Researches from PhilRootcrops reaped most awards during the 15th Regional R&D Symposium on August 19, 2003. The Outstanding Applied Research Project was Potential of Sweetpotato for Pickle Production of Dr. Julie Tan, while Sweetpotato Diagnotes CD: A Training and Support Tool in Diagnosing Sweetpotato Problems headed by Dr. Erlinda A. Vasquez bested the 21 entries for the Poster Contest.

The symposium, sponsored jointly by the Regional Research & Development Network (RRDEN) and the Visayas Consortium for Agriculture and Resources Program (ViCARP), concluded the three level screening of papers which started at the agency level from April to June 2003 with 239 entries from 13 participating agencies. Eighteen papers from four agencies were chosen and further submitted for the second screening by the Regional Commodity Teams. Finally, nine papers from three participating agencies were chosen for presentation at the Regional Symposium. These agencies were LSU, the Department of Agriculture-Region VIII (DA-8) and the Leyte Institute of Technology (LIT).

The other Outstanding Projects were as follows: Outstanding Basic Research Projects - Laboratory Dryer for Thin-layer Drying Experiments by D.L.S. Tan and D.A.B. Codilla, LSU (2nd place); Sweetpotato Viruses in Central Luzon by E.A. Vasquez, et al., LSU (3rd place); Outstanding Applied Research Projects - Development of Tractor-Drawn Sweetpotato Harvester by A.B. Loreto and M.B. Loreto, Jr. LSU (2nd place); Technical Improvement of the Root Crop Grates Processing System by D.L.S. Tan, et al., LSU (3rd place); Outstanding Development Projects - Effect of Bulbils as Planting Materials on Tuber Yield and Quality of Yam (Dioscorea alata L.) by Fernando A. Evangelio, LSU (3rd place).