4 new cassava, rambutan varieties developed

Two new varieties each of cassava and rambutan have been approved for commercial release.

The two new cassava cultivars approved last December by the National Seed Industry Council (NSIC) are NSIC Cv-25 and NSIC Cv-26.

The new rambutan varieties are Amerillo and Roja.

The cassava and rambutan varieties were submitted for approval by NSIC by Elizabeth Malacad and Dr. Roberto Coronel, chairpersons of the council’s rootcrops and fruit crops technical working groups, respectively.

NSIC Cv-25 and NSIC Cv-26 were developed by a team of researchers led by Dr. Azucena Carpena of the UP Los Baños-Institute of Plant Breeding.

These have been recommended for industrial purposes as source of starch and as processed feed in the form of chips and pellets.

"The varieties are additions to the diversity of available recommended industrial cassava varieties," reported CM4012 and Sultan 1, Cv-25 yields 38.1 tons per hectare. Cv-26 yields 37.9 t/ha.

The new rambutan varieties were developed and selected through a mass selection breeding strategy led by Dr. Pablito Magpantay.

After three years (2000-2002) of evaluation, the varieties were released for their sweet, juicy, and thick flesh; long spines with attractive color; and prolific bearing habit.

Owned by Dr. Ponciano Batugal of UPCO, College, Los Baños, Amerillo has golden yellow peel, leathery skin, and smooth white flesh. Amerillo is the first yellow known variety of rambutan. It produces 50-60 kilograms of fresh fruits on its regular fruiting season.

Selected from the fruit crops nursery in Calauan (Laguna) supervised by Mario Tenorio, Roja has attractive bright red leather peel. It produces 70-80 kg fresh fruits on its regular fruiting season. – Rudy Fernandez