PhilRice Los Baños evaluates available varieties to ensure that these are high-performing location-specific rice for the Southern Tagalog Mainland.
The station and DA-Regional Field Office CALABARZON stated that the study, which will be conducted for 1-2 years, assesses the performance of rice under irrigated, rainfed, and saline-prone ecosystems.
The best performing varieties will be recommended to the Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fund (RCEF) as bases for the varieties to be distributed to the farmers listed in the Registry System for Basic Sectors in Agriculture.
Varieties will be assessed based on farmers’ preference on yield, morpho-agronomic characteristics, resistance to pests and diseases, and grain quality or good eating quality.
Among the varieties being evaluated in the irrigated farms in Maragondon, Cavite; Morong, Rizal; Nasugbu, Batangas; Sta. Maria, Laguna; and Sariaya, Quezon include NSIC Rc 580, Rc 622, Mestiso 73, and Mestiso 99.
Meanwhile, Rc 568, Rc 578, Rc 592, Rc 192, among other varieties, are tested in the rainfed sites in Nasugbu, Batangas; Tiaong, Quezon; and Tanay, Rizal. Saline varieties such as NSIC Rc 554, Rc 604, and Rc 336 are evaluated in Sariaya, Quezon.
Special purpose aromatic including Rc 218SR, Rc 342SR, and NSIC Rc 344SR are being studied in Sta. Maria, Laguna. The DA-Regional Field Office CALABARZON and the International Rice Research Institute co-implement this study.
