This article was published in Business Mirror on May 12, 2016
The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCAARRD) said developers of the carrageenan plant growth promoter (PGP) are looking into expanding its use to other crops aside from rice.
Dr. Joy Eusebio, director of PCAARRD Crop Research Division, said the agency will meet with the Philippine Nuclear Research Institute (PNRI) and other partners to come up with a concept proposal to experiment on the use of the growth promoter for other crops.
“We need to meet with the PNRI and other partners to discuss what will be our priority crop and which regions will be involved in the study,” Eusebio said in a phone interview.
She added that PCAARRD and the PNRI are considering the application of the PGP to corn and vegetable crops.
The plant growth promoter was developed by the PNRI in cooperation with the National Crop Protection Center of the University of the Philippines-Los Banos and the Philippine Rice Research Institute. It was formulated from radiation-processed carrageenan—an extract from seaweed processed into powder.
Carrageenan PGP was tested for three years in rice farms in Nueva Ecija, Laguna and Bulacan, according to PCAARRD, an attached agency of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).
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