Proper Herbicide Spraying Techniques
and Good Agriculture Practices CropLife Philippines' Exec. Dir. Ramon Abadilla welcomes farmers to herbicide spray techniques training.
Proper techniques in applying herbicide spraying can really make a difference in the farmer’s Good Agriculture Practices (GAP). Take it from Dr. Gil Magsino, a retired government weed science expert, as he led CropLife Philippines’ (CLP) during its recent farmers’ training on “Herbicide Spraying Techniques in High Value-Crops” in the agricultural town of Guimba in Nueva Ecija. “Napakapraktikal ng ginawa na training,” he says. With CLP as a steward for herbicides and other crop protection products, they targeted “100 percent herbicide efficacy,” he added. This means, knowing the actual application ranging from calibration spray to pottering. “Kitang-kita nila ‘yung epekto ng calibration ng knapsack sprayer, yung volume ng delivery, yung speed, yung boom height, says Magsino, who once headed the UPLB-based National Crop Protection Center (NCPC). Farmer tries new spraying technique during actual application training.
“Kitang-kita nila na iba pala talaga ang ginagawa nila sa kanilang field.” He says. Before their training, some of the farmer participants blamed the herbicides that they were using whenever they failed to meet their target harvest. But such perception, Magsino noted, emanates from misconceptions in the herbicide spraying application. For instance, he cites how some farmers are not particular in following the product’s Mode of Action, or MoA. “Kung ano ang number n’yan wala sa kanila. ‘Yung basta naririnig nila sa isang company na muhasay, ‘yun ang gagamitin nila,” he explains. “(Ang) Alam nila 10 tank loads ihahalo nila sa tubig (kung) magspray sila. Wala sa isip nila yung calibration,” he says. “Paniniwala nila gawin nilang 10 tank loads of water per hectare. Basta natapos na yung isang ektarya, tapos na (ang) trabaho nila.” “Hindi nila iniintindi kung kinulang o sumobra yung timplada kaya ibig sabihin kasalanan ng produkto. Pero ngayon narealize na nila na ‘yung kanilang gawa, ‘yung practices nila, yun ang mali,” he says. |