Efforts to strengthen the ‘ubi’ (purple yam) industry in Bohol are being advanced through science and technology (S&T)-driven farm practices to improve productivity, increase the supply of quality planting materials, and support a more competitive and sustainable industry.
With its strong potential as a high-value crop, the ubi industry in Bohol faces persistent constraints, including prolonged tuber dormancy, limited access to quality planting materials, and inconsistent production practices, which collectively affect yield stability and overall industry growth.
To address these gaps, the Philippine Council for Agriculture, Aquatic and Natural Resources Research and Development of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST-PCAARRD) funded the project, “Enhancement of Ubi (Dioscorea alata L.) Production through Trials and Demonstrations of S&T-Based Farm Practices to Support Industry Development in Bohol.”
A key component of the project is on developing dormancy-breaking interventions of ubi. After harvest, ubi tubers naturally remain dormant for several months, preventing immediate planting and limiting year-round production. To address this challenge, the research team evaluated a technique to induce sprouting during the tubers' dormant stage. Use of plastic mulch and carbonized rice hull was found most effective as it created favorable conditions for sprouting even during dormancy. This allowed the tubers to grow even when they would normally, not germinate. The technique achieved a 77% dormancy-breaking success rate within just one week during December and January, which are the peak dormancy months for ubi. Hence, this innovation gives farmers greater flexibility in planting schedules and supports continuous, year-round ubi production.
The project also enhanced the minisett technology as a rapid propagation method to produce planting materials. Minisett technology uses small tuber sections as planting materials, enabling rapid multiplication of quality planting stocks. The enhanced technology can produce about 40-50 minisetts from one kilogram of ubi while in the traditional propagation methods, farmers can produce about 7-10 planting materials from the same amount of ubi, thus greatly increasing the availability of ubi planting materials.
These technologies were evaluated and demonstrated across several commercially important and locally adapted ubi varieties, such as: Baligonhon, Kabus-ok, Zambal (VU-2), and Kinampay, in the municipalities of Ubay, Dauis, Bilar, and Inabanga in Bohol. As part of the initiative, Philippine Root Crop Research and Training Center, Visayas State University (VSU-PhilRootcrops) facilitated the training and provided quality planting materials to support technology adoption. More than 30,000 minisett ubi plantlets were produced and distributed to farmers across seven municipalities in Bohol: Dagohoy, Lila, Carmen, San Isidro, Albuquerque, Inabanga, and Ubay. Beneficiaries included individual farmers as well as ubi growers associations, such as the Cabudlan Farmers Association, Carmen Ubi Growers PNB-KGB, and the Ubay Ubi Growers Association in San Pascual.
In its next phase, the project team aims to scale up the adoption of improved ubi production technologies, strengthen the supply of quality planting materials, and enhance market linkages among stakeholders. Through sustained S&T interventions and multi-sectoral collaboration, the initiative is expected to contribute to the revitalization and long-term competitiveness of Bohol’s ubi industry.
These accomplishments were presented by project leader Marlon M. Tambis of VSU during the pre-terminal review organized by the Crops Research Division (CRD) of DOST-PCAARRD. The review was led by CRD Director, Dr. Leilani D. Pelegrina; Program Monitoring and Evaluation Section Head, Ms. Kristine Joy P. de Guzman; Industry Strategic S&T Program Manager for Sweetpotato and Other Root Crops, Ms. Rhesa Miren. A. Ignacio; and S&T Consultant, Dr. Antonio G. Lalusin.
