[Lluz et. al., Vol.7 (Iss.

6): June 2019] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3262105

Science

COST AND RETURN ANALYSIS OF SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION OF

Brassica Napus L. Varchinensis (PECHAY) USING DIFFERENT METHODS
OF CULTIVATION
Madelyn Yruma 1, Eunice L. Lluz 1, *2
1
College of Agriculture, Fisheries and Natural Resources
2
University Research and Development Services, University of Eastern Philippines, University
Town, Catarman, Northern Samar, Philippines 6400

Abstract
A Cost and return analysis of small scale production of Brassica napus L. varchinensis (Pechay)
production using different methods of cultivation was evaluated based on the growth and yield
performance of Brassica napus L. varchinensis (Pechay) from field trial. An experiment was
undertaken involving four treatments with two methods of planting and two levels of plant density
and layed out in Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD) with replications. Results
showed that the survival rate and growth of Brassica napus L. varchinensis (Pechay) based on the
actual number of plants, transplanted plant with high density plants was significantly higher
compared to other treatments indicating that transplanted Pechay at high density planting is
favorable than other methods. The fresh weight of Pechay after 30 days of cultivation using direct
seeding (T1 and T2) was significantly higher compared to T3 and T4. Partial cost and return analysis
in direct seeded Pechay at high planting density were the most profitable while transplanting
Pechay seedling at low density planting was the least profitable.

Keywords: Brassica Napus L. Varchinensis (Pechay); Cultivation; Small Scale Production;

Randomized Completely Block Design.

Cite This Article: Madelyn Yruma, and Eunice L. Lluz. (2019). “COST AND RETURN
ANALYSIS OF SMALL-SCALE PRODUCTION OF BRASSICA NAPUS L. VARCHINENSIS
(PECHAY) USING DIFFERENT METHODS OF CULTIVATION.” International Journal of
Research - Granthaalayah, 7(6), 10-17. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3262105.

1. Introduction

The agriculture sector is deemed unsustainable as shown by various analyses (Dela Cruz, 2006).
The main focus of the current development agenda is feeding the ever-expanding population. It
loses sight of the negative environment consequences it creates, particularly on soil health. Land
use is optimized through technologies and management practices that fall short of requirements
for sustainability. The current practice in agriculture is basically chemical-based farming that

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[Lluz et. al., Vol.7 (Iss.6): June 2019] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3262105
makes a considerable contribution to the degradation of natural resources especially soils. Heavy
application of fertilizers has polluted surface and ground water resources.

Several strategies to augment problems of food in security is to promote small-scale home-based

agricultural production system. In fact, programs implemented by the Department of Agriculture
(DA) and some non-government organizations such as PLAN Philippines have promoted home
gardening in every community that aimed to produce enough vegetables food for every household.
Similarly, beneficiaries of Pantawid Pangpamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) are also required to
engage in home/community gardening as part of the requirements for the cash transfer conditions.
With the extensive promotions of small-scale agricultural production, it is necessary to provide
important information about the feasibility of this small-scale production system. Such information
will help small-scale producers in identifying strategies that will improve the production system
and productivity.

In Northern Samar, the cultivation of Pechay is very easy because it is adapted to wide range of
climatic conditions. It can be grown in almost all parts of the Province and in the country as well
anytime of the year. The area for production requires a good drainage during rainy days and enough
water supplies during the dry season.

Pechay is cultivated in several ways in Northern Samar. Commonly adopted method includes
direct sowing and seedling transplanted in pulverized plots and at different planting density.
Several experiments have evaluated these methods of production in terms of yield/plant growth
performance. However, there was no study conducted among these different cultivation technique
involving the cost and return analysis. Therefore, there is a need to evaluate the cost and return
analysis of different cultivation methods so that farmers will know and will be aware which method
is best suitable in Northern Samar.

2. Materials and Methods

Experimental Design
The experiment was conducted following a Randomized Completely Block Design (RCBD)
composed of 4 treatments combination with three replications. A total of twelve 1 x 3 m plots were
used in this study. The treatments were composed of the combination of the 2 methods of planting
and 2 plant density. Factor A: Methods of Planting; (1) direct seeding and (2) transplanted.
Factor B: Plant Density; (1) close-distance planting with 208 plants/plot and (2) sparse planting
with 48 plants/plot. The treatment combination were presented in Table 1.

