New bean variety creating waves

TAYUG, Pangasinan , Philippines  — This high-yielding bean is fast shooting to “stardom” in the vegetable world.

Named Condor Negrostar, this long bean variety was bred and developed by Allied Botanical Corp. (ABC) at its research facility in this Pangasinan town situated almost 200 kilometers northeast of Manila.

“The uniquely purple-tipped pod variety is very prolific and very ideal for off-season planting, especially when early harvest is desired,” reported, ABC corporate communication manager Rommel Lopez.

Lopez added: It can be harvested at about 54 days after sowing and has an average weight of 23 grams and length of 56 centimeters per pod.

July Eduardo of Nueva Ecija, an Agriculture degree holder who worked abroad for sometime but is back home — and engaged in farming — for good, attests to Condor Negrostar’s great potential as an agricultural crop.

In one cropping season, Eduardo sowed 10 kilograms of Negrostar in her .7-hectare farm and harvested a minimum of 15 bundles per picking season. Each bundle consists of 1,000 pieces of sitao pods.

On her first harvest, the farmgate price for sitao was about P80/kg.

With proper care and fertilization, her plants grew healthier and flowered faster, she observed. She said she applied Nordor and Peters.

Lopez said Nordox 50 WP is a copper-based fungicide and bactericide that prevents common diseases such as rust and wilt from spreading upon direct contact.

“The micronized particles of Nordox sticks on the plant for a longer time compared to other fungicides, giving the plants longer protection,” he explained. “Aside from this, Nordox also has a fertilizer effect on plants, its copper helps in chlorophyll (green coloring matter of plants) formation and activation of some enzymes both for plant maintenance and food production.”

Peters WSF, on the other hand, supplies nutrients that the plant needs without the worries of burning. Peters WSF by Scotts USA a completely watersoluble foliar fertilizer with trace elements such as magnesium, boron, iron, zinc, copper, manganese, and molybdenum especially formulated with M77, a chelating agent. The chelation ensures that the nutrients do not react with other chemicals so that plants can use them for normal growth and development.

Eduardo had built her big house out of her earnings from working abroad. But she confided that she was able to renovate and construct an extension to her two-storey house out of planting Condor Negrostar and other Condor varieties such as cucumber.

Because of the exceptional performance of her bean crops, Eduardo’s vegetable production is now considered a model in their village.

“There is a possibility that you will earn more in farming than in working abroad,” the OFW-turned-farmer concluded.