Agri experts and farmers agree
Bt corn can survive El Niño

GROWERS of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) corn stand to gain more this year with the onset of the recurrent El Nino phenomenon.

This possibility loomed as Bt corn was found to be capable of withstanding the effects of the climatic disturbance better than regular non-Bt corn and other crops.

Agricultural experts at the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA) in Los Banos said the dreaded Asiatic corn borers tend to weaken non-Bt corn stalks due to long tunnel holes in the stalks drilled by the pests as they work their way up into the corn cob.

“With less water characterized by drought and erratic wind directions as expected in an El Nino scenario, regular corn stalks attacked by corn borers tend to be weaker due to loss of fibers and nutrients compared to Bt corn, whose stalks are sturdier and stronger and therefore have a probability rate of survival against any benign threats of weather disturbances like the El Nino,” said Sonny Tababa, SEARCA network administrator. “Corn is a C4 plant that adopts well in dryer environments where water conditions are limited.”

“Corn is drought-tolerant that is why it has a higher survival rate,” Tababa explained. “However, corn response to water stress (drought and El Nino) will always depend on the intensity of the weather disturbance.”

Farmer Jay Narciso of Arayat, Pampanga, likened the corn borer to a “natural calamity” so he decided to invest his hard-earned money on Bt corn propagation. Being a farmers’ son, Narciso invested his earnings in corn by initially purchasing two tractors and used modern farming practices. He first planted conventional hybrid seeds.

Narciso has spent almost half of his life working abroad before turning to farming. He worked in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on the staff of the Saudi Arabian Interior Minister. After seven years, he moved to Switzerland and stayed in Europe for six years. Later, he decided to return to his native Pampanga.

“With these regular hybrids, I would yield an average of seven tons per hectare, which to regular standards is above average,” Narciso said. “But with the ever-growing threat of El Nino unpredictably shadowing the regions, it is but proper for me to shift to a more-stronger corn variety.” 

Eventually, he decided to upgrade into Bt corn a few years back and planted five hectares of YieldGard 818. With the new technology, his yield increased from 9 mt/hectare to 10 mt/ hectare, which improved his income by about 30 percent.

“My Bt corn is healthy despite minimal water and fertilizer use,” Narciso said.

The Philippine Atmospheric, Geophysical, and Astronomical Services Administration (PAGASA) has reported that the El Nino weather phenomenon currently affecting the country is expected to prevail from the early part of this year until it weakens in the second quarter.

Hundreds of thousands of hectares of farms may be affected by the El Nino phenomenon when the amihan or northeast monsoon brings near normal to below average rainfalls in most parts of the country.

“With mean tracks passing through northern and central Luzon, flashfloods, strong winds, and heavy rains can be expected over areas affected by tropical cyclone activities,” PAGASA reported.

Former Philippine Army General Marcelo Blando agreed that Bt corn crops can withstand and survive the El Nino.

“I have been planting Bt corn in Pangasinan for the last few years and not a single weather disturbance has affected my crops,” explained Blando. “Bt corn has stronger stalks that can withstand erratic weather because of the absence of corn borers.”

Experts at the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Research and Development (PCARRD) nonetheless told Bt corn farmers to take extra precautions in tending their crops during El Nino.

“Any form of weather abnormality tends to damage crops if one looks at it this way,” said Dr. Albert Aquino of PCARRD. “Unlike other crops which are highly dependent on irrigation, regular corn or Bt corn requires minimal rain to survive. Bt corn can withstand drought but only for a short period of time.”

In its yearend report, the Department of Agriculture (DA) said the increase in corn production would also be spurred by a hike in the number of farmers planting Bt corn.