Growing Commercial Crops in Integrated Farming System

Integrated farming system, commercial crops, legumes, vegetables, fruit crops, field crops, root crops

Market demand is the most important basis for growers in raising commercial crops. Raising crops without knowing the market demand for commercial production can mean a waste of time and money. In the Philippines there are several kinds and varieties of popularly raised commercial crops. Most of these crops can be raised simultaneously in the same piece of land, hence becoming more beneficial to the farmers.

Kinds of Commercial Crops
1. Fruit Crops- mango, banana, papaya, pineapple, and water melon.
2. Vegetable crops- cabbage, tomatoes, and okra.
3. Root crops- sweet, potato, cassava, and gabi.
4. Legumes- mungo, peanut, and soybean.
5. Field crops- sugar cane and tobacco.


Varieties of Commercial Crops
Papaya
1. Cavite special, This variety is semi-dwarf, blooms from six to eight months after planting and the normal fruit weighs 3 to 5 kilograms.
2. Wai Manalo, This variety is characterized by having orange yellow flesh. Average weight 1.5kg.
3. Sunrise solo, This variety has reddish orange flesh. The fruit has an average weight of .5kg

Banana
1. Latundan, this variety is susceptible to wilt. This is popular because of good eating quality.
2. Lacatan, most popular fruit desserts in the country because of it sweet taste.
3. Saba, It has the tallest tree among the varieties of banana. Best eaten when boiled.
4. Forty-five days, this new variety of banana has now gained market acceptance. The fruit matures 45 days after flowering.

Mango
1. Carabao, this variety has excellent export quality.
2. Pahutan or supsupin, variety that produces very sweet fruit when ripe.
3. Pico, has medium sized fruit, popularly eaten unripe.
4. Indian or apple mango, popularly eaten unripe because the meat taste quite sweet even when it is green.

Pineapple
1. Sweet cayenne, bears the biggest fruit.
2. Formosa, having the smallest fruit among the pineapple.
3. Red Spanish, barrel-shaped, has medium sized fruits, is spicy sweet, and has coarse and fibrous meat.
4. Cabezina, bears medium sized fruit. It turns from dark to light yellow when ripened, use for canning purposes.

Watermelon
The varieties of watermelon with high market quality potential are valencia,  mallorca, klondyke, imperial 45, tender sweet,  honey cream, and sugar baby.

Cabbage
The most common variety of cabbage raised by farmers is the golden acre.
Gabi or Taro
The most popular varieties of gabi raised in the Philippines are the Princess and Bicol Purple.
Okra
1. Smooth velvet, dwarf variety which is slim stemmed and bears round and relatively medium-length fruits.
2. White velvet, medium crown sized variety with light green, smooth, and round fruits of medium lenght.
3. Green Velvet, tall with light green, smooth and big fruits with pronounced outer lines like that of the balimbing.

Tomato
The most popular varieties of tomatoes raised in the Philippines are the VC lines which are characterized by having big fruits.
Cassava
1. Golden yellow, branching type and has a yellow cortex.
2. Hawaiian 5, has a shorter crown and gives out two to three tillers with red petioles.
3. Sultan, This variety is mostly raised for feeds.

Sweet Potato
1. VSP 1, has orange flesh, bushy short branches, and heart-shaped leaves.
2. VSP 2, has orange flesh with purple inner skin, bushy short growth, and serrated leaves.
3. VSP 3, has yellow flesh, creeping vines, and three lobed leaves.
Mungo
1. BPI, having glabrous, glossy seed coat and hairless pod.
2. CES 85, brown pods when mature, is non-shattering, and has a green seedcoat.

Sugarcane
The varieties of sugarcane being raised in the Philippines are the native or Negros purple, Luzon white, Pampanga red, Zambales white and Alunan.
Tobacco
Varieties of tobacco which are commercially produced are the cigar-filter type which include Viscaya and Simmaba, wrapper type or Sumatra, and aromatic cigarette type or Virginia.


Cultural Practices in Commercial Crop Production
Land preparation. Commercial crops such as pineapple, watermelon, cabbage, okra, tomato, cassava, sweet potato, mungo, sugarcane, and tobacco can be planted by the drill or hill method along the furrows after thorough tillage preparation. The drill method can also be done in mango, banana, and papaya but in most cases they are planted in previously prepared holes.

Planting materials, planting, and transplanting. Crop propagated sexually such as tomato, cabbage, and tobacco are planted first in seedbeds before they are transplanted. Watermelon, okra, mushroom, mungo, and peanuts are planted directly planted in the field. Grafted or budded mango seedlings are preferred as planting material over sexually propagated ones. Sweet potato, cassava, and sugar cane are planted using stem cuttings. The middle portion of the stem is best for cassava cuttings while the topmost portion of the stem is best for sweet potato and sugarcane cuttings.
Planting materials such as seeds, stem, cuttings, suckers, and tubers are best acquired from reliable seed dealers like the Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI) and other BPI-accredited distributor.


The following factors should be considered in selecting the best planting materials.
1. The seed used as planting material should pass the standard purity and quality set by certified seed outlets.
2. Planting materials should be disease free.
3. The germination percentage of seeds must not be less than 80 percent.
4. Planting materials such as stem cuttings, suckers, and tubers should come from parent with outstanding characteristics and performance.
5. Planting materials should be resistant to pest and diseases.


Application of fertilizer. Application of fertilizers is a standard practice among farmers in the country for better crop production. However, the constant application of organic fertilizer decreases soil productivity in the long run.
Irrigation. Irrigation is very important among commercial crops. the farm site must be located in a placed where good supply of water is available.

Three methods of irrigating commercial crops;

1. Surface irrigation or irrigation by carrying water into the field through siphons or open ditches.
2. Overhead or sprinkler method where water is applied into the crops as fine drops, spray, or mist.
3. Sub-surface irrigation where water is applied beneath the soil surface through a tile system or pipes laid at a convenient depth and slope.

Weed control. Weeds in commercial crop plantations should be controlled because they compete with the plants for moisture, nutrients and light. Weeds reduce the quality of the plants especially during heavy infestation. Weeds also harbor pests and diseases and increases the cost of labor.

Crop protection. It is said that prevention is better than control. In this regard the raiser should practice a good prevention program so that the outbreak of pests and diseases will not become a problem. A sound prevention program can be done through the following;

1.  Plant diseases resistant varieties.
2. Practice clean culture.
3. Pull and burn infected plants or plant parts immediately.
4. Sterilize seedbeds and the field before planting.
5. Use insect- and diseases free planting material.
6. Kill insect vectors.