The Department of Agriculture champions the Site-Specific Nutrient Management (SSNM) technology among corn farmers to address the declining supply for corn due to improper fertilizer application. In support to this, the ATI-Regional Training Center I conducted a Regional Training on SSNM for Maize on May 18-20, 2023 at ATI-RTC I, Sta. Barbara, Pangasinan with 19 Agricultural Extension Workers (AEWs) from the Local Government Units in Region 1 participated in this training.
The training aimed to capacitate the AEWs in implementing SSNM using the Nutrient Expert for Maize application (NE Maize) and enable them guide the corn farmers in the use of the said application. NE Maize is a decision support software that uses the principles of site-specific nutrient management and enables farm advisors to develop fertilizer recommendations tailored to a specific field or growing environment. The application was jointly developed by the DA-Bureau of Agricultural Research, University of the Philippines Los Baños, and the International Plant Nutrition Institute.
The five-day training was conducted in five (5) modules to include basics of corn production; corn crop establishment, the SSNM; and the use of NE App which was demonstrated using android phone and laptops. Data of farmers’ previous practices, fertilizer rates, and harvest were used during the demonstration to generate recommendations on right rate, right time, and the right place of fertilizer application.
The training was conducted with the support of the DA-Regional Field Office 1 and the Bureau of Plant Industry.
