos. Even if the yield is only ten tons, that
would still give the grower P700,000.
Compared to
corn, which is also a major crop in Pangasinan, tobacco requires more
labor to produce. The cost of production includes the cost of seedlings
which is supplied by the buyer of the cured leaves at 70 centavos per
seedling. The other costs are land preparation, fertilizer, daily
attention to the plants while they are growing to prevent insect
infestation, irrigation, cost of harvesting, sticking and drying. At any
rate, Burley tobacco is still profitable to grow.
According to
the National Tobacco Administration, Burley tobacco is being produced
largely in Pangasinan which accounts for 51 percent of local Burley
production. The other provinces growing Burley tobacco are Tarlac (16%),
Nueva Ecija and Mindoro.
The NTA adds that there are about 11,376 farmers involved in planting Burley tobacco on 7,198 hectares.
The good thing
about Burley tobacco is that unlike Virginia tobacco, it is not cured in
flue-curing barns. Burley is dried in the sun like the native tobacco.
Burley is a
light colored aromatic tobacco that is used in making cigarettes. About
75 percent of local production is used by local cigarette manufacturers.
The rest is exported to countries like the United States, Germany, Hong
Kong, Singapore, Russia and Japan.
Agri Plain TalkZac B. SarianA veteran agriculture journalist who also runs a one-hectare nursery of exotic fruit trees. I am currently the Agriculture Editor of Manila Bulletin, a 113-year-old daily newspaper. My agriculture page appears every Thursday and Saturday where I write my Agri Plain Talk column. This twice weekly column has been running for more than 21 years now.
