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Published by the Philippine Rice Research Institute. 2010.1st printing 3,000 copies

Readers are encouraged to reproduce the content of this bulletin with acknowledgment. Suggested citation:

Regalado, M.J.C. and Juliano, A.S. 2010. “Laboy tiller: Improving deep muddy and swampy rice lands.” PhilRice Rice Technology Bulletin No. 64: 12p., May 2010.

Foreword

Our government aims for our country to be rice self-sufficient. To help achieve this goal, PhilRice intensifies the promotion of technologies that will further increase the yield in favorable areas and help improve farmers’ harvest in unfavorable areas.

One way of assisting farmers in adverse environments such as in laboy areas is to provide them with a machine that will not only lessen labor and fuel costs requirements, but will also increase their yield.

This technology bulletin features the PhilRice improved floating or laboy tiller, a useful machine in preparing fields that have soft and low bulk density soil, and with deep mud reaching the waist. Our studies show that using this machine will result in 1 ton-yield increase. This increase will not only be felt by the farmers, but will also contribute to the attainment of our country’s rice self-sufficiency target.

RONILO A. BERONIO Executive Director

Introduction Laboy areas are characterized by soft and low bulk density soils that float on water and mud reaching the waist. There are about 15,000 ha of laboy rice fields found in Aurora, Cagayan, Pampanga, Oriental Mindoro, Samar, Surigao, Agusan del Sur, and North Cotabato. In Aurora province, laboy fields total to more than a thousand hectares, mostly in the towns of Dilasag, Casiguran, Dipaculao, and San Luis. Rice fields in these areas have mud depth ranging from 40 to 100 cm.

Farmers’ yield in this field condition averages 2 t/ha owing to poor land preparation. Farmers spend P1,000 to P1,200 a day in plowing, harrowing, and leveling their field. With this cost, only a portion of their land is thoroughly prepared as only one-fourth of a hectare could be covered in an eight-hour day’s work using hand tractors.

Land preparation in laboy farms is difficult because the plow layer is not uniform and the soil is unstable. Preparing the land also takes time as the land tillers often get stuck; thus farmers often resort to manually pulling or foot-trampling the weeds. Half-done land preparation triggers weeds to outgrow the rice plants.

To ease the drudgery of farmers tilling these areas, the Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division of Philippine Rice Research Institute developed the laboy tiller – a buoyant machine used for land preparation in soft, deep, muddy or swampy soil that reaches the waist. Studies show that using the laboy tiller could contribute to a yield increase of 1 t in laboy areas (Regalado, et al. 2007).

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Weeds such as Leptochloa chinensis (malapalay), Cyperus iria (tikiw), and the broadleaf Sphenochlea zeylanica (sili-silihan) dominate the laboy field before land preparation.

A laboy rice field after first pass operation.

Laboy fields are situated in low-lying areas, where water is usually contained.The laboy soil floats over the water owing to its low bulk density. These areas are believed to be thick vegetation or forested area long ago, wherein leaves, woods and other plants, and animal remains were decomposed, resulting in the high organic matter content of the soil. Although this soil contains high organic matter, it is not fertile. The organic matter content of the soil is only a residual of decomposition that it did not completely undergo the process of decomposition because the soil has a high resistance to weathering and is continuously flooded.

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Outstanding features

• Buoyant. Floats in waist- and breast-deep mud.• Simple design. Parts can be bought at local hardware stores and can be easily fabricated or repaired.

• Efficient. Can completely prepare a hectare of laboy field in two days and has 90 percent puddling efficiency.

• Economical. Consumes 1-1.5 liters of gasoline or diesel fuel an hour and requires one operator.

• Versatile. Can also be used to quickly prepare shallow muddy fields with adequate water.

