Maiko Gil Hiwatig, training manager at MoCa Family Farm RLearning Center, Inc., shares best practices in nursery management and plant propagation. (photo by Daniel Nilo)
DILIMAN, Quezon City—Agriculture enthusiasts once again flocked the Agricultural Training Institute’s (ATI) free seminar where technologies on nursery management and plant propagation were discussed.
Farming experts Maiko Gil Hiwatig and Maximo Din from MoCa Family Farm RLearning Center, Inc. (MFFRLC) in Padre Garcia, Batangas were invited to share effective farming practices for propagation and the nursery.
In setting up a nursery, Hiwatig talked about the advantage of having unique crop seedlings. He also underscored the importance of cleanliness in the nursery to prevent pests and diseases on seedlings.
“Having a rare plant in the nursery can give you huge profit. You can sell it at a high price because you have no competition,” Hiwatig said, citing the “chempedak” tree as an example which they are propagating in MFFRLC.
Din discussed asexual plant propagation, particularly grafting. He stressed that safety, sanitation, and sharpening—the “3S”—should be observed to ensure the success of this method.
Also part of the seminar were the demonstration on the preparation of soil mixture for nursery and a hands-on session on other methods of asexual plant propagation such as marcotting and grafting. The participants also learned the proper preparation of plant cuttings.
By the end of the seminar, the participants were eager to practice what they learned. One of them is Billy Navarete from Quezon City.
“Seminars such as this one help people like us who want to venture into crop production. I really learned a lot from the seminar today. I’ve already started planting a few crops, so I will definitely apply this new knowledge in my urban garden,” she said.
Another participant is Alvin Muyco. He owns a parcel of land in Negros Occidental planted with rice and sugarcane.
“I want to turn our lot into an integrated farm and venture into agri-tourism. I’ve already done research and watched online videos related to agriculture. Seminars like this, however, provide more information about technologies for aspiring farmers like me,” Muyco said.
The free seminar on nursery management and plant propagation was conducted on June 14, 2019 at the Rural Development and Education Center in this city.
More free seminars are lined up for the second half of this year with topics on production and processing of cacao, herbs and spices, mushroom, among others. For more details, visit the ATI and ATIng Gulayan ng DA Facebook pages.