Monitoring of improved tobacco seedling production in Ilocos Norte, Candon

FARMER-cooperators of the Improved Tobacco Seedling Production (ITSP) Project in Ilocos Norte and Candon Branch have started preparation of motherbed and sowing in various locations in tobacco-growing municipalities of their coverage area.

NTA Ilocos Norte Officer in Charge Luzviminda U. Padayao and Branch Operations Unit monitored first week of October the preparation of the farmers in Nambaran, Bacarra; Camanga and Madupayas, Badoc; Sucsuquen and Tangaoan, Piddig; Espiritu, Dingras; Sta. Catalina, Pasuquin; and Bangsar and Imelda, Banna.

The Branch Office also delivered sacks of carbonized rice hull (CRH) and cheesecloth necessary for the motherbed preparation in selected municipalities.

Candon Branch, headed by Manager Estrella G. De Peralta, also monitored motherbed preparations and sowing in the second district of Ilocos Sur, the Branch Office coverage area, particularly: Sapang, Sta. Lucia; Dan-ar and Plaza, Santiago; Bantugo, Nagbukel; Bagani Ubbog, Candon City; Dirdirig, Burgos; and Capariaan, Sta. Cruz.

Ilocos Norte and Candon Branch Office are given 28 and 25 modules, respectively, for the ITSP project with 120,000 seedlings per module.

TSPP is aimed at producing healthy seedlings for quality tobacco crop. The agency is set to produce from these seedbeds sufficient, good, uniform, strong and healthy seedlings of desired variety needed by the tobacco buyers for quality tobacco production.

Each Branch Office is expected to produce good quality seedlings (stocky with good root system) to supply the needs of the tobacco farmers. This is based on a 10-hectare module which assigns two seedling production sites of at least 5 hectares per location for each Branch Office.

The ISTP Project for Virginia and Burley production is also being implemented in the other branches: Vigan, Abra, La Union, Pangasinan, Isabela and Cagayan.