New crops show promise

Chinese agricultural crops now being tested in the country under a joint Philippine-China R&D project have initially shown promise of thriving under local conditions.

One of the promising crops is Yuctian #13, a super sweet corn hybrid. This is a short plant that is easy to manage owing to its resistance to diseases and tolerance to extreme weather. It also has a superb taste and appearance.

Two others are high-yielding varieties of soybean named Huaxia #13 and Huachun #1.

These crops have been identified as priority commodities of the Department of Agriculture (DA) under Secretary Arthur C. Yap.

The hybrid super sweet corn and soya bean varieties are among the priority crops from China being experimented on at the Agricultural Technology Development Center (ATDC) at Barangay Mawaque, Mabalacat, Pampanga.

The others being tested for their suitability to Philippine soil are tomato, stringbean, cauliflower, gourd, and bitter gourd.

The ATDC was set up in 2005 as part of the Philippine-China science and agriculture cooperation through a collaborative project between the Federation of Filipino-Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry, Inc. (FFCCCII) and the Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Agricultural Research (DA-BAR) and R&D partners such as the DA-Central Luzon Integrated Agricultural Research Center (CLIARC) and Pampanga Agricultural College (PAC).

The center serves as the show window for other regions in the country to promote the technology on high-yielding agricultural crops.

Initial results of the R&D project have been encouraging, according to a Chinese delegation that visited DA-BAR headed by Director Nicomedes P. Eleazar and the ATDC recently. — RAF