LETTUCE
Lettuce commonly known as lechugas is native to Southern Europe and Western Asia. In the Philippines lettuce is considered as one of the most important salad crops. Aside from salad, it is used as garnishing for other food preparations.
Varieties:
1. Loose Leaf Type: Red Salad Bowl - Head is Long deeply cut, lobe frilled, color is bronze red, size is very large. Heat tolerant. Other varieties includes: Green Salad Bowl
2. Crisp Head/Batavia: Blonde de Paris - Leave shape - Tight cap fairly savored, deeply notched borders, color is yellow green, large size. Heat tolerant. Other varieties: Great Lakes, Minetto, Armada, Iceberg, Brillantine
3. Butterhead: Kagraner Sommer - Leave shape - slightly wavy, medium green color,
medium size. Slow bolting, heat tolerant. Other varieties: Madrilene, Sucrine, Green Mignonette, etc.
Adaptation:
Climatic and Soil Requirements - The loose leaf type thrives well both in the lowlands and highlands. Difference, however, are noticeable in the growth habit. Heading varieties perform best in areas with low temperature. Lettuce does best in sandy loam and silt loam soils rich in organic matter. Where earliness is desired, sandy loam is preferred. If yield is important, silt loam and muck soils are highly preferred. Studies show that lettuce seems to grow better in soil with pH value ranging from 6.0 to 6.8.
Cultural Requirements:
Seedlings are transplanted as soon as they have formed the first true leaves (two to three weeks after sowing) at intervals of 20 to 25 cm. both ways for non-heading varieties and 30 * 30 cm. for the heading varieties. The seedlings are set in two to four rows with a working path of 20 cm between the rows. Planting is recommended during cloudy days or late in the afternoon to avoid excessive wilting of the transplants. Lathering is advisable right after transplanting.
In large scale transplanting, direct seedling can be done depending on the growers desire and on the availability of necessary equipment. In direct seedling, shallow multiple rows, two to four rows, provided with a working path of 50 cm. between multiple rows, are made and the seeds sown very thinly in the furrows and covered thinly with fine soil. Water is sprinkled, particularly when the moisture content of the soil is insufficient for germination. Thin mulch of straw is necessary to enhance germination and to suppress weed growth.
Cultivation - Cultivation is done when the soil becomes compact. This is to disturb the weeds and to promote soil aeration.
Irrigation - The greatest amount of root development in lettuce is confide in the top 20 to 25 cm. of soil texture., evaporation losses and rainfall.
Fertilization - Lettuce plants are poor foragers because of their small root system. In this regard, the soil must be well-supplied with nutrients either from organic or inorganic matter. Preplanting application with 10 tons of stable manure to a hectare, applied during the last field preparation, is recommended. This must be supplemented with about 250 to 300 kg of 12-24-12 fertilizer mixture. Without manure, a hectare may require about 400 kilograms of 12-24-12. Two weeks after planting, side dressing
with about 100 kg of ammonium sulfate can be done.
Control of Pests and Diseases :
1. Aphids - These are minute, pale green or black insects, mostly wingless, usually harboring themselves under the surface of the leaves. They cause injury by sucking the plant sap. Heavily infested plants develop abnormal growth, become dwarf and unproductive. Spraying with Malathion or Sevin at the rate of 1 tbs. per gal. of water gives satisfactorily control of the insects.
Diseases and their Control:
1. Mosaic. The disease is caused by a virus. Symptoms on the leaves appear as yellow mottles. Plants become stunted and deformed. Severe infections result in a reduced plant size. Foliage is dull, greenish or yellowish control is by rouging or eliminating weed hosts of the aphids and diseased plants.
2. Bottom Rot this disease is caused by Rhizoctonia solani Khun, a fungus. The disease may be distinguished by the presence of sunken brown spots on the midribs and petioles. In severe cases, the fungus attacks succeeding layers or leaves until the whole plants become slimy. The disease can be controlled through sanitation and crop rotation with non-susceptible crops.
SWEET PEAS
Sweet pea or “citzaro”, as locally called, is a cool climate annual legume raised for its edible pods and matured seeds.
Varieties:
Sugar Pea Oregon - stringless green and flat pod. Best suited to Tropical conditions, heat resistance. Direct sowing.
Pea Alderman - Green wrinkled seeded, shelling and climbing pea. Only by dry and cold season, at altitudes higher than 800 m. Direct sowing. Harvest is 100 days after sowing.
