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Farmers Visit Experimental Eggplant Field, Attests to the EFSB Problem

Local government unit officers, members of the media and communities around UP Mindanao,
constituents of UP Mindanao, farmers, and other stakeholders visited the experimental eggplant
field located at the University of the Philippines-Mindanao on May 19, 2011from 3 to 5 PM. With
support from the International Service for Acquisition of Agri- Biotech Applications (ISAAA), the
activity was conducted with the objectives of: (1) sharing an overview of the economic,
gastronomic, and medical significance of eggplants; (2) sharing an overview of the significance of
eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB) and the available practices for managing the pest; (3) giving
an eggplant farmer an opportunity to give a real life account of FSB infestation in the field; (4)
sharing an overview of the significance of the project and
the experimental design it employs; and (4) letting the
“...farmer s hope that guests pick eggplants and investigate FSB infestation
firsthand.
scientists will be able to
find a solution to the EFSB
problem.” A brief program was held at the Lorezo Hall of the
Administration Bldg of the UP Mindanao , starting with a
welcoming address was given by the UP Mindanao
Chancellor, Dr. Gilda C. Rivero, followed by a presentation
of the significance of eggplants in every Filipino household
and the Philippine economy as a whole. Ms Cyrose Suzie
Silvosa, MSc, then introduced the EFSB, and discussed its life
cycle, severity of its infestation, and the losses accounted to
it. Ms. Silvosa also discussed the current methods used to
control the pest. Mr. Francisco Getutua, an eggplant farmer
from Maa Riverside, substantiated the losses accounted to
FSB discussed by Ms Silvosa by speaking about the EFSB
infestation in his field and the burdening cost of managing
the pest by use of oil + chemical solution. In his concluding
statements, Mr. Getuta stated that farmers hope that
scientists will be able to find a solution to the EFSB
problem.
Mr. Getuta sharing his farm experience.
Ms. Silvosa introduced the pest management project, a study
conducted with the general aim of quantifying the degree of
EFSB infestation using the current available pest management practices. An open forum followed,
the main questions asked were:

(1) How much limestome is applied to the soil? (Francisco Getutua, Riverside Maa farmer)

(2) Why were Trichogamma sp. and the sap with sugar to trap the borer not used? (Ms. Lorna
Alderite of CAO)

(3) Why was Dumaguete long purple used and not the other varieties adapted to Davao soil?
(Ms. Lorna Alderite of CAO)

The main comments raised were:

(1) the size of the experimental plot (Anne Fuertes, IDIS)


(2) accuracy of the experiments given the proponents (accused) inclination towards Bt
technology. (Dr. Romeo Quijano, IDIS then a rebuttal from a UP student on the same)

An eggplant food festival then followed to showcase the different ways of preparing the eggplant
(and to substantiate objective 1). Participants had the chance to eat eggplants prepared in so many
ways: pakbet, torta, baked with raisins, rice with talong, talong
biscuit, among others. One of the most-loved recipe was
“eggplant shake.” Participants then visited the Eggplant Field
after the food festival and scrutinized firsthand, FSB
infestation.

Before, during, and after the activity, members of the media


interviewed students and proponents. Georgianna Oguis,
IEC, was in fact on ABS- CBN and GMA the morning after
the event.

A total of 30 registered guests and 30 unregistered guests


participated in the activity.
City Agriculturist, Mr. Leo Avila, partaking in the
talong food festival

Recommendations:

Only around half of the participants were able to visit the actual field because of the rain and the
food festival. Whereas the rain cannot be controlled, the sequence of activities can be rearranged
to increase the visit to the actual eggplant field site. Presentations can be made shorter, followed by
visit to the field, and then the food festival. A press conference is also recommended.
EFSB Pest Management Proponents Hold 2nd Eggplant Field Day

Eggplant growers, community members, government representatives, and UP students attended


the Second Visit to the Eggplant Experimental Field, an activity supported by International Service
for Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, on May 31, 2011 from 3:00 to 5:00 pm. The second
field day was held with the aim of : (1) sharing an overview of the economic, gastronomic, and
medical significance of eggplants; (2) sharing an overview of the significance of eggplant fruit and
shoot borer (EFSB) and the available practices for managing the pest; (3) giving an eggplant farmer
an opportunity to give a real life account of FSB infestation in the field; (4) sharing an overview of
the significance of the project, the experimental design it employs, and the preliminary results; and
(5) letting the guests pick eggplants and investigate FSB infestation firsthand.

