Cover Crop Seeds for the Visayas
Kudzu Seeds Trading supplies tropical cover crop seeds and SoilBoost EA soil conditioner to sugarcane estates, coconut farms, cacao orchards, and banana growers across the Visayas. From Negros Occidental to Leyte and Bohol, orders are Ex Works Tigatto, Davao City, and delivery to your site can be arranged on request and is quoted on the quotation.
At a glance
- Delivery: Ex Works (EXW) Tigatto, Davao City, by default; delivery to your site in the Visayas can be arranged on request, with the delivery address and cost stated on the quotation.
- Crops served: Sugarcane, coconut, cacao, banana, fruit trees, rice in upland Iloilo and Bohol.
- Soil challenge: Acidic, weathered soils are common across Negros and parts of Leyte; choose acid-tolerant legume covers and correct pH with lime where soil tests call for it.
- Certification: Phytosanitary certificates issued by the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI).
- Sister company: Kudzu Seeds Trading is the Philippines-based sister company of Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia (chemiseed.com).
- Naming: Pueraria javanica (PJ, tropical kudzu) is a different species from the invasive kudzu vine, Pueraria montana: see Pueraria javanica vs invasive kudzu.
Agronomic note: Seeding rates and application rates on this page are indicative starting points for Visayan conditions. Nitrogen contribution from legume cover is site-dependent. Legume cover contributes nitrogen; adjust your fertiliser programme only after soil and leaf analysis shows what the cover supplies on your block. SoilBoost EA is a soil conditioner. It is not a fertiliser and not a substitute for one, and it is not a fungicide or pesticide.
Major crops in the Visayas
The Visayas is the sugar heartland of the Philippines and a major coconut producer, with a strong secondary base in cacao, banana, and fruit trees. Topography ranges from the rolling sugar lands of Negros to the limestone hills of Bohol and the coconut belt of Leyte and Samar.
| Crop | Where it is grown in the Visayas | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Sugarcane | Negros Occidental, Negros Oriental, Iloilo, eastern Panay | Negros produces a large share of national sugar output; ratoon stands benefit from inter-row legume cover. |
| Coconut | Leyte, Samar, Eastern Samar, Cebu, Bohol | Smallholder-dominated; intercropping with PJ or CP is widely encouraged. |
| Cacao | Bohol, Cebu, parts of Negros | Bohol is one of the country's emerging cacao production hubs. |
| Banana | Negros, Bohol, Leyte (smaller scale than Mindanao) | Mixed table and cooking banana for domestic markets. |
| Fruit trees and rubber | Negros Oriental, Iloilo, scattered sites | Mango, calamansi, rambutan; rubber is small-scale in the Visayas. |
| Upland rice and corn | Iloilo, Bohol, Cebu interior | Rotational systems where green manure legumes can be integrated. |
Recommended species per crop
Sugarcane (inter-row and fallow)
Calopogonium mucunoides and Pueraria javanica suit the slightly acidic soils of Negros and Iloilo. Use them in fallow years between ratoon cycles, or in inter-row strips where row spacing allows.
Primary: CM / Secondary: PJ
Coconut estates
Pueraria javanica (Tropical Forages: about 4 kg/ha sown alone) is the standard choice for established Visayan coconut. Calopogonium mucunoides establishes faster on degraded ground (PROSEA 11: it covers the soil 3 to 6 months after sowing); its rate is set on the quotation.
Primary: PJ / Secondary: CM
Cacao orchards (Bohol, Cebu)
Centrosema pubescens (Tropical Forages: 3 to 5 kg/ha broadcast) is shade tolerant and contributes nitrogen and organic matter under cacao canopy. Pair with SoilBoost EA in the root zone of young trees.
Primary: CP / Amendment: SoilBoost EA
Banana smallholdings
Pueraria javanica in inter-row strips. Banana is grown at smaller scale in the Visayas than in Mindanao, but inter-row PJ still suppresses weeds and reduces erosion on slopes.
Primary: PJ
Acidic Negros soils
Calopogonium mucunoides tolerates acidic, low-pH soils. Calopogonium caeruleum gives longer-term persistence once established (rate set on the quotation; Tropical Forages gives 1 to 1.5 kg/ha when sown with PJ).
Primary: CM / Persistence: CC
Upland fruit and rubber plots
Mixed PJ and CP cover. Pueraria javanica for establishment; transition to Centrosema pubescens as the canopy closes and shade increases.
Establishment: PJ / Mature: CP
Published broadcast rates: Pueraria javanica about 4 kg/ha sown alone, and Centrosema pubescens 3 to 5 kg/ha (Tropical Forages); Calopogonium caeruleum 1 to 1.5 kg/ha sown with 5 to 7.5 kg/ha PJ (Tropical Forages); MPOB TT No. 501 used a mixture of PJ 4 + CP 3 + CC 1 kg/ha (8 kg/ha in total) with 5 g Rhizobium per kg of seed. For Calopogonium mucunoides, and for your own mix, the rate is set on the quotation for your site.