Table 1: Treatment combinations.

Treatment Factor A Factor B
T1 Direct seeding Close-distance planting (70 plants/m2)
T2 Direct Seeding Sparse planting (48 plants/m2)
T3 Transplanted Close-distance planting (70 plants/m2)
T4 Transplanted Sparse planting (48 plant/m2)

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[Lluz et. al., Vol.7 (Iss.6): June 2019] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3262105
Land Preparation and Field Lay Out
An experimental area measuring 6.5 x 9 meters was cleaned, plowed and harrowed thoroughly
until soil was pulverized to ensure good land preparation and control of weeds. The entire area was
divided into 3 sub plots measuring 1 x 5m each with alleyways of 40cm between plots and
replications. Land to be planted should be prepared that is, it should be kept moist Pechay grows
on the elevation of 60 cm above the sea level (Mercado, 2004).

Plant Establishment and Cultural Management

Seedling preparation, for transplanted seedlings treatments, the seeds were germinated in seed box
and one week after germination, the pricking off the transplanting disturb the soil the roots and
breaks some of the roots and many incurred poor recovery and poor growth of plants (Gardner,
2005). Two weeks after the germination, the seedlings were transplanted to the plots at a distance
of 25cm x 25cm (T4) and 12cm x 12cm (T3) at one seedling per hill.

For direct seeded treatments, three seeds was uniformly sowed directly to the plot at a distance of
25cm x 25cm in low plant density plots (T2) and at a distance of 12cm x 12cm in high density plots
(T1). Thinning was performed three weeks after sowing to attain the desired density per plot.

Fertilizer application, a fertilizer was applied to the plants by sidedress method. The mixture of
the fertilizer is composed of the following: 72 grams urea and 1.56 kilograms of vermicompost /
m2 (plot). Care and Management, regular weeding, watering/sprinkling water, proper cultivation,
pest and diseases control was done whenever necessary. Harvesting, the plants were harvested
30/days after transplanting.

Data Gathered
1) Average fresh weight (g) of plant/plot - the average fresh weight of whole plants using
20 sample plants from the sampling area of each unit plot.
2) Total fresh weight of plant/plot - the total fresh weight of whole plants from the sampling
area of each unit plot
3) Average number and weight of marketable plant/plot - the average number and weight
of marketable plants per plot was obtained by sorting plants without damage from insect
pest and diseases.
4) Average number and weight of non-marketable plant/plot - the average number and
weight of non-marketable plants per plot are those plants remained after segregating the
marketable plants.
5) Plant density - The total number of plants per unit per area.

𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑡 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔

Formula: 𝑃𝑙𝑎𝑛𝑡 𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑡𝑦 = 𝑠𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 (𝑚2 )

Cost and Return Analysis

The cost and return analysis was conducted for each treatment using the data from the daily journal
of operations. Several assumptions were used during the cost and return analysis. The financial
viability indicator used was the return of investment (ROI).
𝑁𝑒𝑡 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑜𝑚𝑒
Formula: 𝑅𝑂𝐼 = 𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙 𝑣𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑎𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑐𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑑𝑢𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 × 100

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[Lluz et. al., Vol.7 (Iss.6): June 2019] ISSN- 2350-0530(O), ISSN- 2394-3629(P)
DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.3262105
Assumptions

1) Labor cost was calculated base in man hours/plot

2) The cost of the seedling tray was 10% of the acquisition cost from the assumption that
these trays can be reuse for ten times before rendered scrap.
3) Income was calculated based on the sales of products at farm grate prices of marketable
yield. Non-marketable products are considered to have zero value.
4) Fixed cost was not included in the computation of the production cost and the ROI. ROI
was computed based on the variable cost only.
5) Net income was calculated based on total gross sales minus variable cost, excluding fixed
cost.

3. Results and Discussion

Survival Rate and Growth of Pechay under different Methods and Densities of Planting
The survival rate and the actual number of plants per plot after 30 days of cultivation were
presented in Table 2. The data showed significant interaction effect between the method of planting
and plant density. Based on the actual number of plants, transplanted plant with high density plants
was significant higher compared to other treatments. On the other hand, survival rate of T2, T3,
and T4 were significant higher compare with T1. The survival rate of these treatments were about
65.87 to 73.61% as compared with T1 have only 26.44%.

