Scientists at the University of the Philippines Los Ba?os National Institute
of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology (Biotech) have developed a coconut
water-based biofertilizer that coaxes crops to yield more, thus increasing
the incomes of farmers.
Apart from these benefits, Dr. Lorele Trinidad of UPLB says the
biofertilizer, called Cocogro, could replace inorganic fertilizers, reduce
carbon emissions and mitigate the effects of other elements like nitrogen.

Trinidad, who was part of the team that developed Cocogro, describes the
product in this wise: ?It?s a crude mixture of growth hormones. There are
growth hormones good for rooting, good for shooting, so if you have
vegetable seeds, the shooting is good, as well as the germination. In the
first place, if the germination is good, more plants are expected to grow
because they already have a headstart.?

Cocogro was a result of an endeavor to use coconut water as culture medium
to cut costs.

?Later, as we found out that coconut water has many nutrients, it ceased to
be a mere culture medium and became the focus of our study,? Trinidad added.

?There?s a lot of coconut water that goes to waste, and we need to utilize
it to avoid the contamination of the environment,? she continued.

?We extracted the most important of the nutrients that cost most. And we
thought of getting growth hormones,? Trinidad said. ?You deal with the
coconut wastewater. You no longer have to pay for the treatment and you get
an economic return because you have a high-value product.?

Coconut water was used in backyards for orchids and flowering plants were
later shifted to seed germination and tissue culture.

Trinidad said they have used Cocogro as a substitute growth hormone for
banana-tissue culture. It was a most profitable substitute since imported
growth hormones cost a fortune.

?Sometimes it reaches P1,000 per milligram. So if we can concentrate growth
hormones from coconut water, instead of importing, we can use a local
product and, in turn, help our farmers,? Trinidad stressed.

Research on Cocogro was stopped in the mid-?90s when Dr. Juanita Mamaril,
Trinidad?s former superior and pioneer of Cocogro, retired and Trinidad went
on study leave.

?When I returned, the demand was great because it was already tested, though
not really on a commercial scale. Those who bought to be used on orchids
came back repeatedly,? Trinidad revealed.

?Now, due to the demand, we need to continue the research. We need to go
through the next phase, which is purification, because the first is a crude
mixture,? she added.

Cocogro does not have a Fertilizer and Pesticides Authority (FPA) license as
yet. The research being done at this stage is concentrated in the laboratory
because going large-scale requires a bigger budget.

?We need the FPA?s approval. Testing from an accredited researcher costs
P80,000 per run five years ago. We need two. We don?t have the money,?
Trinidad said.

She is proud that though they have not gone large scale, they have been
getting inquiries from all over the Philippines

?We are getting inquiries from coconut growers from as far as Mindanao,
Samar and other provinces in the Visayas. It came out in the newspapers that
we already have this technology of concentrating growth hormones from
coconut water, so many dessicated coconut factories that throw their coconut
water away are looking for a technology in which the wastewater can be used
because of the high cost of wastewater treatment? she said.
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