Mucuna bracteata is handled differently from the broadcast species above. It is transplanted, never broadcast: MPOB TT No. 501 (Hasnol Othman, Farawahida Mohamad Darus and Zulkifli Hashim, 2012) used about 320 seedlings per hectare, two per palm point, raised from about 500 seeds (75 g); Samedani et al. (2015) used 680 seedlings per hectare. For nitrogen, one 15N isotope-dilution study under three-year-old oil palm on Jawa Series soil in Malaysia measured roughly 67 to 84 percent of its nitrogen derived from the atmosphere (Ndfa) (Cheah et al. 2010); treat any absolute kg N/ha/yr figure as site-dependent rather than a design value. Legume cover contributes nitrogen; adjust your fertiliser programme only after soil and leaf analysis shows what the cover supplies on your block.
Local context: delivery to the Visayas
Orders are Ex Works (EXW) Tigatto, Davao City, unless the quotation states FOB or CIF for export. Delivery to an address in the Visayas can be arranged on request and at your cost: you may collect from our premises in Tigatto, send your own trucker or forwarder, or ask us to book a carrier, in which case the quotation states the delivery address and the delivery cost. Risk passes to you when the goods are handed to the carrier in Davao City, unless the quotation says otherwise.
All export shipments leave under a phytosanitary certificate from the Philippine Bureau of Plant Industry (BPI). For domestic Visayas customers, we issue the standard delivery receipt and seed lot reference for traceability.
SoilBoost EA, manufactured exclusively for Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. and Kudzu Seeds Trading, is the humic soil conditioner we supply alongside the legume cover. It is leonardite-derived, with about 0.45 percent sulphur and pH 3.84. It is a soil conditioner, not a fertiliser and not a substitute for one, and it is not a fungicide or pesticide. Standard application is 50 to 100 kg/ha broadcast, or 10 to 15 kg/ha as a drench around the root zone.
Frequently asked questions
Which cover crop works best for sugarcane in Negros?
For Visayan sugarcane, Calopogonium mucunoides is a strong fit because it tolerates the acidic, leached soils common across Negros and establishes early in fallow or ratoon-changeover periods (PROSEA 11: it covers the soil 3 to 6 months after sowing); the rate is set on the quotation for your site. Pueraria javanica (Tropical Forages: about 4 kg/ha sown alone) is an alternative where soil pH is closer to neutral and where you want longer-term ground coverage.
Can you deliver to Cebu, Iloilo and the rest of the Visayas?
Yes, by arrangement. Orders are Ex Works (EXW) Tigatto, Davao City, unless the quotation states FOB or CIF for export. Delivery to Cebu, Iloilo, Negros, Leyte, Samar or anywhere else in the Visayas can be arranged on request and at your cost: you may collect from our premises in Tigatto, send your own trucker or forwarder, or ask us to book a carrier, in which case the quotation states the delivery address and the delivery cost. Lead time is confirmed on the quotation.
Will cover crops help with our acidic soil problem?
Calopogonium mucunoides and Centrosema pubescens tolerate acidic soils and contribute biological nitrogen and organic matter over time. SoilBoost EA is a soil conditioner, not a fertiliser and not a substitute for one, and it is not a liming agent, a fungicide, or a pesticide. For severely acidic soils, agricultural lime remains the direct corrective measure alongside the legume cover. Legume cover contributes nitrogen; adjust your fertiliser programme only after soil and leaf analysis shows what the cover supplies on your block.
How much Mucuna bracteata seed do we need per hectare?
Far less than for broadcast species, because Mucuna bracteata is transplanted rather than broadcast. MPOB TT No. 501 (Hasnol Othman, Farawahida Mohamad Darus and Zulkifli Hashim, 2012) used about 320 seedlings per hectare, two per palm point, raised from about 500 seeds (75 g); Samedani et al. (2015) used 680 seedlings per hectare. Kilogram-per-hectare rates belong to broadcast species such as Pueraria javanica, not to Mucuna bracteata.
What is the minimum order quantity for the Visayas?
Minimum order and lead time are confirmed on the quotation. Send a quotation request with your crop, area and delivery point, or WhatsApp us, and we will confirm lot sizes and any delivery arrangement for your site.
How is Kudzu Seeds Trading related to Chemiseed?
Kudzu Seeds Trading is the Philippines-based sister company of Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. in Malaysia (chemiseed.com). SoilBoost EA is manufactured exclusively for Chemiseed Sdn. Bhd. and Kudzu Seeds Trading, and supplied in the Philippines by Kudzu Seeds Trading.
Related pages
Request a Visayas quotation
Send a quotation request with your crop, area and delivery point, or WhatsApp us for pricing, lot availability, and delivery options. We reply within one business day (Philippine time).
Request a quotation WhatsApp Kudzu Seeds TradingAll Philippine plantation guides
Browse by region or by crop. Each guide covers Philippine-specific species and establishment notes, with published seeding rates where a source exists.
By region:
Crop-specific guides:
Sources for the seeding and establishment figures: Tropical Forages, CIAT and ILRI (2020), tropicalforages.info; PROSEA 11 (Chen Chin Peng and Aminah, 1997); MPOB TT No. 501 (Hasnol Othman, Farawahida Mohamad Darus and Zulkifli Hashim, 2012); Samedani et al. (2015), International Journal of Agriculture and Biology 17(2): 251-260, CABI (PDF); Cheah, Zaharah and Aminuddin (2010), Oil Palm Bulletin 60: 22-27, MPOB (PDF).
Last reviewed 10 October 2026.