Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for - Aseanipm ...

Section 7 • Participatory Plant Breeding, Seed Production, Harvest, and Post-Harvest Management
methodology
• Field walks, hands-on, and brainstorming
steps
1. Divide participants in small groups and ask them to conduct field walks and observe selfpollinated
vegetables (e.g., string bean and eggplant) organically grown for study of crops’
biological processes and cross-breeding or hybridization exercises in learning and adjoining
fields. Take note of cultural management practices employed. Interview other farmers, if
necessary. List down all observations related to:
5 Plant morphology and growth stages (e.g., duration of and changes in morphological
structures at different growth stages)
5 Other relevant plant characters (e.g., branchiness, fruiting duration, spines, etc)
5 Flower morphology (e.g., perfect or imperfect flower) and date of flowering (e.g., number
of days from emergence to flower initiation)
5 Maturity (e.g., number of days from emergence to harvest)
5 Pest and diseases incidence (e.g., major pest and diseases)
5 Size and shape of pods or fruits (e.g., maturity index of crop)
5 Other pod or fruit characters
2. Go back to processing area; brainstorm in small groups and present output to the big group.
Conduct participatory discussion to allow sharing of experiences among participants and
facilitators.
3. Motivate farmers to share their understanding in crops’ biological processes and best experiences
in hybridization of self-pollinated vegetables (e.g., string bean and eggplant) in their own farms,
especially on the following:
5 Selection of species or varieties as parent materials for hybridization;
5 Morphological differences of species or varieties selected as parent materials for hybridization;
5 Pest and disease reactions of species or varieties selected as parent materials for
hybridization; and
5 Yield comparison of species or varieties selected as parent materials for hybridization.
4. Facilitate each small group to do hands-on of best experiences on studying crops’ biological
processes and hybridization exercises for some self-pollinated vegetables (e.g., string bean and
eggplant) organically-grown in learning field, as follows:
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