AGRICULTURE – Page 6 – Philippine Tambayan

Enzyme Extraction of Essential Oils

Essential oils are chemicals that form the odoriferous essences of a number of plants. They are derived from parts of a plant, which can be the flowers, fruits, leaves , roots, or bark. Essential oils have been used since history. In ancient Assyria, Babylonia, Israel and other civilizations, essential oils were possessions. They were used as perfumes, added to cosmetics or mixed with other ingredients to create conditions for religious offerings, anointing kings or embalming the dead.

Today, essential oils are enjoyed and used more extensively than ever. Modern cosmetic and perfume industries depend on essential oils. Food manufacturers need essential oils to impart flavor and delicate aroma to beverages such as coffee, tea, juice , sodas, wines , liquors, canned sauces and soups, bottled condiments, confectioneries and other food products. Due to these applications, there is a huge demand for essential oils worldwide.

However, there is not enough supply to meet domestic and industry needs. In our country, most of the essential oils available in the market are imported and they command staggering prices. A 15 ml bottle of essential oil costs an average of 100-165 pesos.

The National Institute of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (BIOTECH) in UP Los Banos, Laguna addressed these problems by developing an extraction method for essential oil that is more efficient than teh conventional procedures like steam distillation. Through this method, BIOTECH hopes to develop local production of essential oils and help the country save and earn dollars. The method uses an enzyme called pectinase to extract the essential oil from a plant material. This is more efficient since it can derive 1-3% yield, double than extracted using other methods, depending on the plant material. This technology was created through the leadership of Dr. Teresita M. Espino.

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Vegetable gardening at the rooftop?

You can raise vegetables on your rooftop. That is, if you do not have any space on the ground anymore like Leonila Griarte who used about 26 sq. Meter if her rooftop for her garden

This rooftop garden is located at 781 Coronado St. Mandaluyong City. Overlooking the Pasig River. She planted different crops at different periods of the year. These include pechay, mustard, okra, patola, pepper, ginger, malunggay, ampalaya, squash and camote. For the whole year, he garden supplies her family’s vegetable needs. In addition, she raises from ordinary ornamental plants that serve as giveaways to her friends and officemates.
Leony owns a place whose facade looks small but the inside portion extendes to two houses. It is in the front protion that a third floor is constructed and the back portion with a second floor. The third floor is divided into two: a bedroom with toilet and bath with a small balcony while the other parts is the garden, an open space that is directly under sunlight the whole day. The balcony has an overhang where she places potted orchids of different kinds.
The garden is divided into two parts. The front portion, about 4 m and 1 m wide, is the nursery for orchids and other ornamentals using recycled materials as containers. The remaining portion is the vegetable garden. Two plots one at both sides, were made. Hollow blocks were used to close the plots measuring 2.75 by 1.5 m each leaving a footpath of .50 m between plots. The plots were filled with soil brought in from Cavite and Batangas. The height of the hollow blocks when set horizontally is the depth of the plots. The blocks were cemented together to prevent soil from eroding through the gaps in between. One of the plots does not extend until the wall. Instead, a platform made of steel bars occupies the space. This holds small pots of ornamentals, bromeliads, Thai kalachuchi and orchids.
The plot at the left portion contains the cucurbits. According to Leony, her regular plants include eggplant, pepper, tomato, and okra. At the sides are oregano and luyang dilaw, Also at this part of the garden is a tall wrought-iron chicken cage that is really for raising four to five chickens at one time. They provide eggs for the family and manure for the plants. The cage also serves as trellis for the patola and ampalaya vines. Continue reading “Vegetable gardening at the rooftop?”

USM recommends high-yielding rubber clones

One of the country’s centers for collection and propagating of rubber clones, the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) in Kabacan, North Cotabato, recently released a list of recommended clone of rubber.

The list comprises of the following clones:RRIM 600 (Rb 99-01), RRIM 712, RRIM 901, PB 217(Rb99-02), PB 235 (Rb99-04), PB 260, USM 1 (Rb 99-03), PB 330, and PB311. Among the new clones, USM1 (Rb 99-03) has the highest dry rubber yield per year (2.5 tons/ha). PB 330 is also one of the highest yielding lines, recording an average annual yield of 2.38 tons/ha, closely followed by PB 260, producing 2.37 tons/ha per year.

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Grafting effective in producing off-season tomato

Tomato is an important vegetable known for the versatility of its uses both in fresh and processed food preparations. In the Philippines, it is considered as one great demand in the local market. However, production of tomato during off-season (rainy months from June to October) is hampered by many production constraints such as pests and diseases, unfavourable environmental factors, and lack of suitable varieties for planting. Thus, tomato produced during off-season commands a very high price.

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