Two (2) months now after its establishment in August 8, the rice seedlings in the President’s Farm are growing healthily with the nourishing rain and sunshine in the Mariano Marcos State University (MMSU), City of Batac.

As a technology demonstration of newly-released and high-yielding rice varieties, the President’s Farm showcases five (5) inbred and five (5) hybrid rice varieties in this nearly two (2) hectare (ha) demonstration area in front of the College of Agriculture, Food, and Sustainable Development (CAFSD). This demonstration sustains the continuing effort of the University in empowering farmers and community folks with knowledge geared toward food security and sufficiency.

In partnership with the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice), the demonstration farm was established last August 8. The transplanting earned support from various officials from the MMSU and PhilRice, the Provincial Government of Ilocos Norte through the Provincial Agriculture Office, including the students of CAFSD who assisted in the transplanting.

Here are some information about the ten (10) inbred and hybrid rice varieties showcasing the 400- and 500-series rice varieties. 

Inbred Rice Varieties 

• NSIC 2018 Rc 506 (Tubigan 41). This variety can be transplanted and direct seeded. When transplanted, this variety matures at 111 days with an average yield of 5.9 tons per hectare (t/ha) and a maximum yield of 10.o t/ha. When direct seeded, it matures at 104 days with an average yield of 5.8 t/ha and a maximum yield of 8.7 t/ha. While it is moderately resistant to stemborer, blast, sheath blight, brown planthopper (BPH) and grass leaf hopper (GLH), it is susceptible to tungro and bacterial leafblight. It has a long grain size with medium eating quality. It has a milling recovery at 70.3%.
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• NSIC 2018 Rc 508 (Tubigan 42). When direct seeded, this rice variety matures at 105 days after planting with an average yield of 5.8 tons per hectare and a potential maximum yield of 10.8 tons per hectare. When transplanted, it reaches maturity at 110 days after transplanting with an average yield of 6 tons per hectare and a maximum yield of 10.4 tons per hectare. It is moderately resistant to blast, bacterial leaf blight (BLB), and green and brown leafhoppers. It is susceptible to tungro and sheath blight, hence, must not be planted in hotspot areas of the disease. For its grain quality, this variety has long grain size with medium eating quality. It has a premium milling recovery at 70.3%.
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• NSIC 2018 Rc 510 (Tubigan 43). This variety is similar to NSIC 2018 Rc 508 (Tubigan 42). With direct seeding, it matures at 105 days with an average yield of 5.8 t/ha and a maximum yield of 10.8 t/ha. When transplanted, it matures at 110 days with an average yield of 6 t/ha and a potential maximum yield of 10.4 t/ha. It has moderate resistance to blast, BLB, BPH, and GLH, and is susceptible to tungro and sheath blight. It has a long grain size with medium eating quality and a milling recovery at 70.3%.
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• NSIC 2018 Rc 512 (Tubigan 44). With direct seeding, this variety matures at 105 days and may yield an average of 5.6 t/ha and a maximum yield of 10.1 t/ha. When transplanted, it matures at 113 days and may reach an average yield of 5.6 tons per hectare and a potential maximum yield of 10.2 tons per hectare. It is moderately resistant to blast, stemborer, BLB, BPH, and GLH. It is also susceptible to tungro and sheath blight. As to grain quality, this variety has a long grain size and a soft eating quality. It also has a premium milling recovery at 71.1%.
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• NSIC 2016 Rc 480. Green Super Rice (GSR) is a collection of cultivars that come from a mix of more than 500 promising rice varieties and hybrids, bred to be tolerant to different abiotic stresses, and they have been proven to perform well even with less inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides. NSIC Rc 480, also known as GSR 8, is a top-performing GSR variety bred at IRRI that was released for two conditions, rainfed drought and saline It is a high performing, flood-tolerant, cooks well, and is popular with farmers in the Philippines. In the rainfed condition, this variety yields an average of 3.2 t/ha and a potential maximum yield of 4.4 t/ha. It reaches maturity at 107 days after seeding and may reach a height of 96 cm. It has intermediate reaction to stemborer, blast, GLH, and BPH while it is susceptible to blight, sheath blight, and tungro. As to grain quality, GSR 8 has long grain size with soft eating quality. It also has a premium milling recovery at 71.8%.

Hybrid Rice Varieties 

• LP 937/NSIC Rc 456H (Mestiso 78). Mestiso 78 is a high-yielding rice variety developed by Longping Tropical Rice Development, Inc.. It matures at 112 days after seeding and may reach a height of 106 cm. It has an average yield of 6.7 t/ha and a maximum yield of 11.7 t/ha. It is resistant to blast; moderately resistant to BLB, sheath blight, GLH and BPH; and susceptible to tungro. As to its grain quality, it has a long grain size with soft eating quality and a milling recovery of 70.9%.
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• LP 2096/NSIC 2015 Rc 404H (Mestiso 66). Mestiso 66 is a promising variety developed by Longping Tropical Rice Development, Inc.. It matures at 112 days after seeding and may reach a plant height of 102 cm. an average yield of 5.9 t/ha and a maximum yield of 10.4 t/ha can be harvested from this variety. It has intermediate reaction to rice blast, BLB, and sheath blight; is susceptible to tungro, and has intermediate reaction to BPH and GLH. It has a soft eating quality and a milling recovery of 69.8%.
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• SL-19H/NSIC Rc 488H (Mestiso 81). Mestiso 81 is a high-yielding rice variety developed by SL Agritech. It has an average yield of 6.1 t/ha and a potential maximum yield of 12.3 t/ha. It can grow up to 110 cm and matures at 113 days after seeding. It has an intermediate reaction to blast, stemborer, GLH and BPH and susceptible to bacterial blight, sheath blight, and tungro. It has a long grain size with soft eating quality and a milling recovery of 70.7%.
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• NSIC Rc 204H (Mestiso 20). The Mestiso 20 is a newly released hybrid rice with an average yield of 6.2 t/ha but can reach up to 11.9 t/ha. It matures at 114 DAS and can reach a height at 109 cm. For pest and diseases, this variety has intermediate reaction to blast, stemborer, GLH, and BPH, and is susceptible to bacterial blight, sheath blight, and tungro. It has soft eating quality and long grain size with a milling recovery of 70.7%.
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• NSIC Rc 490H-Hatao Dinorado/Mestiso 82. Mestiso 82 has an average yield of 6.2 t/ha and a maximum yield of 11.9 t/ha. It matures at 114 DAS and can reach a height of 109 cm. it has intermediate reaction to blast, stemborer, GLH, and BPH, and is susceptible to bacterial blight, sheath blight, and tungro. It has long grains with soft eating quality and a milling recovery of 70.7%.

(Agronomic characteristics derived from Pinoy Rice Knowledge Bank https://www.pinoyrice.com/rice-varieties/)

These rice varieties follow the recommended technologies of the PalayCheck System developed by PhilRice. In support to these technologies, Carrageenan Plant Growth Regulator/Promoter (CPGR) was applied, following the recommended application rate and time. CPGR was developed by the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute which can potentially increase yield by 15-20% and increase resistance to lodging.

The President’s Farm demonstrates agricultural breakthroughs in partnership with PhilRice. Since its establishment in 2017, the demonstration farm is initiated annually during the wet cropping season. With the initiative of President Shirley C. Agrupis and Dr. Santiago Obien, former President of MMSU and senior technical adviser of the Department of Agriculture, the demonstration farm is a highlight of annual Farmers Field Day conducted by the University with farmers invited all over the province.

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