News Archive

Cassava phytoplasma disease (CPD) is a current serious threat to the country’s cassava industry.

When the plant is CPD-infected, it shows yellowing or reddening of leaves, shrinking of the internodes resulting in stunted growth, excessive multiplication of shoots, and production of smaller leaves, among other symptoms, until the plant eventually dies.

CPD can reduce yield to about 50-70% when its symptoms appear four to six months after planting or during the middle of the growing season.

Davao del Sur coconut farmers, through a Science and Technology-based (S&T) Community-based Farm (STCBF) project, were equipped on the application of S&T to increase coco sap production, processing, and marketing cocosugar in the local and international markets.

The project, which had the title, STCBF on Coco Sap Production and TechnoMart Projects: Propelling the Cocosugar Industry Development in Davao del Sur, was implemented by the Southern Philippines Agri-Business and Marine and Aquatic

Researchers from the Central Luzon State University (CLSU) developed a fast, highly reliable, and simple diagnostic method to detect one of the pathogens that may cause swine diarrhea. The technology can detect swine gastrointestinal microorganism that causes Porcine Epidemic Diarrhea (PED). The team of researchers is led by Dr. Clarissa Yvonne J. Domingo and Dr. Rubigilda C. Paraguison-Alili.

The diagnostic method is based on the principle of Loop-mediated Isothermal Amplification (LAMP). It is

Native chickens are efficient converters of locally-available feed resources. While they can survive even with minimal management, supplemental feeding is still needed. The availability of these resources is affected by season, flock size, and number of households in rearing areas, among others.

Considering the demand for native chicken, formulation of supplemental feeds that will help maintain and provide its nutrient requirements is needed. However, commercially available feeds as

The Philippines ranks 9th among the top producers of mango in the world, with 2% share in production (FAO 2010).  It is also the third most important fruit crop based on export volume in the Philippines, next to banana and pineapple.  It has very high potential as fresh or processed export product to other untapped export destinations.   

However, mango production in the Philippines is still constrained by a number of problems that limit its full potential. These include occurrence of pests and

National scientists (from left to right) Dr. Gelia T. Castillo, Dr. Bienvenido O. Juliano, and Dr. Ramon C. Barba share information about the profession that they are known for to students and participants of the forum, Trailblazers in Science: National Scientists Lecture Series, held during the Los Baños science community cluster’s week-long celebration of the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW).

Department of Science and Technology (DOST) Secretary Fortunato T. de la Peña urged a staunch research and development stance for the agriculture, aquatic and natural resources (AANR) research sectors.

De la Peña urged the call as he keynoted the 5th anniversary celebration of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development, Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) on July 28, the fourth day of the National Science and Technology Week (NSTW)

The Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) recently conducted a five-day training from June 27 to July 1, 2016 to capacitate researchers on evaluating gains of research and development initiatives through impact evaluation studies.

Held at the W.D. Dar Conference Room, DOST-PCAARRD Complex, in Los Baños, Laguna, the training was organized by PCAARRD’s Socio-Economics Research Division

The quality and integrity of rubber planting materials produced by clonal gardens and nurseries can now be ascertained through a technology which uses DNA fingerprinting. This can assure farmers that their planting materials are genuine and can enhance crop productivity. Thanks to the effort of researchers from the University of Southern Mindanao (USM) and their paper titled, Validation of Varietal Integrity of Promising Rubber Clones through DNA Fingerprinting.

The paper was awarded as the best

The 2016 National Science and Technology Week (NSTW), as celebrated in four science communities and 16 regional offices of the Department of Science and Technology, officially winded up on July 29 at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) complex.

Celebrated in the tradition of SyenSaya, the Los Baños science community, through its Los Baños Science Community Foundation, Inc. (LBSCFI),

Daerrys Tilapia Ice Cream won the Salon International de L’Agroalimentaire (SIAL) Innovation Gold Award during the SIAL ASEAN Manila 2016 at the World Trade Center, Pasay City, Manila.

A project of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU), the Tilapia Ice Cream was selected among 350 exhibitors from 25 countries.

Made with tilapia fillet, all purpose cream, condensed and fresh milk, chopped walnut, and diced cheese, Tilapia Ice Cream has no fishy smell and aftertaste. The flavor was a result

Transboundary animal diseases or TADs is a threat to many nations as it is for the Asia-Pacific Region. TADs are highly contagious epidemic diseases that can spread rapidly across borders and have the capacity to infect humans. Examples of these are bird flu, madcow disease, tick-borne encephalitis, and salmonella infections. It is thus not just a socio-economic issue but a public health concern as well.

Carrageenan plant food supplement (PFS) recorded an average of 494% yield increase for mungbean varieties Labo, Pag-asa 7, and Pag-asa 19. The three varieties treated with carrageenan produced 1.2-1.5 tons per hectare (t/ha) compared with the control, which only produced 0.15-0.31 t/ha.

Carrageenan PFS is extracted from seaweeds and further degraded through irradiation. The carrageenan PFS, applied via foliar spray at a rate of 10 ml per liter of water, promoted plant growth, seed germination, shoot

The cacao industry has great potential in the Philippine market, not only as a source of food but also as a good source of medicines. However, the industry is now facing disease management threat.

Addressing this concern, government and private agencies worked together to better understand, detect, and control the Vascular Streak Dieback (VSD) through a hands-on seminar.

Held recently at the Cacao Agribusiness Zone Center, Cocoa Foundation of the Philippines, Inc. (CocoaPhil), Talandang,

Graduates of the Farmer Livestock School on Goat Enterprise Management across the country have shown that raising goats even using meager resources can augment farm income. 

To show the workers of the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) the viability of what it preaches, the Council’s management set up a goat farm at its backyard and invited its security personnel to serve as goat