The Laboy Rice Tiller

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Specifications

• Power requirement: 7.5 hp (5.6 kW) gear reduction-type gasoline engine

• Fuel consumption: 1-1.5 L/h• Field capacity, 1st pass: 1 ha/day 2nd pass: 1.5 ha/day

• Weight: 100 kg• Rotor cut width: 1.1 m• Dimension (LxWxH): 175x120x80 cm

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Operating principleAs the operator pushes forward the drive clutch lever to engage the power transmission, the puddling rotors on a shaft rotate at a fairly high speed. The high-speed rotation of the puddling rotors or the V-toothed cage wheels, enables the tiller to easily incorporate the weeds and rice stubbles to the soil. The increased surface area of the floatation chamber or pontoon allows the machine to stay afloat, especially during second and third-pass operations, when the muddy soil slurry gets deeper.

Safety reminders

• Before starting the machine, disengage the drive clutch lever. Check out loose parts. Ensure the V-belts are in place and properly aligned and the pulleys are rigidly fixed onto the shafts. When the engine is running, do not disengage the drive belts by hand.

• Tighten bolted connections. See to it that the puddling rotors are securely fastened to the transmission shaft and the lock pins are in place.

• Stop the engine when refilling with fuel.

• Remove obstructions when running the machine.

• When checking for trouble during operation, it would be best to turn off the engine first.

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Success stories

In 2007, the third prototype of the laboy tiller, which was lent as an adaptation test unit to Elias Lachica (a PalayCheck farmer cooperator in San Luis, Aurora in 2006 wet season) was used to provide custom land preparation services in 50 hectares of laboy fields for seven farmer-clients.

Lachica, 46, decided to purchase the adaptation unit through the PhilRice farm equipment loan program. As a result of improved land preparation, his yield increase ranged from 1.0 to 1.5 t/ha. “Because of the floating tiller, gone are the days of living in a nipa hut,” Lachica said with a smile.

Saño couple Also from San Luis, Jesus Saño, 49, was able to increase his sharecropped laboy area from three to eight hectaresin 2007 WS because of the laboy tiller.

“The machine is easy to operate. I, myself, help prepare the fieldusing the laboy tiller,” said his wife, Francisca.

For the Saño couple, the floating tiller enabled them to own a Honda motorcycle and send their five children through college.

At the start of every planting season, Paulino Salvador of San Luis, Aurora, would tightly grip a hand tractor and trudge the deep mud to plow his field. Not minding the sweat profusely flowing on his face, he could hardly push the machine as he goes deeper and deeper in the mud almost reaching up to his waist. Three other people help him operate the

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machine to prevent the tractor from lurching in the deep mud.

In spite of the odds, Paulino is determined to optimize his land and attain yields of about 4 to 5 t/ha as in non-laboy areas or those with well-drained soils. In 2005, PhilRice’s PalayCheck® system was introduced to him. PalayCheck is an integrated crop management system that integratesand balances key technologies in rice production to increase yield while keeping the environment safe.

After applying the principles of PalayCheck® and using the laboy tiller, Paulino got an astounding increase in yield from barely a ton to about 3 t/ha, a breakthrough in his almost 10 years of farming.

Machine Development The idea of using a buoyant or floating prime mover to work in waterlogged and deep mudareas has been assessed more than50 years ago in the U.S.

China began to explore the possibility in the early 1960s.In the Philippines, Maggie Villaruz pioneered the development of the machine and in 1976, she developed a working model of a floating power tiller, which she called, “turtle power tiller.”

PhilRice improved theprototype engineered by Villaruz. For 18 years, from 1992 topresent, the floating tiller was continuously studied and testedin actual field conditions to suit the preferences and needs offarmers.

Throughout the years, PhilRice developed fiveprototypes. In 2010, the engineering group, led by Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado, tested a 1.5 m wide laboy tiller powered by a 10-hp diesel engine. The farmers’ feedbacks played important rolein developing the machine.

Previous prototypes of the laboy tiller

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Reference

Regalado, M.J.C., Juliano A.S., Moliñawe, L.B., Ramos, J.A. and Cruz, R.T. 2007. Re-engineered floating tiller: Key to reduced drudgery and improved productivity in deep-mud rice areas. Philippine Agricultural Engineering Journal. 36 (1):1-7.

