organic farming methodology
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Myths of organic farming
Myths of organic farming
by Dave of Darlington
A few years ago Anthony Trewavas, Professor of Cell and Molecular Biology at Edinburgh University, published, in the prestigious scientific journal Nature, an article entitled Urban Myths of Organic Farming, in which he tried to discredit organic farming on the basis that, according to him, it did not promote any more biodiversity than conventional farming, that it used just as much energy as conventional farming and, most extraordinary of all, that trace quantities of toxic pesticides in our food were actually good for us!
Most people will probably regard these claims as absurd. But at the same time it has to be acknowledged that there really are some myths associated with organic farming, albeit different ones from those Prof. Trewavas suggested. One that is widely believed is that, to carry on organic farming, you have to keep animals and use their manure as a fertiliser. Readers of this magazine will not need any convincing of the falsehood of that one. But there are some supposed tenets of organic farming, the mythical quality of which is perhaps not quite so obvious. They are: that in organic farming we grow the crops in nature’s way, that green manures, unlike chemical fertilisers, are harmless to the environment and that in organic farming we feed the soil, from which the plants then get their nutrients, whereas in conventional farming they feed the plants directly. All these claims are very misleading and can fairly be described as myths.
Let us look first at the question of feeding the plants. To simplify the argument let us confine ourselves to considering only one plant nutrient, namely nitrogen, but much the same considerations apply to phosphorus too (although not to mineral nutrients like potassium and calcium.) In nature the cycling of nitrogen (and other nutrients) is very tightly controlled and each plant experiences strong competition from adjacent plants, as well as from soil microorganisms like bacteria and fungi, for the small amount of water-soluble nitrogen compounds that are available. In most cases the restricted nitrogen supply limits plant growth, which is one reason why plants grow more slowly in nature than in agricultural systems.
Because of the shortage of inorganic nitrogen in natural soils, plants in natural ecosystems are almost entirely dependent on the small amount of nitrogen that is supplied by the slow microbial decomposition of the organic matter stored in the soil (the humus). In this sense they can be said to feed from the soil. This is not the case with plants in agricultural systems (whether conventional or organic), which still get some nitrogen in that way from the soil organic matter, but draw a lot of their nitrogen from the relatively large quantity of inorganic nitrogen that is dissolved in the soil water and which originates directly from chemical fertilisers and green manures respectively.
For the sake of brevity I will use the term fertiliser here to denote both chemical fertilisers and organic ones. Then roughly what happens in an arable soil under a crop of some kind is that the applied fertiliser greatly increases the nitrogen content of the soil water. This excess of dissolved nitrogen, mostly in inorganic form (ammonia and nitrate), can do one of three things. Some of it (between 0 and 30%, depending on the weather and soil) is lost to the environment. It is either leached down into the sub-soil or it is emitted into the atmosphere as nitrous oxide and nitrogen gases as a result of bacterial nitrification and denitrification1.
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0rganic Farming➫ A method that involves growing & nurturing crops without the use of synthetic based fertilizers and pesticides.
Ex:- Crop Rotation
♦ It is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems & people.
♦ Biological research into soil & soil organisms has proven beneficial to organic farming.
➧ Types of 0rhanic Farming are:-
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[1] Pure 0rganic Farming:-
❱ It involves the use of organic manures & biopesticides with complete avoidance of inorganic chemicals & pesticides.
[2] Integrated 0rganic Farming:-
❱ It involves integrated nutrients management & integrated pest management.
➧ Advantage 0f 0rganic Farming are:-
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❱ It reduced exposure to Pesticides and Chemicals.
❱ It Builds Healthy Soil.
❱ It combatting Erosion.
❱ It fight with the Effects of Global Warming.
❱ It Supports Water Conservation & Water Health.
❱ It helps in maintaining environment health by reducing the level of pollution.
❱ It reduces human & animal health hazards by reducing the level of residues in the product.
❱ It helps in keeping agricultural
production at a higher level & makes it sustainable.
➧ Principles 0f 0rganic Agricultural are:-
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❱ Principles 0f Ecology
❱ Principles 0f Fairness
❱ Principles 0f Health
❱ Principles 0f Care
➧ The principal methods of 0rganic Farming include:-
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❱ Crop rotation
❱ Biological pest control
❱ Mechanical Cultivation
❱ Green manures & Compost
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