By Zac B. Sarian Eugene Gabriel of Santiago City in Isabela could not hold his excitement last March 20. He was resting from a resort in Dindiawan, Aurora, but he called to tell us that one gilt of the Large Black Pig he had bought at a very high price had given birth to 14 piglets. His caretaker had just phoned to tell him. Well, we could not fault him for getting excited. He had all the right to tell the world about the good news. He now considers the P45,000 that he paid for one 3-month-old gilt was not a waste of funds but a good investment. A few weeks earlier, one of the gilts had given birth to 12 piglets. The Large Black Pig which is an heirloom breed from the United Kingdom is really prolific. Not only that, the mother pig is very docile and has very good mothering ability. It is also a fast grower. Now, Eugene and a partner have big plans for the breed. They are now starting a multiplier farm in Central Luzon where they will feed their pigs with Total Mix Ration, a formulation with beneficial microorganisms, enzymes and biofiber ingredients that are fermented. This TMR promotes fast growth and cost much less than the commercial feeds in the market.

* BIOSTIMULANT FOR STRESSED PLANTS – Now comes a liquid formulation from Italy which works wonders on stressed plants, whether vegetables, cereals, fruit trees and practically all other crops. The product is called Megafol that comes in liquid form and is sprayed on plants to protect them from stresses. Stresses in plants come in many forms. It could be due to lack of water, too high temperature or too cold temperature as in frost. Stresses could also be due to too much rain resulting in waterlogging, outbreaks of pests and diseases, strong winds and many others. When plants are stressed, they will not be able to attain the potential yield of the varieties. The result could be losses. To show the dramatic effect of applying Megafol, we are publishing here two pictures of lettuce grown in two pots. In the first picture, the plants in both pots are wilted. One pot (left) was sprayed with Megafol while the other was sprayed with plain water. The result of the treatment is shown in the second picture. Three hours after spraying, the plants sprayed with Megafol had regained their full status as if they didn’t undergo any stress at all. The plants in the other pot sprayed with plain water, on the other hand, still look limp and have not recovered from their ordeal. Responsible for the dramatic recovery of the plants sprayed with Megafol are the potent extracts from plants that were formulated by scientists of Valagro, one of the big manufacturers of biostimulants and special fertilizers in Italy. Even plants that are not stressed can benefit from Megafol because it contains growth activators which hasten the development of treated plants. Megafol has also beneficial effects on pollination of flowers so that better fruit set is achieved. Megafol also enhances the photosynthetic functions of the leaves which make the plants more efficient in making use of the sun to process their food. Megafol is distributed in the Philippines by Zetryl Chem Philippines headed by Danton B. Pajarillaga. The company also distributes several specialty fertilizers and biostimulants for plants.