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

5 Maturity (e.g., number of days from emergence to harvest);
5 Pest and diseases incidence (e.g., major pest and diseases); and
5 Size and shape of fruits (e.g., maturity index of crop).
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Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for Organic Vegetable Production
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. Motivate farmers to share their best experiences in seed selection and seed production
of some cross-pollinated vegetable crops (e.g., cucurbits) in their own farms, especially on the
following:
5 Selection of species or varieties for seed production;
5 Isolation distance between crop varieties;
5 Presence of pollinators and conduct of assisted pollination;
5 Regular field inspection and roguing; and
5 Harvesting at the most mature stage of seed.
3. Facilitate each small group to do hands-on of best experiences in seed selection and seed
production in a portion of some cross-pollinated vegetable crops (e.g., cucurbits) grown in
learning field, as follows:
5 Determine area needed for farmer’s seed requirement (e.g., know farmer’s seed requirement
per hectare, his normal yield level per cropping, and his estimated production per unit area).
5 Measure and mark boundaries in a portion of some cross-pollinated vegetable crops (e.g.,
cucurbits) grown in learning field (e.g., using above estimated area).
5 Conduct regular inspection and roguing (e.g., regular removal of other cultivars, weeds, offtypes,
deformed or disease and pest affected plants and other plants whose characteristics
do not conform with desired cultivar at early vegetative, flowering, fruiting and harvesting
stages).
5 Ensure presence of pollinators (e.g., providing artificial food or growing flowering plant
around) or conducting assisted pollination (e.g., manual pollination of receptive female
flowers).
5 Employ other cultural management practices shared and agreed upon in a big group
brainstorming session.
5 Take note of all relevant observations and experiences during this activity on a weekly basis.
4. Synthesize and summarize output of small groups into one big group output. Draw up
conclusions and recommendations from this exercise; and