Ramon Barba

Ramon Cabanos Barba (born August 31, 1939, San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte[1]) is a Filipino inventor and horticulturist[2][3]best known for
inventing a way to induce more flowers in mango trees using ethrel and potassium nitrate.[4] Barba was proclaimed a National Scientist
of the Philippines in June 2014.[5]
Dr. Barba was also recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in Agriculture in 1974, and was given the Horticultural
Technology Award in June 1999.[3]

Early life and education

The son of lawyer Juan Madamba Barba and Lourdes Cabanos of Ilocos Norte, Barba was born the youngest of four siblings on August
31, 1939. He finished his elementary schooling at Sta. Rosa Academy in 1951, receiving the third honor among his batchmates. He went
to high school at the University of the Philippines, where renowned orchid researcher Dr. Helen Layosa Valmayor became his Biology
Laboratory instructor.[2][3]
Barba then took up a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture at the University of the Philippines Los Baños, majoring in Agronomy and Fruit
Production, eventually graduating in 1958. Here he was inspired by his grandfather Juan Cabanas, who was then an official of the Bureau
of Plants and Industry (BPI), and by his instructor Dr. L.G. Gonzales, considered the "father of Horticulture in the Philippines."[2][3]

Graduate studies
Barba received a scholarship from the University of Georgia where he began conducting experiments on inducing the flowering of plants
using gibberellic acid and potassium nitrate as a fertilizer. He graduated with distinction with a Master of Science in Horticulture from
the university in 1962.[2][3]
Barba then took up a Doctorate in Plant Physiology, specializing in Tropical Fruits and Tissue Culture from the East-West Center of
the University of Hawaii, graduating in 1967.

Induction of flowering of the mango by chemical spray

Objections to Barba's proposals for inducing flowering in mango were numerous at first. But with help from his friends Mr. and Mrs.
Jose Quimson of Quimara Farms in San Antonio, Barba conducted his experiments. His techniques proved effective, with 400 trees aged
10–12 years old flowering within one week to one month of first being sprayed with potassium nitrate. [2][3] His study, titled Induction of
Flowering of the Mango by Chemical Spray was named best paper by the Crop Science Society of the Philippines (CSSP) in 1974. Barba
was recognized as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Men in Agriculture that same year. His findings, which enabled farmers to induce
flowering in mango trees regardless of season, changed the face of the mango industry in the Philippines.[2][3] "Ramon Barba has
advanced the research for many tropical crops including bananas, cassava, sugarcane on plant physiology and plant breeding." [2]
In an interview released by the World Intellectual Property Organization in 2011, Barba recounts that he did not initially file a patent for
his method, wanting farmers to be able to use the technique freely. Eventually, though, somebody else tried to patent the process, so
Barba preemptively filed a patent application, choosing simply not to charge royalties for the use of his method.[4]
Recently The Philippine Star published "Too much flower inducer spraying bad for mangoes" [6]

Other studies
Dr. Barba's other research breakthroughs include banana micropropagation and tissue culture of sugarcane and tissue culture
of calamansi, all of which have left lasting impacts on the respective agribusiness potentials these commodities. [7]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramon_Barba

By virtue of Malacañang Proclamation No. 783 signed by President Benigno S. Aquino III on June 6, 2014, Academician Ramon C. Barba
was conferred the Rank and Title of National Scientist for his distinguished achievements in the field of plant physiology, focusing on
induction of flowering of mango and on micropropagation of important crop species that have earned him national and international
accolades.

His pioneering work on the induction of flowering and fruiting of mango resulted in the change from seasonal supply of fresh fruits to
all year round availability of abundant fresh mangoes. The regularity of mango production is the key ingredient in the development of
mango exports which gave rise to an entirely new industry of processed mango products. He developed the plant growth enhancer,
FLUSH, which accelerates the growth cycle of the trees and advance their flowering and fruiting stages, to assure continuous fruit
bearing of mango trees. The discovery assured regular or controlled flowering of mango trees and in many dry areas like Cebu and
Guimaras,hence, the flowering period for the whole country was not just confined to March and April but has extended to several
months, assuring a supply of mangoes throughout the year.

This mango induction technology was patented not only in the Philippines but also in other countries, such as USA, England, Australia
and New Zealand. He did not collect any royalty from the patent so that ordinary farmers can freely use the technology. Nowadays,
many mango producing countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Australia have adopted the technology for their mango production.
Furthermore, this technology has been successfully applied on other fruit trees including cashew.

His outstanding works on plant micropropagation led major changes in the production schemes of several important crops. He and his
team at the Institute of Plant Breeding developed the tissue culture protocol for banana in order to produce large quantities of planting
materials that are robust and disease-free, allowing for annual replanting, which brought major shift in banana production system, now
a standard practice in large farms not only in the Philippines but also in other countries in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. He also
established the tissue culture protocol for sugar cane that made possible the rapid production of large quantities of disease-free planting
materials. This becomes the standard practice in disease cleaning of sugar cane varieties. Tissue culture of sugar cane has become an
integral part of sugar cane agriculture worldwide.
Together with his research team, they developed micropropagation protocols for more than 40 important species of ornamental, fruit,
and plantation crops, aquarium plants, and forest trees including cassava, white potato, rattan, bamboo, ramie, derris, garlic, and shallot,
in addition to banana and sugar cane. He also did innovative methodologies in solving problems of major importance using simple tools.

