~ ~ Laboy tiller:

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Published by the Philippine Rice Research Institute. 2010.
1st printing 3,000 copies

Readers are encouraged to reproduce the content of this bulletin

with acknowledgment. Suggested citation:

Regalado, M.J.C. and Juliano, A.S. 2010. “Laboy tiller: Improving deep
muddy and swampy rice lands.” PhilRice Rice Technology Bulletin No. 64:
12p., May 2010.
Foreword
Our government aims for our country to be rice self-
sufficient. To help achieve this goal, PhilRice intensifies the
promotion of technologies that will further increase the yield in
favorable areas and help improve farmers’ harvest in unfavorable
areas.

One way of assisting farmers in adverse environments such

as in laboy areas is to provide them with a machine that will
not only lessen labor and fuel costs requirements, but will also
increase their yield.

This technology bulletin features the PhilRice improved

floating or laboy tiller, a useful machine in preparing fields that
have soft and low bulk density soil, and with deep mud reaching
the waist. Our studies show that using this machine will result
in 1 ton-yield increase. This increase will not only be felt by
the farmers, but will also contribute to the attainment of our
country’s rice self-sufficiency target.

RONILO A. BERONIO
Executive Director
Introduction
Laboy areas are characterized by soft and low bulk density
soils that float on water and mud reaching the waist. There are
about 15,000 ha of laboy rice fields found in Aurora, Cagayan,
Pampanga, Oriental Mindoro, Samar, Surigao, Agusan del Sur, and
North Cotabato. In Aurora province, laboy fields total to more than
a thousand hectares, mostly in the towns of Dilasag, Casiguran,
Dipaculao, and San Luis. Rice fields in these areas have mud depth
ranging from 40 to 100 cm.

Farmers’ yield in this field condition averages 2 t/ha owing

to poor land preparation. Farmers spend P1,000 to P1,200 a day in
plowing, harrowing, and leveling their field. With this cost, only a
portion of their land is thoroughly prepared as only one-fourth of
a hectare could be covered in an eight-hour day’s work using hand
tractors.

Land preparation in laboy farms is difficult because the plow

layer is not uniform and the soil is unstable. Preparing the land also
takes time as the land tillers often get stuck; thus farmers often
resort to manually pulling or foot-trampling the weeds. Half-done
land preparation triggers weeds to outgrow the rice plants.

To ease the drudgery of farmers tilling these areas, the Rice

Engineering and Mechanization Division of Philippine Rice Research
Institute developed the laboy tiller – a buoyant machine used for
land preparation in soft, deep, muddy or swampy soil that reaches
the waist. Studies show that using the laboy tiller could contribute to
a yield increase of 1 t in laboy areas (Regalado, et al. 2007).

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 Weeds such as Leptochloa A laboy rice field after first pass
chinensis (malapalay), Cyperus operation.
iria (tikiw), and the broadleaf
Sphenochlea zeylanica (sili-
silihan) dominate the laboy field
before land preparation.

Laboy fields are situated in low-lying areas, where water is usually contained.
The laboy soil floats over the water owing to its low bulk density. These areas
are believed to be thick vegetation or forested area long ago, wherein leaves,
woods and other plants, and animal remains were decomposed, resulting in the
high organic matter content of the soil. Although this soil contains high organic
matter, it is not fertile. The organic matter content of the soil is only a residual
of decomposition that it did not completely undergo the process of decomposition
because the soil has a high resistance to weathering and is continuously flooded.

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Outstanding features
• Buoyant. Floats in waist- and breast-deep mud.
• Simple design. Parts can be bought at local hardware stores
and can be easily fabricated or repaired.
• Efficient. Can completely prepare a hectare of laboy field in
two days and has 90 percent puddling efficiency.
• Economical. Consumes 1-1.5 liters of gasoline or diesel fuel
an hour and requires one operator.
• Versatile. Can also be used to quickly prepare shallow muddy
fields with adequate water.