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No.1 Released Rice Varieties (1968-1994)2 Pagpaparami at Pagpupuro ng Binhi sa Sariling Bukid3 Paggawa ng Maligaya Rice Hull Stove4 PhilRice Micromill5 PhilRice Flourmill6 PhilRice Drumseeder7 PhilRice Rototiller8 Rice Food Products9 PhilRice-UAF Batch Dryer10 Integrated Management of the Malayan Black Bug11 SG800 Rice Stripper-Harvester 12 Dry-Seeded Rice-Based Cropping Technologies13 Maligaya Rice Hull Stove14 10 Steps in Compost Production15 Rice Tungro Virus Disease16 The Philippine Rice Seed Industry and The National Rice Seed Production Network17 10 Hakbang sa Paggawa ng Kompost18 10 nga Addang ti Panagaramid iti Kompost19 Characteristics of Popular Philippine Rice Varieties20 Rice Stem Borers in the Philippines21 Rice Food Products (revised edition)22 Leaf Color Chart (English)23 Leaf Color Chart (Ilocano)24 Leaf Color Chart (Filipino)25 Equipment for Rice Production and Processing26Useof40kgCertifiedSeedsperHectare27 Rice Wine28 Management of Field Rats29 Controlled Irrigation: Saving water while having good yield30 Minus-one Element Technique: SoilNutritionDeficiencyTestMadeEasy

31 Management of the Rice Black Bug 32ManagementofZinc-deficientSoils33 Management Options for Golden Apple Snail34 Use of Evaporation Suppressant35 Pagpaparami ng Purong Binhi ng Palay36ManagementofSulfur-Deficient Lowland Rice Soils37 Management of Planthoppers and Leafhoppers38ManagementOptionsforRicefieldWeeds39 Use of Indigo as Green Manure40 Management of Salt-affected Soils for Rice Production41 Wet-Seeded Rice Production42 Matatag Lines43 Hybrid Rice Seed Production44 Metarhizium anisopliae: Microbial Control Agent for Rice Black Bug45 Integrated Nutrient Management for Rice Production46 Management of Armyworms/Cutworms47 Carbonized Rice Hull48 Rice-based Microbial Inoculant49 Integrated Farm and Household Waste Management50 Rice Postproduction Practices51 Ecological Rice Farming52ModifiedDryDirectSeedingTechnology53 Palayamanan: Making the Most out of Rice Farms 54 Practical Guidelines in Predicting Soil Fertility Status of Lowland Rice Soils55 Bakanae: The Foolish Disease of Rice56 Management of Rice Blast Disease57 Root-knot Management in Rice-Onion Cropping System

Rice Technology Bulletin Series

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Rice Technology Bulletin SeriesNo.

58 Management of Yellow and White Stemborers59 The PhilRice Dapog Technology60 Rice Straw-based Nutrient Management in Irrigated Lowland Rice61 Biofertilizer Production: Vesicular Abuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)62 Trichoderma: Biofungicide for Vegetables63 Barayti ng Palay handog ng PhilRice 2007-200964ManagementofZinc-deficientSoils(revisededition)65 Soil Series: Improving Agricultural Productivity in Pampanga66 Soil Series: Improving Productivity in Tarlac

Authors and Subject Matter SpecialistsDr. Manuel Jose C. RegaladoEngr. Arnold S. Juliano

Managing Editor and Layout ArtistCharisma Love B. Gado

Cover designCarlo G. Dacumos

IllustrationLeo B. Moliñawe

Editorial AdviserAtty. Ronilo A. BeronioAndrei B. Lanuza

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For more information, text the Farmers’ Text Center (0920) 911-1398;

write, visit, or call:

Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division Philippine Rice Research Institute Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija 3119 Tel. No. (044) 456-0285; -0113; -0651 local 306