Basic Cultural Management Practices for Vegetable Production in Urban

Areas of the Philippines

Yvette B. Guanzon1, Robert J. Holmer2

1 Abstract
This paper gives a short but comprehensive overview on basic cultural management
practices for vegetable production in Philippine cities with particular emphasis on
cultivar selection, methods of planting, soil management, water management, weed
management as well as pest and disease management. It summarizes five years of
experience related to urban and periurban vegetable production in the Philippines.

2 Cultivar Selection
It is estimated that there are at least 10,000 plant species used as vegetables
worldwide, although only about less than 50 are of great commercial value. Each
crop has certain climatic requirements. To attain highest potential yield per unit of
land, a crop must be grown in an environment that meets these requirements.
Temperate vegetables such as tomatoes, pepper, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and
lettuce grow normally only well in upland areas of the tropics where temperatures are
cooler. Night temperatures of above 20 oC negatively affect the fruit set of tomatoes
and pepper as well as the head forming of cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli and lettuce.
However, continuous crop improvement by plant breeders have resulted to cultivars
of these crops that perform well even under the hot climate of tropical low elevation
areas which are typical for most Philippine cities. Recommendations on appropriate
variety selection can be obtained from the different seed companies, the respective
government agencies as well as from the Periurban Vegetable Project of Xavier
University College of Agriculture (H OLMER, 2000)

3 Methods of Planting Vegetable Crops

Vegetables can be classified into three categories, depending on the planting
practice:
a) crops that are usually transplanted (e.g. cabbage, pepper, broccoli,
cauliflower, celery, tomato, lettuce, eggplant)
b) crops that are usually direct-seeded (e.g. melons, bitter gourd, cucumber,
beans, kangkong, hybrid onion, sweet corn)
c) crops that should be direct-seeded (radish, turnips, carrot, beets). These
crops are never transplanted because the tip of their taproots may be
damaged in the process, resulting in forked roots.

It has to be considered that direct-seeding requires three to four times more seeds
than transplanting. Some crops, such as legumes, do not easily regenerate roots,
hence, do not easily recover from transplanting shock. The opposite can be said of
solanaceous crops and crucifers. Sweet corn, cucumber, and squash germinate
quickly and grow fast. They are easily established in the field even when conditions
are not ideal.

Nurseries seek to provide the following conditions for growing transplants:

• Protection from pests, including higher animals, such as chicken.
• Protection from rain
• Protection from excessive sunlight
• Protection against temperature extremes

1
Agronomist, 2 Project Manager, Periurban Vegetable Project, Xavier University College of
Agriculture, 9000 Cagayan de Oro, Philippines, Email: puvep@cdo.philcom.com.ph

1
Soil is the universally available medium for germinating seeds and growing seedlings
but not necessarily the best medium. Characteristics of an ideal nursery medium are:
• Water-holding capacity and aeration
• Capacity to supply plant nutrients
• Freedom from soil-borne plant pathogens

In the urban setting of Cagayan de Oro, a mix of 2 parts rich top soil, 2 parts
compost, 1 part chicken dung and 1 part river sand has been proven as best nursery
medium.

4 Soil Management
Soil is the natural medium for the growth of land plants and is the source of 13 of the
16 essential nutrients. Air and water provide the other 3 essential nutrients (carbon,
hydrogen, and oxygen). Plants take up nutrients that are in the soil solution. They do
not take up solid, particulate matter. Even initially poor soil will become productive if
properly managed. A soil analysis will give a good overview of the nutritional status of
the soil.

4.1 Fertilizers
Practically speaking, a nutrient is deficient if its addition as fertilizer would produce a
desired plant response. The desired response depends on the purpose for which the
plant is being grown. For example, a lush-growing tomato plant, which only bears few
fruit, is not giving the desired response even if the plant is dark green and pretty to
look at. Application of fertilizer where there is no plant response is unnecessary,
wasteful of natural resources, and can contribute to pollution of water, soil, or air.

