Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija – The Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) has bred two promising hybrid lines that show outstanding high-yielding performance and resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB). Joanne D. Caguiat, PhilRice hybrid project leader, said most of the previously released hybrid rice varieties lack sufficient resistance to bacterial leaf blight (BLB), one of the common rice plant diseases that can cause a yield loss of […]

To provide awareness on the annual yield increase of rice due to researches on improving traits associated to high yield, PhilRice conducted a seminar on Genetic gain in rice held at its Central Experiment Station in Maligaya, Science City of Munoz, Nueva Ecija, April 20. Dr. Shoba Venkatanagappa, senior scientist of the International Rice Research Institute, served as the speaker. In the seminar, Dr. Venkatanagappa explained that genetic gain in […]

Do you still remember the iconic line of the late Fernando Poe Jr. (FPJ) in the film Batas Sa Aking Kamay? Playing the role as a police officer, FPJ said, “Di ako kumakain ng bigas, Major. Sinasaing ko muna para maging kanin bago ko kainin.” Three decades since the film’s release, Senator Grace Poe, FPJ’s daughter, found herself at the Philippine Rice Research Institute (PhilRice) to visit her iconic father […]

PhilRice, in partnership with the Bureau of Agricultural Research and International Rice Research Institute, developed new machines to help farmers cut on fuel and labor costs. The Hydrous Bioethanol Fuel-Feeding Device, installed in a modified spark-ignition engine, uses hydrous bioethanol fuel to power small agricultural machines. “It can power microtillers, power tiller haulers, micromills, water pumps, pump boats, and other machines operated by gasoline engine,” said Engr. Alexis Belonio, lead […]

Midsayap, Cotabato – PhilRice Midsayap trained the Ulamas (muslim religious leaders) in Autonomous Region for Muslim Mindanao (ARMM) to become rice advocates, April 3-7. In the one-week training, PhilRice equipped 20 Ulamas with technical knowledge on integrated crop management systems, such as the Palayamanan Plus and PalayCheck System.  Aside from attending technical lectures, they also conducted field demonstrations of various farming techniques technologies, such as the agroecosystem analysis, alternate wetting […]

About 1,000 farmers learned agricultural entrepreneurship during the dry season Lakbay Palay hosted by PhilRice, March 30-31. With the theme Ang magsasakang madiskarte, negosyante, the event aims to prepare farmers to be ‘agripreneurs’ and taught them the various rice-based production systems in which they could earn additional income. The Institute invited Leticia Basubas, owner of MSC Food Products to inspire farmers to venture in agricultural entrepreneurship and teach them basic […]

With the women actively involved in majority of agricultural work, PhilRice is showcasing farm equipment for women in an exhibit.

An ICT-based application that can analyze crop needs from planting to post-harvest while mitigating the effects of climate change was the grand winner in the 3rd AgriHackathon, an application development competition held at PhilRice, March 24-25. Called Crop++, the application was developed by IT students from Central Luzon State University. The application can monitor the current temperature and humidity of a farm area through a temperature sensor. It can also […]

Science City of Munoz – After featuring pop culture and political icons, PhilRice launched a new design of its rice paddy art baring two generations of Ang Probinsyano stars (Coco Martin and Fernando Poe Jr.), March 24. The rice paddy art is a project under the PhilRice FutureRice Program. Using the 3D anamorphosis principle (an art technique used for a distorted artwork that will only appear normal when viewed from […]

A prestigious award-giving body recognized PhilRice for its communication initiatives and writers during the 2016 Binhi Awards held at the Makati Diamond Residences, March 22. The Binhi Awards is an annual prestigious competition organized by the Philippine Agricultural Journalists Inc. (PAJ) in cooperation with the San Miguel Corporation to recognize the efforts of the country’s agriculture and environment journalists. Sonny P. Pasiona, a writer of the PhilRice Development Communication Division, […]