Integrated site-specific nutrient management for productive, profitable and sustainable vegetable production in marginal uplands in the southern Philippines: the case of cabbage production in Cabintan, Leyte, Philippines

A.B. Tulin, M.B. Galambao, A. Mercado, N. Gonzaga, C. Lapoot, J. Salvani, L. Duna, V. Justo, C.G. Dorahy
The limited availability of arable lands for crop production in the Philippines forces the farmers to utilize degraded marginal uplands for vegetable production. In order to help the farmers increase their vegetable production in marginal uplands, ACIAR funded a project at five different locations in the southern Philippines to develop more productive nutrient management systems for vegetables and to promote adoption of management practices best suited to each of the sites identified. Five sites were selected in the southern Philippines, but in this report only the results from Cabintan, Leyte, are presented as an example. Results showed that reducing fertilizer inputs from 444-93-142 to 88-110-60 kg ha-1 N-P2O5-K2O and from 335-258-396 to 90-90-60 kg ha-1 N-P2O5-K2O gave sustainable yields of cabbage aside from greatly reducing the cost of fertilizer inputs and improving the balance of nutrients. The key scientific output of the project was the development of a framework for managing nutrient inputs and outputs for sustainable nutrient management for vegetable production in the southern Philippines. The project likewise created awareness among farmers of the importance of developing a site-specific nutrient management program based on the efficient utilization of available soil resources
Tulin, A.B., Galambao, M.B., Mercado, A., Gonzaga, N., Lapoot, C., Salvani, J., Duna, L., Justo, V. and Dorahy, C.G. (2016). Integrated site-specific nutrient management for productive, profitable and sustainable vegetable production in marginal uplands in the southern Philippines: the case of cabbage production in Cabintan, Leyte, Philippines. Acta Hortic. 1128, 207-214
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1128.32
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2016.1128.32
cabbage, productivity drivers, production constraints, acid soils, nutrient balance
English

Acta Horticulturae