IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF RODENT INFESTATION IN LOWLAND RICE PRODUCTION AT BARANGAYS BALUNTAY, TOKAWAL, AND DOMOLOK OF ALABABEL , SARANGANI PROVINCE

Rodent infestation is one of the major problems of rice farmers during production which often contributes to high yields loss. This study was conducted to determine the information gaps in rodent management of rice farmers from three selected barangays in Alabel, Sarangani Province, namely: Baluntay, Tokawal and Domolok. Specifically, it aimed to determine and evaluate the damages caused by rodents in the rice field and carry out a thorough analysis of the problems encountered by the rice farmers. Seventy respondents were randomly selected from 170 identified rice farmers in these three barangays. Information such as socio-demographic profile, field information and rodent management were collected by interviewing the respondents. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Majority of the rice farmers in the three barangays were males (81%) and married (91%). Only 30% was within the 30 to 44 years old age bracket, while 29% was within the 45 to 51 years old age bracket. Many (41%) had farming experience of 5 to 14 years and prefered to use the NSIC Rc 128 rice variety. Many (46%) also started planting in December by directly broadcasting seeds (100%) and providing surface irrigation (100%). Majority (66%) harvested in March. In term of pest management, weeds were controlled by hand weeding (91%), while rodents were controlled using various methods. Many farmers still practiced cultural management which included reducing the size of dikes (62%), flooding of the field (100%), and synchronized planting (73%). Rodent damages was expedted by many (37%) to range from 5 to 10% during early vegetative and booting stages (based on 46% and 44% of the rerspondents , respectively). Majority of the respondents (79%) expected rodent infestation to occur anytime higher during the wet season (based on 67% of the respondents). They (91%) also believed that the most effective method of controlling rodent was chemical poisoning using zinc phosphide. Thus, rodent infestation in the rice fields of the three selected barangays causes crop damages ranging from 5 to 10% which occurs anytime, especially during the wet season at early vegetative and booting stages of the cultivar NSIC Rc 128. The most common rodent management is by using zinc phosphide applied only once every season to obtain a yield as expected. Therefore, it is recommended to take into consideration these factors in development rodent control strategies to reduce crop damage and obtain better yield than as expected.