Breakthroughs in Sampaguita Farming

I have been in sampaguita farming since my high school years. My grandfather on my father side started the business in our place in Tabaco City, Albay. He established the business around 1970’s. 40 years after my grandfather’s time, his grandsons now continue the legacy he left.
With the different challenges that struck this line of business, here are some techniques we formulated.
1. Leaves removal. Although this somewhat awkward, this technique can increase the yield by as much as 50%. As compared with the traditional pruning technique, leaves removal does not interrupt production. Continues flowering system is forcefully induced. How is it done?
In leaves removal, retain only one leaf per branch. This will help maintain the food process making of the plant. Removing all the will cause harm to the plant. Based from the observation we gathered in A.P. Bobier Samapaguitahan in Matagbac, Tabaco City, it showed that removing all the leaves killed some of the plant stand. Some yield smaller flowers. Some cause stunted growth to the plants. However, removing all the leaves for the first time has shown drastic increase in the flower production. The result is not permanent. The proceeding flowering season showed a decrease in production.
Maintain at least a leaf showed a sustainable increase in the production. It also ensures a year round production, as long as the weather is conducive to the plants.
2. Rice husk application. Perhaps this is the most effective weed control technique that can be applied. Results showed that it can last for 6 months. Imagine a 6 month free from weeds! That’s awesome!
3. Intercropping. From the same sampaguita field, it showed that taro, peanut, mung bean, and tomato are excellent crops to be intercropped with sampaguita. Aside from it improves the soil fertility of the soil; these plants do not affect the sampaguita flower production. Never intercrop cassava. It will tower the sampaguita plants and it can cause poor production for it becomes a competitor of the primary crop (sampaguita) to the nutrients available in the soil.
4. Twigs to shoo chickens. Some farmers practice hilling up to prevent the weeds from sprouting. But animals like chicken scratch them and destroy the hills. In an experiment held on the same field, by placing the twigs horizontally on the hills, the chickens no longer bother to scratch the hills. Try!