Academician Barba completed his B.S. in Agriculture at the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA) in 1958. He served
as Assistant Instructor from 1958 to 1960 in the Department of Agronomy, Fruit Crops Section, UPCA. He pursued his graduate studies
in the U.S. from 1960 to 1962 at the University of Georgia for his M.Sc. degree in Horticulture, and from 1962 to 1964 in the University
of Hawaii with an East-West Center grant. He finished his Ph.D. in Horticulture in 1967.

Dr. Barba returned to the Philippines in late 1968 and was appointed as Assistant Professor in 1969, later resigned in 1975, and re-
appointed as Professor I in 1981. The founding director of the Institute of Plant Breeding (IPB) and 17th President of the University of
the Philippines, Dr. Emil Q. Javier, invited Dr. Barba to initiate and develop the Tissue Culture Laboratory, now Plant Cell and Tissue
Culture Laboratory and the Tissue Culture Program of IPB, College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines Los Baños and became its
first Program Leader from 1975 to the late 1980s (without compensation). He continues to serve IPB as Senior Consultant up to the
present.

He held significant positions in different private institutions such as: Consultant, Quimara Farms on Mango Production (1969-1985) and
Project Director of CORE Foundation (1984-1988). He was also part-time Director of Research at Plantek, a biotechnology company in
Singapore partly owned by Tata of India and Sumitomo of Japan from 1985 to 1988.
He received numerous awards, such as The Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines for Agriculture by the Philippine Jaycees
(1974), Rizal Pro Patria Presidential Award for Tissue Culture (1980), the Most Distinguished Alumni Award, University of the Philippines
(2004), and the SEARCA-Dioscoro L. Umali Achievement Award in Agricultural Development (2011), among others.

In 2004, Academician Barba was elected member by the general membership at the National Academy of Science and Technology,
Philippines (NAST PHL), the country’s highest recognition and advisory body to the government and science community on matters
related to science and technology.

In December 2013, the Members of NAST PHL endorsed Academician Barba to President Benigno S. Aquino III for the Rank and Title of
National Scientist, the highest recognition given by the President of the Republic of the Philippine to a Filipino man or woman of science
in the Philippines who has made significant contributions in one of the different fields of science and technology. This award was created
under Presidential Decree No. 1003-A on December 16, 1976

http://www.nast.ph/index.php/13-news-press-releases/110-academician-ramon-c-barba-named-as-national-scientist

Ramon Barba is a man who made the life changing discovery of flower induction and applied this (and other findings) towards improving
the quality of life for those in the agriculture industry. Dr. Barba represents what it means to serve mankind and use your talents for
good.

Introduction to Ramon Barba

Ramon Barba, a world renowned scientist known for his invention of flower induction of mango trees (among other great discoveries),
is a perfect example of being able to apply one's interests and knowledge towards bettering opportunities for others. The impact and
importance of his discoveries, along with his self motivation to help others, led him to change how mangoes and other crops are grown
around the world, thus improving the livelihood for those who work in the agriculture industry.

Ramon Barba the Student

Ramon Barba, the youngest of four children, was born on August 31, 1939, in San Nicolas, Ilocos Norte, Philippines. His father was an
attorney and his grandfather was an official of the Bureau of Plants and Industry. As a student, Mr. Barba earned a Bachelor's of Science
degree in Agriculture from the University of the Philippines Los Banos (UPLB) before attaining a Master's Degree of Science in
Horticulture from the University of Georgia (UGA). While at UGA, he studied flowering of plants using potassium nitrate as his variable.
Barba turned his attention to studying the fruiting rate through his independent research while working at UPLB. Soon after graduating
from UGA, Ramon attended and earned a Doctorate in Plant Physiology from the University of Hawaii (UH). His focus of tropical plants
and culturing of plant tissue while at UH would later be applied towards other significant discoveries and applications.

Flower Induction

Although Ramon Barba made several beneficial discoveries that were used to improve the production and growth of plants and their
fruit, perhaps the first and most important was flower induction of mango trees. Based on a study from another researcher named
Leopold on the use of ethephon and the increased flowering of plants, Barba thought to apply the food preservative and fertilizer
potassium nitrate with the ethrel, thinking that this mixture would increase the flowering rate of the mango trees. He discovered that
the flowering rate not only increased, but it also led to the tree producing fruit at a much faster rate.

Ramon Barba is a well-known Filipino scientist, especially to agriculturally involved individuals in the Philippines for contributing towards
advancements in the mango industry.

He developed a process that caused the flowering and fruiting of mango trees three times a year, instead on once a year, so dramatically
improving yields.

In 2013 Ramon Barba became National Scientist in the Philippines for his “distinguished achievements in the field of plant physiology,
focusing on induction of flowering of mango and on micro propagation of important crop species.”

