Crop Production Management Practices: It's Implications to Soil Fertility on a Rice-based Production System in Guimaras

Abstract

Soil fertility is primarily a problem in rice-based production systems resulting in reduced yields. There are various factors affecting soil fertility problems and crop production practices are seen to have a major contribution. Hence, the study was conducted last December 2018 within the Bureau of Soil and Water Management (BSWM) clustered soil fertility assessment sites in the whole Province of Guimaras. The study utilized 500 respondents equally distributed to the five (5) municipalities. Based on the study, most of the respondents have ages ranging from 61 years old and above, males, married, elementary graduates, have 0-1 dependents, and owned their farm. The majority of them managed a farm with a total area of 0-1 hectare, with rice farms of 1 hectare, have their farms close to their household (0-1 km), with farming as their primary source of income. They have payments of PhP 5,001 to PhP 10,000. They generally stay in the community for more than 26 years, were members of the rice cluster association, and were Roman Catholics. Most of them managed their farms under rainfed conditions, inbred rice varieties for planting, used certified seeds and used hand tractors to prepare their farms. They plow their farms twice and practice less than 7 days between the last harrowing and crop establishment. Most of them observed a fallow period of 3-4 months do not have any bases for fertilizer application while others rely on rice crop managers. All respondents practiced chemical application for weeding and pests and diseases. The majority of the respondents said they convert rice straws into composts and others said they incorporate them during land preparation. Among the problems identified were pests and diseases, followed by capital and adverse climatic condition. Other problems included the high cost of farm inputs, and very few responded that they have problems with fertilizer sources. In terms of soil fertility, the majority of the respondents' farms were low in nitrogen (N), low in Phosphorus (95 or 95%), moderately high in Potassium (K) (84 o 84%), and high in soil pH (66 or 66%). In terms of general fertility, 94 of 94% of the farms were moderately low.