This Pesticide can Save Mindanao's Farmers from Expenses

                       AFTER IT SHOWED ROBUST HIGHLY PROTECTED POMELO TREES

By Mortz C. Ortigoza

M’LANG, Cotabato Province – Farmers in this sweetest producing pomelo town are expected to shift to AMO Growth Enhancer after a major planter attested how the Enhancer will save them tens if not hundreds of thousands of pesos for their crops' protection against pests and diseases.

Jerry Reyes, a resident of Brgy. New Janiuay here, said that it cost him an arm and a leg spraying with pesticide every other day his countless of hectares of pomelo trees to maintain their sweetness and to deflect attacks by bugs, fungi, and others.

“I only used three drums (of water) I poured and mixed them each with a sachet of AMO,” he said about the growth enhancer dubbed as miracle fertilizer he bought at P750 each from Nathanael Fabila who is a renowned seed distributor in Mindanao and manager of AMO Fertilizer there.

Pomelo fruits and their healthy leaves.

Since he shifted from the more expensive fungicide and pesticide to AMO in June 14 this year, Reyes a retiring Captain of the Bureau of Fire of Philippines, started to spray 60 trees, or hills as farmers call them, by eight days interval. Because of it he saw the leaves of the trees became greener, fatter, and more conditioned thanks to the growth enhancer manufactured in Calasiao, Pangasinan and became popular in Northern Luzon particularly.

"After my second spray I will make the interval by 15 days to save on fungicide".

AMO is kelp based fertilizer. It contains only small amount of N, P, and K, it means highest in Potash but adds valuable micro nutrients, natural growth hormones, and vitamins that help increase yields, improve soil structure, reduce plant stress from drought, and increase frost tolerance.

“I saw there maggots shunning the trees and they were thinner,” he cited after he sprayed with AMO the manure from his poultry houses he used as natural fertilizer of the big citrus trees.

There are now less falling leaves in between the stretch of the trees because of the sturdy leaves.

ALTERNATIVE. Cotabato Province’s pomelo planter Jerry Reyes (left photo) listens attentively to plant growth enhancer AMO’s Mindanao Executive Nathanael Fabila who explains to the former the pilot project he will venture into countless trees of the sweetest big citrus tree to be sprayed every 15 days with the growth enhancer. AMO will replace the more expensive pesticide, herbicide, and fungicide Reyes use to the leaves of his tree every other day. 

Eleonor “Lotlot” Alba- Antonio, an executive of the hundreds of hectares’ Sheba Pomelo Farm, said that in her countless of years as supervisor of planters of huge hectares of pomelo in the provinces of Cotabato, South Cotabato, Sarangani, and Davao, the sweet pinkish if not red pulp fruit planted here is the tastiest.

“Aside from the combination of proper care, right fertilizers and pesticides the factor of its being the sweetest is the soil of this town,” Antonio told this writer in her 24 hectares of the scientifically known citrus grandis' plantation in Barangay Buayan here.

But venture in these fruits entail a huge expenses because they are fertilizer and pesticide pampered from a farmer.

You have to wait for five years and the harvest is twice a year. A farmer earned a gross of one million pesos in one hectare per harvest or a net profit of five hundred thousand  pesos (per harvest or one million pesos in two harvests a year with one million pesos in fertilizers, pesticides, labor, and other expenses - Author),” she cited.

Many farmers here, including those former rubber and palm oil planters, shifted to pomelos because of the hefty returned of investment.

AMO is a 5-in-1 formula developed by lawyer Eric G. Acuna, a former congressman, where a farmer can use it as organic fertilizer, soil conditioner, growth enhancer, foliar,  fungicide,  and insect repellent.

READ: 

M'lang Produces The Tastiest, Sweetest Pomelo

SWEET. Pomelo tree and fruits in New Janiuay, Mlang Cotabato. The rustic landlocked town is a major producer of the bitter sweet fruits in the country.  The person in the photo is the author.

(Send comment to totomortz@yahoo.com)