Early Life and Personal Background

Ramon Barba was born on August 31, 1939, the youngest of the four children. His father, Juan Madamba Barba was a lawyer, and his
mother Lourdes Cabanos was, like Ramon himself, a graduate of the University of the Philippines.
He finished his elementary education in 1951 at the Sta. Rosa Academy where he was the third highest in his group. Barba then attended
the University of the Philippines where he met Dr. Helen Layosa Valmayor who was famous for her research about orchids; she was his
teacher for biology laboratory classes.

At the University of the Philippines in Los Banos, Laguna finished his college degree. In 1958, he graduated and obtained his degree in
Bachelor of Science in Agriculture, with a major in agronomy and fruit production.

His inspiration to study in this field came from his grandfather, Juan Cabanas, who was then an official of the Bureau of Plants and
Industry (BPI) and Dr. L.G. Gonzales who is considered as the father of horticulture in the Philippines.

Career Path

After graduating, Barba served as an assistant instructor from 1958 to 1960 in the Department of Agronomy, Fruit Crops Section,
University of the Philippines College of Agriculture (UPCA).

Barba left his university position to take up a scholarship which allowed him to attend the University of Georgia. There, he conducted a
number of experiments concerning how to make plants flower using fertilizers containing gibberellic acid and potassium nitrate. In
1962, he graduated with distinction with a Master of Science in Horticulture from the University of Georgia.

He furthered his education by obtaining a doctorate in plant physiology, specializing in tropical fruits and tissue culture in the East-West
Center in Hawaii. He earned his doctorate in 1967 with a Ph.D. in horticulture.

Barba was appointed as assistant professor at the UPCA in 1969, later resigning in 1975. He was re-appointed as a professor in 1981.

From 1975 to the late 1980’s he was also program leader of the Plant Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory of the Institute of Plant
Breeding.

He also held several private consultancy positions during his career.

Career and Contributions in the Field of Mango Horticulture

The Philippines is known as a largely agricultural country, and Barba’s dedication to finding a solution to help mango exports flourish
benefited his home country. However, his road to success wasn’t straightforward.

Mango trees were seasonal, producing one crop a year and this limited the country’s ability to earn precious foreign income from
exports, because of the time that the trees naturally take before bearing more fruits.

Filipino mango tree growers already had a system to make mango trees flower; it involved using smoke (smudging) to help induce
flowering. Barba, however, while he was still a student, saw this as a tedious and expensive practice and he thought there must be a
more practical solution to induce the mango trees to flower.

He proposed that a chemical spray with Etherel (2-chloroethylphosphonic acid) may induce flowering but could not obtain permissions
to begin trials. He had previously conducted research using Etherel and potassium nitrate and wanted a trial to try these fertilizers on
mango trees.

Barba faced several rejections when he proposed applying the technique he developed to make mango trees flower more frequently.
Thanks to the help of Ramon Barba’s friends in Quimara Farms, Mr. and Mrs. Jose Quimson, Ramon Barba conducted his experiment
on 400 mango trees which were 10-12 years old spraying alternate tree branches with Etherel and potassium nitrate.

Lo and behold, the results from the simple experiment were astounding on the branches that had been sprayed with the potassium
nitrate solution. After combining a kilo of potassium nitrate with a hundred liters of water and spraying it on the selected tree branches,
the buds began forming a week later.

Barba patented his invention but charged no royalties, so allowing his findings to be of benefit to mango growers world-wide. He soon
developed the plant growth enhancer “Flush” which speeds up the growth cycle of trees and advances flowering.
From further studies conducted spraying “Flush” onto mango trees. This product tripled the mango yield; making mangoes available
thrice instead of just once a year; the fruits were 15% smaller, but overall, the mangoes were of good quality. Later studies showed that
the trees which had been sprayed still bore fruit 30 years later.

Other Research

Barba developed a tissue culture procedure for the banana plant which enabled production of large quantities of planting materials that
were robust and disease-free.

He also developed a tissue culture procedure for sugar cane that allowed the rapid production of large amounts of disease-free planting
materials.

With his research team, Barba devised micro propagation protocols for more than 40 important species of fruit crops, ornamental
plants, plantation crops, aquarium plants, and forest trees.

The Positive Effects of Ramon Barba’s Efforts

Since the discovery of Ramon Barba’s method to induce flowering for mango plants, the mango industry in the Philippines expanded.
Apart from the mango producers themselves, other business sectors such as the producers of the pest control chemicals, harvesters,
sellers, and all the other smaller groups of workers related to mango industry have benefitted from his invention. This technology has
also been successfully applied on other fruit trees including cashew.

In 2013 Ramon C. Barba was conferred the rank and title of National Scientist in the Philippines for “his distinguished achievements in
the field of plant physiology, focusing on induction of flowering of mango and on micro propagation of important crop species.”

Barba was elected a member to the National Academy of Science and Technology, Philippines in 2004.

Barba was a recipient of the 1974 Ten Outstanding Young Men of the Philippines in Agriculture Awards. In 1974 and again in 1981, the
Crop Science Society of the Philippines awarded him the Best Paper Award.