As proven in our researches (H OLMER, 1998; TRÜGGELMANN et. al., 2000), the best
yield and quality results for vegetable production in Philippine soils are obtained,
when a combination of organic and inorganic fertilizers is applied. Organic fertilizers
such as manure and compost are needed to improve the physical, biological and
chemical properties of the soil while inorganic fertilizers such as urea, muriate of
potash, and others supply sufficient amounts of readily available nutrients. Organic
fertilizers supply the same essential plant nutrients as inorganic fertilizers. The major
difference is in their availability and concentration. Inorganic fertilizers contain
nutrients that are available immediately and highly concentrated. While organic
fertilizers normally do not exceed values of 3% for nitrogen, phosphorous and
potassium, those are much higher in inorganic fertilizers (46% N in urea, 60% K 2O in
muriate of potash, 46% P2O5 in DAP). If one wishes to grow crops only with organic
fertilizers, it has to be considered that tons per hectare must be applied to supply
typical crop nutrient needs. An excess application of organic fertilizers may also
result in chemical fixation of micronutrients such as zinc.
4.1.1 Application
The general method is to apply all of the organic fertilizer, all of the P and part of the
other inorganic fertilizers into the soil just prior to planting. This is called basal
application. Be sure that all fertilizers are covered with a 3-4 cm layer of soil before
setting the plants to avoid burning of the roots. One half of the nutrient amount for N,
K and other nutrients are applied one week after transplanting as first side dressing.
The remaining balance is given two weeks thereafter (H OLMER, 1998).
4.1.2 Green manure
Another way to feed vegetables organically is to grow green manure crops and
incorporate them into the soil after cutting. These crops are good sources for
nitrogen, especially legume plants (THÖNNISSEN et al., 2000). Legume trees such as

2
katuray (Sesbania grandiflora) and others can be grown above or near the food crops
and their branches occasionally pruned off and left on the ground as manure.

5 Water Management
Proper water management is one of the most crucial points for successful vegetable
production since most varieties are in general very sensitive to any kind of water
stress, either to drought or to water logging. The water amount stored in the plant
root zone determines whether a crop will have adequate water and aeration for
maximum non-water limiting yields, or whether too much or too little water will cause
crop damage. For practical application of irrigation scheduling, a soil feel and
appearance method (L EY et al., 1994) can be considered as adequate to be
performed in farmers' fields.
Table 1: Soil feel and appearance chart for estimating available soil water in
fine textured soils (Ley et al., 1994, modified)
Available Fine textured soil (clay and clay loam) Water
water management
100 % appears very dark, leaves slight moisture on discontinue
(field capacity) hand when squeezed, will ribbon out about 4 cm irrigation
70 - 80 % quite dark, ribbons and slicks easily, makes firm no irrigation
ball 2
60 to 65 % fairly dark; forms firm ball; ribbons out (0.5 to 1 no irrigation
cm)
50 % balls easily; small clods flatten out rather than start irrigation
crumble; ribbons slightly
35 to 40 % slightly dark, forms weak balls; clods crumble continue irrigation
< 20 % Hard, baked, cracked, light color continue irrigation
(wilting point)

5.1 How to manage soil moisture in dry season

General:
• If water is limited, select crops that will grow well under drier conditions (e.g.
mungbean, cassava, eggplant).
• Select short-term vegetable crops that can be grown near a source of water such
as a water well, the drain from washing areas or a water tank.
• Where feasible and affordable, use drip irrigation systems (such as the bucket
system) (HOLMER & SCHNITZLER, 1997) to maximize water usage efficiency.
Above the soil surface:
• Cover the soil around plants with a mulch of leaves, cut grass or rice straw.
• If plastic mulch is used, only silver-coated ones should be applied since black
mulches heat up too much and can cause burning of stems and other plant parts.
• Provide young plants with shade to keep them cool.
• Remove weeds because they compete with the plant’s moisture intake.
Below the soil surface:
• Incorporate compost or organic material in the soil. One large sack of composted
organic material should be sufficient for an area of about 10m 2. Use one sack at
the start of the wet season and one sack at the start of the dry season.
5.2 How to manage soil moisture in the wet season
Above the soil surface:
• Plant crops in high beds to improve aeration and to avoid water logging.

3
• Plant crops that like to grow in wet areas, such as taro (Colocasia esculenta) and
kangkong (Ipomea aquatica).
• Use coconut fronds or other materials to protect young plants and those with
tender leaves from heavy rain.
• Grow vine plants up on to a trellis.

6 Weed Management
6.1 Techniques for quickly controlling weeds:
• Cut or dig out weeds using a knife or hoe. If you use drip irrigation materials, be
sure not to damage the laterals.
• Cover the ground with 6 cm of mulch to prevent weeds from receiving sunlight.
Weeds cut by hoe or knife can be used as mulching material or for composting.
• Quick-growing vine plants will also reduce weeds by covering the ground.
Examples are legumes, squash and sweet potato.
• Application of herbicides may be an alternative if weed growth cannot be
controlled by other means.

