Summary only

In the Philippines, only 7-10 percent of corn area is planted to hybrids. The rest were planted with various maize varieties with low yield potentials. Lack of capital, non-availability of the OPVs, lack of knowledge, susceptibility to downy mildew and actual performance in farmers' field were among the factors affecting the slow adoption of OPVs. The on-farm research approach has been adopted in screening and verifying potential OPVs and enhancing and sustaining their adoption. A change of variety was observed to be easily adopted component technology. USM var2 is one of the approved OPVs by the seed board. It has a high potential and is widely in demand. The prevalence of downy mildew spurned the necessity to develop high yielding, resistant varieties. Low price and recycling of seeds are of great advantages for OPVs. However, as a means to sustain the adoption of improved varieties, farmers' training on OPV seed production and maintenance are being conducted across several locations to effectively teach farmers produce and maintain their own seeds. Farmers' field days, distribution of seed kits and live-in researchers (at project sites) further enhance/sustain adoption of OPVs

English

AGRIS Collection