The welcome address was given by Dr. Reynaldo Abad, the Dean of
College of Science and Mathematics. Prof. Verna Marie Monsanto-
Hearne then shared that the eggplant, prized for its deeply purple,
glossy beauty, leads in vegetable volume harvest, and that the
Philippines is in fact the 2nd largest producer in Southeast Asia, and
the 9th in the world. She also shared that the eggplant provides
vitamins B6, C, K, thiamin, niacin, and panthotenic acid, and minerals
such as magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, manganese, and copper.
It also provides phytonutrients such as nasunin, dubbed as brain food
because of nasunin’s ability to protect brain cell membranes, and
other phytonutrients (like phenolic compounds) now known to be
antimutagenic, anti- microbial, anti- LDL and anti- viral. These
scientifically proven antimutagenic, anti-microbial, anti- LDL and anti-
viral properties of eggplants give credence to the thousand year old
practice of using eggplant for medical purposes in India.

Ms. Cyrose Suzie Silvosa, MSc, then talked about the pest that infests
eggplants, the eggplant fruit and shoot borer (EFSB). She shared the
lifecycle of EFSB and the impacts at the farm level. Francisco
Getutua, a farmer from Riverside, Maa, agreed with Ms. Silvosa and
gave a firsthand account of EFSB’s negative impacts in his farm.

Dr. Eufemio T. Rasco, the project leader of Integrated Pest


Management of EFSB summarized the research rationale and
methodology. Dr. Rasco showed that the preliminary analysis of
From top to bottom: Prof. data shows that the hybrid variety (Banate King F1) is still one
Hearne, Ms. Silvosa, and Dr.
Abad. harvest ahead compared to Dumaguete Long Purple and that the
10 harvests show that between the two varieties tested, Banate
King F1 was better yielding than Dumaguete Long Purple in terms
of fruit weight and based on fruit count. Analysis of the raw data also so far reveals that the mean
marketable yield based on fruit count is highest in combination plots sprayed with chilli + spinosad
+ flubendiamide, and lowest in chilli spray plots, even lower than the yield of control plots. EFSB
infestation since the 5th harvest reached as high as 60%, and is expected to increase even more in
the succeeding harvests, quantifying the farmers’ testimonies that EFSB problem is indeed
severe.

Dr. Reynaldo G. Abad then introduced the different non-target organisms in the experimental site.

During the open forum, Mr. Leonardo Avila III, OIC- City Agriculture Officer, said he that he would
like to explore the possibility of collaborating with UP Mindanao to conduct studies on eggplant
including the use of biological pest such as Trichogamma sp.

After the forum, Georgianna Kae Oguis launched the website: www.scientificfarming.net which
outlines the methodology and the results of the experiment.

The activity at the Lorenzo Hall concluded with a bountiful eggplant festival. Among the foods
served were: pritong talong, ginataang talong, rice with talong, eggplant shake, eggplant with pork,
paksiw na talong, tortang talong, talong with bagoong, eggplant cookies and baked talong. Once
again, only a few were able to actually visit the experimental plot due to a heavy downpour.

Harvest is expected to continue until the last week of June, and the final visit to the experimental
field will hopefully ensue on the first week of July to give the conclusions of the study.

Left. Audience included representatives from Freedom Inc, DENR, community members and students.
Right. Visitors inspecting EFSB infestation.

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