7 Pests and Disease Management

Fighting against pests and diseases is a reality since the day mankind started to
grow crops. Findings of a survey revealed that more than 80 % of vegetable growers
in Cagayan de Oro have used chemical pesticides in their last three croppings. Most
of the farmers are not using sufficient protective devices while spraying and the
majority of them encountered ill effects after the pesticide application. Only very few
farmers received training in integrated pest management. Of those trained, only one-
third changed their pesticide practices, using less toxic products with better effects on
pest control. Respondents favor natural control measures with less chemical
applications involved, however, these technologies seem not to be as readily
available to them compared to chemical pesticides (H OLMER et. al., 2001).
7.1.1 How to prevent and manage pest and disease problems
• Weak plants suffer more from attacks by insects or pathogens than healthy
plants. Good crop management, including attention to water, soil and weeds will
help reduce damage from insects and disease.
• Select cultivars that will grow well in the local climate. Get advice from seed
companies or your local extension agent.
• Do not grow the same vegetable crop in exactly the same place as it was planted
before. Rotate the crop with a representative of a different botanical family. This
will help prevent a build-up of disease infection in the soil.
• Remove diseased plant parts and burn or dig them. This will reduce the amount
of material that may serve as a center of future infections.
• Grow plants, such as lemon grass, basil, marigolds, etc., which are known to
repel certain insects.
• If you use pesticides, strictly follow the instructions on the label.
• Do not forget that also “natural” pesticides such as tobacco, chili extracts or
others can be very toxic to man, animals and beneficial insects.
7.1.2 Protection from animal damage
• Protect root crops by placing coconut shells around the plants.
• Plant cassava or place bamboo or other sticks around the plant base so that
chickens cannot dig up the roots or peck at the plant.
• Establish a living fence (i.e. pineapple).

4
8 Conclusion
Growing vegetables in urban areas plays an important role in providing food, income,
and ecological services to Philippine cities. Although there are some differences
compared to vegetable production in rural areas, particularly as regards the climatic
requirement of certain varieties, many improved practices are being developed,
through research and experimentation in universities, government and non-
government organizations. Some of the priority areas where further information is still
needed for urban environments are:
• Improved vegetable varieties with adaptation to the climate of the tropical
lowland, resistance or tolerance to pests and pathogens, good internal
quality/high nutritional value, and longer shelve life.
• Production of safe composts from biodegradable city wastes as mineral
fertilizer substitutes, soil amendment and substrates for seedling production.
• Integrated plant, pest and disease management with the possibility of netting;
introduction of local predators; intercropping technologies and organic or
synthetic soil mulch for weed control.
• Simple but efficient and economic irrigation for higher water productivity such
as the bucket drip irrigation system.
• Safe use of waste water.
At the heart of the issue are farmers’ livelihoods, food security, sustainability,
ecological soundness and social justice. Clearly, any crop production paradigm or
technology should not adversely affect any of these issues. Farmers should apply
knowledge in their gardens. A good understanding of principles and the theoretical
bases for current growing practices should help the farmer in deciding which set of
management practices are most appropriate for his/her conditions.

9 References
HOLMER, R.J, SCHNITZLER, W.H., 1997. Drip irrigation for small-scale tomato
production in the tropics. Kasetsart J. (Nat. Sci.) 32 (5):56-60.
HOLMER, R.J., 1998. Sustainable vegetable production for small farmers on problem
soils in the highland of Bukidnon for fresh marketing and processing. Ph. D. thesis,
Institute for Vegetable Science TU München, Germany. Publisher Verlag Dr. Kovac,
Hamburg, Germany.
HOLMER, R.J., 2000. The Periurban Vegetable Project of Xavier University College of
Agriculture. Paper presented at the 12th NOMCARRD Regional Symposium on R&D
Highlights, August 10-11, 2000.
HOLMER, R.J., JANUBAS, L.G., POTUTAN, G.E., SCHNITZLER, W.H., 2001. Pest
management strategies of urban and periurban vegetable growers in Cagayan de
Oro City. Paper presented at the 13th NOMCARRD Regional Symposium on R&D
Highlights, Farmers'/Investors Forum and Media Conference, August 9-11, 2001,
NOMIARC, Dalwangan, Malaybalay City, Philippines.
LEY, T. W, STEVENS, R. G., TOPIELEC, R. R., NEIBLING, W. H., 1994. Soil water
monitoring and measurement. Pacific Northwest Publication No. 475. Washington,
Oregon, Idaho.
THÖNNISSEN, C., MIDMORE, D. J., LADHA, J. K., HOLMER, R. J., SCHMIDHALTER, U.,
2000. Tomato crop response to short-duration legume green manures in tropical
vegetable systems. Agronomy Journal 92:245-253.
TRÜGGELMANN, L., HOLMER, R.J., SCHNITZLER, W.H., 2000. The use of municipal
waste composts in urban and peri-urban vegetable production systems: potentials &
constraints. ATSAF Tagungsband, Deutscher Tropentag Berlin, October 14-15,
1999. Humboldt Universität Berlin, Landwirtschaftlich-Gärtnerische Fakultät, pp. 56-
57.
Abstracts or the full version of most of the above-mentioned articles can be accessed
under http://www,puvep.com/rjhpublications.htm.