The results indicate that transplanted Pechay at high density planting is favorable than other
method because of higher number of plants that could grow per unit area. Increasing the number
of plants growing could result to high probability of increasing harvestable crops than those
methods with very high mortality rate and low number of growing plants per unit area. This result
affirmed that the most appropriate method of planting for Pechay is through seedling transplanting
as compared to mustard and other vegetable crops. Based on actual observation, low survival and
actual plant density in direct seeded Pechay is due to high incidence on mortality due less root
anchorage and high weed competition. Whereas, transplanted Pechay seedlings have higher
survival rate due to higher capability to compete with weeds and firm anchorage into the soil.

Table 2: Survival Rate and Actual Population of Pechay after 30 days of Cultivation
Treatments Combination Population (no./plot) Survival Rate (%)
T1 - Direct Seeding 55.00 b 26.44 b
Close-distance planting
T2 - Direct Seeding - Sparse planting 33.68 b 70.14 a
T3 - Transplanted Close-distance 137.00 a 65.87 a
planting
T4 - Transplanted - Sparse planting 35.00 b 73.61 a
P value
Planting method 0.003** 0.007**
Plant spacing 0.000** 0.003**
Planting method X plant spacing 0.004** 0.016*
Means followed by the same letter (s) are not significant different for each other based on two-way ANOVA and
DMRT at 5% level. ** is highly significant, * is significant

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Yield of Pechay under different Methods and Densities of Planting
The average fresh weight of Pechay after 30 days of cultivation was presented in Table 3. The data
shows that significant effect was observed due to methods of planting but not with plant density.
The average weight of Pechay of T1 and T2 is highly significant compared to T3 and T4. The
average weight of these treatments was 110.4g/plant and 101.6g/plant compared to T3, T4 which
was 51.58g/plant and 62.00g/plant, respectively. According to McMullum (2005) that direct
seeding of planting Pechay at 3 pound per acre with 20 cm planting distance produced higher yield
performance compared to the transplanted sample. Higher average weight of Pechay from direct
seeded plant could be attributed to its ability to early establishment without undergoing the
mechanical and environmental stress due to transplanting.

Plants established from direct seeding could be able to develop earlier than transplanted seedlings
and would result to faster growth and development provided that they will be protected from
competition from weeds and from they attacked of pest and disease. In this experiment, both plots
in directed seeded and transplanted Pechay are devoid of weeds such that those plants established
by direct seeding was able to develop faster resulting to higher fresh weight yield. It should also
be noted that in general, the number of plants in direct seeded plots are fewer compared to
transplanted plants that resulted to less competition with nutrient and sunlight and consequently
increased growth rate.

Table 3: Effect planting method on the average weight of Pechay after 30 days of cultivation
Treatments Average weight of Pechay (g)
T1 - Direct Seeding 110.4 a
Close-distance planting
T2 - Direct Seeding - Sparse planting 101.6 a
T3 - Transplanted Close-distance 51.58 b
planting
T4 - Transplanted - Sparse planting 62.00 b
P value
Planting method 0.003**
Plant spacing 0.94ns
Planting method X plant spacing 0.439ns
Means followed by the same letter (s) are not significant different for each other based on two-way ANOVA and
DMRT at 5% level. ** is highly significant, ns is not significant

Productivity of Pechay Under Different Methods of Planting and Densities

Yield Components
The total yield per plot, marketable yield and non-marketable yield of Pechay under the different
method of cultivation at 30 days was presented in Table 4. Results of ANOVA revealed that there
were no significant differences in the total yield and marketable yield between different method of
cultivation and planting density. Only the non-marketable yield had significant differences
between treatments had occurred.

However, closer scrutiny of the data revealed that total yield per square meter was higher in T1, T2
and T3 compared to T4 by as much as 100%. Similarly, although the difference is not significant,
the marketable yield in T1 was the highest compared to the other treatments. The marketable yield

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in T2 and T3 are almost the same but are higher than T4. On the other hand, the non-marketable
yield was significantly higher in T3 than the rest of the treatments. Lowest weight of non-
marketable yield was obtained in T4. The weight of non-marketable harvest in T3 was more than
50% of the total yield. The non-marketable yield in T1 and T2 was about 30% and 41% of the total
yield, respectively.

