Research boosts Aklan’s piña cloth industry

BANGA, Aklan — Expect this internationally known province’s piña cloth industry to perk up some more in the immediate future.

Now of great help in ensuring that the industry will continue to head for better times is a research, development, and extension (RDE) program being implemented by the Aklan State University (ASU).

Headed by Dr. Benny Palma, president, ASU is a multi-campus university whose seat of administration is the main campus in Banga adjacent to the capital town of Kalibo.

The piña cloth is one of the most beautiful and expensive fabrics in the Philippines. It is used in the making of the traditional Barong Tagalog and the elegant Filipiniana dress worn during formal functions.

Aklan is the acknowledged center of piña cloth weaving in the country.

A number of researches under ASU’s "RD&E for Aklan Piña" program have already generated vital information that could be of good use in further developing the local piña cloth industry.

One — "Baseline Data on Production, Postharvest Handling, Processing, Utilization, and Marketing of Aklan Piña" — studied the strengths, potentials, weaknesses, and researchable areas for the improvement of the industry.

Like other industries, the piña fiber business is beset with problems such as seasonal harvesting of piña leaves, thus, there is lack of fiber supply, low fiber quality, lack of capital, and inadequate marketing scheme.

To address these problems, two research projects have been undertaken: "Micropropagation of Spanish Red Pineapple from Different Planting Materials with Medium Supplemented with Benzylaminopurine", conducted by Dr. Malco Teodosio and Michael Ibisate; and "Growth Response of Tissue-cultured Spanish Red Pineapple Taken from Different Planting Materials Grown in Various Potting Media" by Dr. Teodosio and Prof. Lelisa Teodosio.

"The Spanish Red (SR) variety of pineapple or Aklan Piña is the focus of those studies mainly because it produces more leaves of better fiber quality and adapted to local conditions," ASU stated.

Two kinds of fiber are extracted from leaves of SR pineapple: the bastos (coarse fiber), which is extracted from the surface of the leaf; and liniuan (fine fiber) from the inner surface of the leaf.

The ASU researchers reported that SR pineapple plantlets were successfully propagated and multiplied with the use of benzylaminopurine fortified in the tissue culture medium during the laboratory trials.

The trials also gave valuable information on the suitable potting media to use for planting the plantlets in the nursery.

"Compost comprising well-decayed plant residues and animal manures is an excellent potting medium for healthy and vigorous plantlets. Vermicompost, coconut coir dust, and decomposed rice hull are other potting media that could also give a very satisfactory seedling growth," the researchers said.

Two other studies conducted were "Growth and Fiber Yield of Tissue-cultured Spanish Red Pineapple Grown under Various Degrees of Shading" and "Field Performance of Tissue-cultured Spanish Red Pineapple Applied with Different Rates of NPK". NPK stands for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.

When these plants were planted in the field, they grew luxuriantly and vigorously, the researchers noted.

The program has also been training those who are involved in the piña industry on better piña production, fiber processing, and marketing.

Summing up, ASU said: "The presence of Boracay Island and the province’s thrust on agri-tourism boost Aklan piña’s edge over other fabrics of world class infortance. And as long as the Barong Tagalog and Baro’t Saya remain as our national costume, the fashion utilizing piña fabric and other piña by-products will never go out of style."— RAF