Pakwan fest also promotes agritourism

• Source: http://www.pna.gov.ph/index.php?nid=&rid=957567
• Friday, February 10, 2017 10:01 pm

By Zac B. Sarian

FACTOR WATERMELON IN BANI – Ardy Oineza, a progressive watermelon farmer in Bani, Pangasinan, poses with the big fruit of his Factor watermelon. This is a Crimson sweet type with water color-like thick stripes. The variety usually weighs 10 to 14 kilos per fruit. It has pink flesh that is sweet and has a long shelf life of 10 to 14 days with good shipping quality. Oineza was a participant in the recent 4th Pakwan Festival in Bani.

Bani, Pangasinan has a way of promoting itself as the Watermelon Capital of the North. This is by holding its annual watermelon festival. On January 28 to February 4, the town held its 4th Pakwan Festival. The annual festival is also one way of promoting the town as an agritourism destination.

One highlight of the event was the Farmers Agri Trade Fair wherein the farmers were given the chance to display and sell their watermelons and other agricultural products. Many of them showcased the varieties they are really proud of.

Ardy Oineza of Brgy. San Simon displayed his two favorite varieties with big fruits. One is China Baby, a Charleston Grey type with light green rind and bright red flesh. It is a big variety with fruits averaging 10 to 12 kilos each. Some even weigh as heavy as 16 kilos per fruit. The fruit has shelf life of 7 to 10 days and with good shipping quality.

Ardy Oineza’s other big-fruited watermelon is Factor, a Crimson sweet type with water color like thick stripes, pink flesh, averaging 10 to 14 kilos per fruit. Factor has a long shelf life of 10 to 14 days and also has good shipping quality.

The other major highlight of the event was the Harvest Festival. For this, Known You Philippines and other seed companies supplying watermelon seeds were invited to put up their own demo farms to showcase their watermelon varieties. Aside from introducing their varieties, the harvest festival was also a means of disseminating the improved techniques of planting and managing the crop up to postharvest and marketing operations.

Known-You Philippines which hosted the Farmers Harvest Festival brought the participants to the company’s demo farm and showed them the different characteristics of the watermelon varieties planted there.

The festival included contests in having the Heaviest Pakwan, Pakwan eating contest, Pakwan seed spitting contest and watermelon catching contest.

Other highlights of the 4th Pakwan Festival also included street dancing competition and a drum and lyre competition.

Jolly Calisaan of the Bani Pakwan Growers Association said he was overwhelmed by the success of the event which gathered all their members who have been planting watermelon for more than a decade and who have been contributing to the trademark of Bani as the Watermelon Capital of the North.

TALK ON FRUIT TREES – This agriculture editor and part-time farmer will talk on the potentials of growing exotic fruit trees in the Philippines. This will be tomorrow, Sunday, February 12, from 10 to 12 noon at the lecture hall at the Hortikultura 2017 at the Quezon Memorial Circle.

The fruit trees include the superior varieties that can be grown in commercial farms as well as in gardens for personal consumption and also for sale. We will talk about the advantages and disadvantages of growing the different varieties.

Among those that we will discuss are different mango varieties including our own carabao mango and imported ones from Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, Australia and elsewhere. Others include the Longkong and duku lanzones, different pummelo varieties, durian, rambutan, jackfruit and many more.

AGRITOURISM EVENT IN TAYUG – The R&D Farm of Allied Botanical Corporation in Tayug, Pangasinan, will open its first Agritourism Event on February 17 that will run through the end of April. It means that you will be able to see for yourself the many new developments in vegetables and other high-value crops. There’s an entrance fee of P100 per visitor.