Lahar-covered farmlands can be regreened again

Lahar-mantled farmlands can be made to bloom again through a scientific process dubbed controlled-release fertilizers (CRFs).

CRFs are fertilizer materials with semi-permeable coatings, which allow them to release nutrients needed by crops at specific growth stages, explained the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD).

Laboratory experiments so far conducted by research institutions have proved that this property of CRFs could overcome the problem of intensive leaching of nutrients from highly soluble conventional fertilizers.

The CRF has been the outcome of the collective efforts of government research and academic institutions such as the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), Department of Science and Technology-Industrial Technology Development Institute (DOST-ITDI), and PCARRD.

Initial results of PCARRD-funded field trials conducted by CLSU researchers in Pampanga showed that applying 150-35-35 kilograms of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK) using CRFs instead of conventional fertilizers increased rice yield from 3.73 tons per hectare to 5.6 t/ha.

For tomato, applying 120-60-90 kg of NPK/ha from CRF increased yield from 3.93 t/ha to 5.56 t/ha.

In the development of the technology, ITDI determined the appropriate kinds and amount of coating materials needed to produce quality CRFs.

Four types of CRFs have been developed: urea CRF (37-0-0); di-ammonium phosphate (DAP) CRF (14-30-0); muriate of potash CRF (0-55); and complete CRF (15-13-18). Prices of CRFs range from P125 to P175/kg.

ITDI is currently producing CRFs at laboratory scale. – RAF