He times the harvest of his calamansi when the price is high
Published May 19, 2018 04:05 pm
By Zac B. Sarian
Calamansi is ready for harvesting about four months from flowering
Creative agri-people adopt practical ideas that enable them to maximize profits from farming. Just like timing the harvest of one’s crop when the price is high, or when the supply is limited.
One fellow we met in the early 1990s is Patricio Perez who at the time of our visit to his farm in Balaong, San Miguel, Bulacan had 800 three-year-old calamansi between young mango trees. From them, he harvested some 700 kilos of fruits per week. At that time his calamansi was his big money maker that took care of his family’s daily needs as well as the salaries of his five helpers on the farm.
Perez explained that there are ups and downs not only in the price of calamansi in the market but also in the productivity of the trees. There are times when most trees bear fruit at the same time and so there is a glut in the supply. In the month of February, the supply of fruits is plentiful so that calamansi sells ex-farm at as low as P8 a kilo. But in November and December, the price could be a high P25 per kilo. And that’s why he had to study how to time the harvesting of his calamansi in the months when the price is high.
How did he do that? Well, he did that by proper timing of fertilization and pruning.
Pat explained that the calamansi fruit is usually ready for harvest about four months from flowering. So he made his trees flower four months before December. He trimmed his trees in late May and then fertilizing them heavily in June. After this heavy fertilization, the trees will produce a new set of leaves and flowers soon after.
But to keep the trees productive continuously, there should also be a regular program of fertilization. That is why Pat applied organic fertilizer (manure from his piggery) once a month. Every month, he also sprayed foliar fertilizer, and every week, he applied a combination of urea and complete fertilizers after irrigating the trees.
Now you know how to time the fruiting of your calamansi trees so you can get a high price for your harvest..
Calamansi is ready for harvesting about four months from flowering
Creative agri-people adopt practical ideas that enable them to maximize profits from farming. Just like timing the harvest of one’s crop when the price is high, or when the supply is limited.
One fellow we met in the early 1990s is Patricio Perez who at the time of our visit to his farm in Balaong, San Miguel, Bulacan had 800 three-year-old calamansi between young mango trees. From them, he harvested some 700 kilos of fruits per week. At that time his calamansi was his big money maker that took care of his family’s daily needs as well as the salaries of his five helpers on the farm.
Perez explained that there are ups and downs not only in the price of calamansi in the market but also in the productivity of the trees. There are times when most trees bear fruit at the same time and so there is a glut in the supply. In the month of February, the supply of fruits is plentiful so that calamansi sells ex-farm at as low as P8 a kilo. But in November and December, the price could be a high P25 per kilo. And that’s why he had to study how to time the harvesting of his calamansi in the months when the price is high.
How did he do that? Well, he did that by proper timing of fertilization and pruning.
Pat explained that the calamansi fruit is usually ready for harvest about four months from flowering. So he made his trees flower four months before December. He trimmed his trees in late May and then fertilizing them heavily in June. After this heavy fertilization, the trees will produce a new set of leaves and flowers soon after.
But to keep the trees productive continuously, there should also be a regular program of fertilization. That is why Pat applied organic fertilizer (manure from his piggery) once a month. Every month, he also sprayed foliar fertilizer, and every week, he applied a combination of urea and complete fertilizers after irrigating the trees.
Now you know how to time the fruiting of your calamansi trees so you can get a high price for your harvest..
CORRECTION: The title of our memoir published in Panorama on April 29, 2018 should have been: “He Netted P857.12 Per 100 Sq.M. of Sitao” instead of “per Sq.M.” So sorry for the oversight. -ZBS