Climatic and Soil Requirements - Being a semi-temperate legume, sweet pea thrives best at high elevations in the tropics like the Philippines. However, success production at low to medium elevations has also been reported with the choice of right varieties when planted during the cold months. (November to February) A loamy and loose soil rich in organic matter is ideal for sweet peas. Heavy manuring is done during land preparation to improve fertility, tilth and texture. Wooden ash is also commonly added.
Months of Planting - The season for sweet pea culture is rather broad but distinct. Many growers start drilling the seeds as early as mid-September for the November - December market of green pods and as late as March for late summer and early rainy season produce. High demand for “citzaro” reaches its peak during the Christmas season and in summer (April to May) in Baguio.
Nutritional Requirements - Being a legume, peas are capable of satisfying much of their nitrogen requirement largely through fixation from the air.
Cultural Requirements:
Planting and Spacing - There are two methods of planting, the furrow and the plot methods. In Baguio, where there is intensive farming, the lot system of planting is followed. The plot is established one meter wide on which the seeds are drilled 15 cm. apart along 2 rows 35 to 40 cm. apart two to three seeds are drilled in a hole at a depth of about 5 to 7 cm. And covered with fine soil. Approximately 50 to 60 kilos of dried seeds are needed to plant a hectare.
Cultivation and Irrigation - Early cultivation is done as soon as rows of young plants become visible to achieve early control of weed and to provide optimum soil conditions for vigorous growth. Under dry environment, light over-head irrigation at least twice a week is provided over the plots. Irrigation by gravity is resorted to under extensive cultivation of the crop and when the furrow method of planting is adopted. Light flowing at about 2.5 cm. Every week between the furrows provides sufficient moisture for satisfactory growth.
Sticking - This is a must, especially in Baguio where up to the present all existing commercial varieties are viny and tall growing. A local grass called “rono” with a long but sturdy stem is commonly used. The sticks are introduced on the middle of the plot providing a common “trellis” for the rows of the plants. Sticking also facilitates harvesting of the pods. This is done about three weeks after planting or when the plants have already attained a height of 30 to 35 cm.
Fertilizer Application - Aside from the manure needed and applied during land preparation, the required complete fertilizer is applied in band at equal depth with the hill of seeds in between the rows during planting time.
Other Requirements - As the plants develop, they are braced with sticks against the trellis to prevent them from toppling over.
Control of Pests:
1. Leaf mine - Phytomyza atricornis Meigen. This is the most destructive and persistent pest of sweet peas in the Baguio area. The larvae are small and they bury through the leaves. Under severe infestation, the leaves appear whitish and papery and in some cases the pest causes the death of the plant.
Control - Early protective spraying of the plants is recommended using Bayrusil and Phosdrin. Weekly spraying with sticker has been proven highly effective against the pest.
2. Cutworm, Prodenia litura (Fabr.) often a nuisance during the dry months, this pest attacks the young plants by nibbling or cutting off the stem near the ground level. They usually attack at night, hence its control is best achieved by drenching the soil where the larvae seek refuge during the day. Aldrin or Heptachlor have been proven very effective against the pest when applied late in the afternoon.
Harvesting, Curing and Storing:
Index of Maturity - Most sweet peas grown in Baguio and its environs are harvested and marketed as green pods. These are picked when the seeds have just started to bulge in the pods. With present commercial varieties, initial picking of pods commences about 70 to 80 days after planting, and proceeds at 7-10 day interval thereafter, reaching the peak production through the second and third weeks of harvesting. The pods are cut from the stalk with a pair of scissors and placed in a basket tied around the waist of the picker as he goes along from one plot to the
another. The best time to harvest is early in the morning or late in the afternoon.
Care of Harvest - The pods are hauled under a shade, cleaned and sorted and neatly packed in small bamboo baskets lined with banana leaves. Damaged pods are those with brown spots or freckles are left for the family’s consumption.
For seed production intended for the next planting season, the pods are left in the field until mature and dry. These are harvested, further cured under the sun for a few days, then threshed by hand. The seeds are cleaned and spread under the shade for further drying. Bare seeds dried directly under the sun tend to crack their seed coats which affects their viability and keeping quality. Properly dried seeds are kept in tins or muslin bags and stored under dry environment.
Reference: Cultural Requirements for Phil. Agricultural Crops, photos from dcfud.smorgasblog.com, hongyang.21food.com
For more information contact:
Department of Agriculture
Elliptical Road, Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines
(0632) 920-4069 to 75
Email: webgroup@da.gov.ph
www.da.gov.ph
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