The Laboy Rice Tiller

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Specifications
• Power requirement: 7.5 hp (5.6 kW) gear reduction-type
gasoline engine
• Fuel consumption: 1-1.5 L/h
•Field capacity, 1st pass: 1 ha/day
2nd pass: 1.5 ha/day
• Weight: 100 kg
• Rotor cut width: 1.1 m
• Dimension (LxWxH): 175x120x80 cm

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Operating principle
As the operator pushes forward the drive clutch lever to engage
the power transmission, the puddling rotors on a shaft rotate
at a fairly high speed. The high-speed rotation of the puddling
rotors or the V-toothed cage wheels, enables the tiller to
easily incorporate the weeds and rice stubbles to the soil. The
increased surface area of the floatation chamber or pontoon
allows the machine to stay afloat, especially during second and
third-pass operations, when the muddy soil slurry gets deeper.

Safety reminders
• Before starting the machine, disengage the drive clutch
lever. Check out loose parts. Ensure the V-belts are in place
and properly aligned and the pulleys are rigidly fixed onto the
shafts. When the engine is running, do not disengage the drive
belts by hand.

• Tighten bolted connections. See to

it that the puddling rotors are securely
fastened to the transmission shaft and the
lock pins are in place.

• Stop the engine when refilling with

fuel.

• Remove obstructions when running the

machine.

• When checking for trouble during

operation, it would be best to turn off the engine first.

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 Success stories
In 2007, the third prototype of the laboy tiller, which
was lent as an adaptation test unit to Elias Lachica
(a PalayCheck farmer cooperator in San Luis, Aurora
in 2006 wet season) was used to provide custom land
preparation services in 50 hectares of laboy fields for
seven farmer-clients.

Lachica, 46, decided to

purchase the adaptation
unit through the PhilRice
farm equipment loan
program. As a result of
improved land
preparation,
his yield increase ranged
from 1.0 to 1.5 t/ha.

“Because of the
floating tiller, gone are the
days of living in a nipa
hut,” Lachica said with a
smile.
Saño couple
Also from San Luis,
Jesus Saño, 49, was able
to increase his sharecropped laboy area from three to eight hectares
in 2007 WS because of the laboy tiller.

“The machine is easy to operate. I, myself, help prepare the field

using the laboy tiller,” said his wife, Francisca.

For the Saño couple, the floating tiller enabled them to own a
Honda motorcycle and send their five children through college.

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 At the start of every planting season, Paulino Salvador
of San Luis, Aurora, would tightly grip a hand tractor
and trudge the deep mud to plow his field.
Not minding the sweat profusely flowing on
his face, he could hardly push the machine as he goes
deeper and deeper in the mud almost reaching up to
his waist. Three other people help him operate the
machine to prevent the tractor from lurching in the deep mud.

In spite of the odds, Paulino is determined to optimize his land

and attain yields of about 4 to 5 t/ha as in non-laboy areas or those
with well-drained soils.

In 2005, PhilRice’s PalayCheck® system was introduced to him.
PalayCheck is an integrated crop management system that integrates
and balances key technologies in rice production to increase yield
while keeping the environment safe.

After applying the principles of PalayCheck® and using the laboy

tiller, Paulino got an astounding increase in yield from barely a ton to
about 3 t/ha, a breakthrough in his almost 10 years of farming.

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 Machine Development
The idea of using a buoyant or
floating prime mover to work in
waterlogged and deep mud
areas has been assessed more than
50 years ago in the U.S.

China began to explore

the possibility in the early 1960s.
In the Philippines, Maggie Villaruz
pioneered the development of the
machine and in 1976, she developed
a working model of a floating
power tiller, which she called,
“turtle power tiller.”

PhilRice improved the

prototype engineered by Villaruz.
For 18 years, from 1992 to
present, the floating tiller was
continuously studied and tested
in actual field conditions to suit
the preferences and needs of
farmers.

Throughout the years,

PhilRice developed five
prototypes. In 2010, the
engineering group, led by Dr. Manuel
Jose C. Regalado, tested a 1.5 m
wide laboy tiller powered by a 10-hp
Previous prototypes of the laboy tiller
diesel engine. The farmers’
feedbacks played important role
in developing the machine.

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Reference

Regalado, M.J.C., Juliano A.S., Moliñawe, L.B., Ramos, J.A.

and Cruz, R.T. 2007. Re-engineered floating tiller: Key
to reduced drudgery and improved productivity in
deep-mud rice areas. Philippine Agricultural
Engineering Journal. 36 (1):1-7.