These results would imply that transplanted Pechay at high density planting could be susceptible
by the attacked of insect pest rendering the plants unsuitable for human consumption. This current
study cannot further explain the causes or reasons why T3 has the highest non-marketable yield
because of insufficient data on the occurrence and damage on insect pest. Therefore, follow up
studies should be conducted to evaluate the effect of planting method and planting density on the
susceptibility of Pechay to insect and pest damage.

Table 4: Yield Component and Pechay Grow under Different Method of Cultivation at 30 days
Treatments Total yield Marketable Non Marketable
(kg/m2) (kg/m2) (kg/m2)
T1 - Direct Seeding 6.357 a 4.407 a 1.95 c
Close-distance
planting
T2 - Direct Seeding – 5.961 a 3.461 a 2.5 b
Sparse planting
T3 - Transplanted 6.858 a 3.275 a 3.583 a
Close-distance
planting
T4 - Transplanted – 3.08 a 2.247 a 0.833 d
Sparse planting
P value
Planting method 0.246ns 0.124ns 0.973ns
Plant density 0.059* 0.185ns 0.050*
Planting method x Plant density 0.133ns 0.956ns 0.009**
Means followed by the same letter (s) are not significant different for each other based on two-Way ANOVA and
DMRT at 5% level. ** is highly significant, *is significant and ns is not significant.

Cost and Return Analysis

Table 5 shows the partial cost and return analysis of the different cultivation method and planting
density of small scale Pechay production. The analysis was based on the 1 square meter areas.
Based on the analyses, the gross sales and variable cost did not differ significantly between the
methods of planting and plant densities. The highest gross sale was 176.30 pesos per square meters
in T1, followed by 138.96 pesos for T2, 131.00 pesos for T3, and 89.87 pesos for T4, respectively.
The total variable differed between types of planting wherein, transplanted Pechay incurred higher
labor cost but lower cost on seeds while direct seed Pechay had lower labor cost but higher cost
on seeds. The net income was highest in T1 amounting to 80.63 pesos per meter square followed
by T2 amounting to 43.71 pesos per meter square, and 18.26 pesos per meter square for T3. Only
T4 has net loss among the different treatments amounting to -18.36 pesos per meter square.
Because of high variability within treatments (between replication), there was no statistical
differences on the net income (net loss) due to different treatment combination.

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The partial analysis of return of investment showed variable values ranging from 0.85 to -0.17 for
a 45 days period. Highest partial ROI was in T1 followed by T2 at 0.47 and T3 at 0.16. Based on
this result of partial cost and return analysis, direct seeding of Pechay at high planting density is
most profitable while transplanting Pechay seedling at low density planting is the least profitable.

Table 5: Cost and return analysis of small scale Pechay production from different method of
cultivation and planting density in Northern Samar for one cropping period (45 days cycle)
Particulars T1 T2 T3 T4
Gross Income (Php) 176.29 138.44 130.99 89.87
Production Cost (Php)
Seeds 6 1.5 6 1.5
Seedling tray 0 0 14 14
Fertilizer
Urea 24 24 24 24
Vermi compost 16.67 16.67 16.67 16.67
Labor 49 52.56 52.06 52.06
Total Variable Cost (Php) 95.67 94.73 112.73 108.23
Net Income (Php) 80.63 43.71 18.26 -18.36
ROI 0.85 0.47 0.16 -0.17

4. Conclusion

The following are the conclusions derived from this study: (1) The survival rate and growth of
Pechay based on the actual number of plants, transplanted plant with high density plants was
significantly higher compared to other treatments indicating that transplanted pechay at high
density is favorable than other method because of higher number of plants that could grow per unit
area. (2) The fresh weight of Pechay after 30 days of cultivation showed that direct seeded Pechay
in T1 and T2 had significantly higher compared to other treatment. (3) The total yield per plot and
marketable yield had no significant differences between different method of cultivation and
planting density. Only the non-marketable yield had significant differences between treatments
had occurred. (4) Partial cost and return analysis, direct seeding of Pechay at high planting density
is most profitable while transplanting Pechay seedling at low density planting is the least
profitable.

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*Corresponding author.
E-mail address: eunicelluz@ gmail.com

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