Golden apple snails or kuhol as farmer’s friend? It’s a resounding “yes” when managing rice bugs! Kuhol (Pomacea canaliculata Lamarck) is considered as one of the notorious pests in the Philippine ricefields. It consumes young seedlings, even devouring a whole paddy overnight. In every square meter, a small kuhol measuring 2-3cm can reduce the number of tillers by up to 19% at 30 days after crop establishment. The loss may […]

We always get excited for new stuff; however, if it’s a new pest, we worry as it can reduce  37% of rice yield and sometimes, more. This is why PhilRice researchers are studying the characteristics and management of the rice grain bug (RGB), an emerging pest of rice. Getting to know RGB RGB (Paraeucosmetus pallicornis Dallas), also known as seed bug, was originally a legume pest. It was first observed […]

In traditional farming, the carabao has to walk 60-80 km to plow a hectare. The patient beast faithfully does this for the rice to grow healthy as a well-prepared land helps in driving away pests and diseases. The interaction between the rice and the carabao is quite knitted that when in human forms, they could have easily poke each other – a playful gesture between friends. So it’s not a […]

Work may sometimes burn us up; leaving ashes of stress and problems in personal lives. So, let’s show our self some love by taking care of our health while being productive at work! Exercise Do you sit for more than 7 hours a day finishing tasks and go home tired with work still undone? Having this routine may cause detrimental effects on the mind and body. Be physically active! Based […]

After roughly a decade of fine-tuning and development, Rice Crop Manager (RCM) can also join the so-called #10yearchallenge, a trend flooding the social media when 2019 commenced. RCM facilitates better rice management practices through mobile or web app farm data collection for site-specific management recommendations.  Being the first rice farming mobile app, recalling its transformations and milestones in the last 10 years serves as a quick stocktaking of what have […]

Boy: Taga-Dev ka ba? (Are you from the development sector?) Girl: Bakit? (Why?) Boy: Nadebelop na kasi ako sa iyo. (‘Cause I’ve fallen for you.) Rizal G. Corales of the research sector may have this as his favorite punchline for Dr. Aurora M. Corales of the development group; but more than his humor, his loving ways contributed to their enduring story as a PhilRice couple. The Corales couple are two […]

So much disinformation has been spread about the negative impact of the Rice Tariffication Act on the local rice industry to the point that the buying price of palay has dropped from a high of P22 per kilo last year to P14 and P15 in some parts of the country now. In view of this, I have decided to address some basic questions to put an end to all the […]

The agriculture sector is faced with challenges this year: rice-security and farmers competing with the international rice market. Amidst these, the Institute recruits new staff and employs research fellows, not only for science, but to ensure that its discoveries and technologies are used for development in the rice sector. Excelling in their fields of expertise, Dr. Emmanuel R. Tiongco, Dr. Truong Hoai Xuan, Dr. Alexis T. Belonio, Thelma F. Padolina, […]

As we begin the year, let’s ask the Institute’s most loyal workers, who were awarded during the 2018 Dangal ng PhilRice, on what inspired them during their decades of work at the country’s lead agency on rice research for development. Serving their purpose Most of the loyalty awardees see their work as an opportunity to serve the Filipino farmers. “Working at PhilRice and experiencing the drive to help farmers and […]

Many aspects of the now 33-year-old PhilRice are public knowledge. One of the memorable details of the Institute’s early years is the role of the presidency of Corazon C. Aquino, whose birth anniversary was commemorated on January 25. While the executive order establishing PhilRice was signed by President Ferdinand E. Marcos on November 5, 1985, Cory Aquino amended it a year later to increase the membership of the Institute’s highest […]