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Rice Technology Bulletin Series
No.
1 Released Rice Varieties (1968-1994)
2 Pagpaparami at Pagpupuro ng Binhi 32 Management of Zinc-deficient Soils
sa Sariling Bukid
3 Paggawa ng Maligaya Rice Hull Stove
4 PhilRice Micromill
5 PhilRice Flourmill
6 PhilRice Drumseeder
7 PhilRice Rototiller
8 Rice Food Products
9 PhilRice-UAF Batch Dryer
10 Integrated Management of the
Malayan Black Bug
11 SG800 Rice Stripper-Harvester
12 Dry-Seeded Rice-Based
Cropping Technologies
13 Maligaya Rice Hull Stove
14 10 Steps in Compost Production
15 Rice Tungro Virus Disease
16 The Philippine Rice Seed Industry
and The National Rice Seed
Production Network
17 10 Hakbang sa Paggawa ng Kompost
18 10 nga Addang ti Panagaramid
iti Kompost
19 Characteristics of Popular Philippine 47 Carbonized Rice Hull
Rice Varieties
20 Rice Stem Borers in the Philippines
21 Rice Food Products (revised edition)
22 Leaf Color Chart (English)
23 Leaf Color Chart (Ilocano)
24 Leaf Color Chart (Filipino)
25 Equipment for Rice Production and
Processing
26 Use of 40kg Certified Seeds per Hectare
27 Rice Wine
28 Management of Field Rats
29 Controlled Irrigation: Saving water
while having good yield
30 Minus-one Element Technique:
Soil Nutrition Deficiency Test Made Easy
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31 Management of the Rice Black Bug
33 Management Options for Golden Apple
Snail
34 Use of Evaporation Suppressant
35 Pagpaparami ng Purong Binhi ng Palay
36 Management of Sulfur- Deficient
Lowland Rice Soils
37 Management of Planthoppers and
Leafhoppers
38 Management Options for Ricefield Weeds
39 Use of Indigo as Green Manure
40 Management of Salt-affected Soils for
Rice Production
41 Wet-Seeded Rice Production
42 Matatag Lines
43 Hybrid Rice Seed Production
44 Metarhizium anisopliae: Microbial
Control Agent for Rice Black Bug
45 Integrated Nutrient Management for
Rice Production
46 Management of Armyworms/Cutworms
48 Rice-based Microbial Inoculant
49 Integrated Farm and Household
Waste Management
50 Rice Postproduction Practices
51 Ecological Rice Farming
52 Modified Dry Direct Seeding Technology
53 Palayamanan: Making the Most out of
Rice Farms
54 Practical Guidelines in Predicting Soil
Fertility Status of Lowland Rice Soils
55 Bakanae: The Foolish Disease of Rice
56 Management of Rice Blast Disease
57 Root-knot Management in Rice-Onion
Cropping System
Rice Technology Bulletin Series
No.

58 Management of Yellow and White Stemborers

59 The PhilRice Dapog Technology
60 Rice Straw-based Nutrient Management in Irrigated Lowland Rice
61 Biofertilizer Production: Vesicular Abuscular Mycorrhizae (VAM)
62 Trichoderma: Biofungicide for Vegetables
63 Barayti ng Palay handog ng PhilRice 2007-2009
64 Management of Zinc-deficient Soils (revised edition)
65 Soil Series: Improving Agricultural Productivity in Pampanga
66 Soil Series: Improving Productivity in Tarlac

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 Authors and Subject Matter Specialists
Dr. Manuel Jose C. Regalado
Engr. Arnold S. Juliano

Managing Editor and Layout Artist

Charisma Love B. Gado

Cover design
Carlo G. Dacumos

Illustration
Leo B. Moliñawe

Editorial Adviser
Atty. Ronilo A. Beronio
Andrei B. Lanuza

For more information, text the Farmers’ Text Center (0920) 911-1398;
write, visit, or call:
Rice Engineering and Mechanization Division
Philippine Rice Research Institute
Maligaya, Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija 3119
Tel. No. (044) 456-0285; -0113; -0651 local 306

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