organic farming 1.o

Conversion of soil to organic

Banning of chemicals- It is a widely known fact that some biological processes of plants involved in acquiring nutrients such as nitrogen e.g. N2 fixation are generally inhibited by adding Nitrogen fertilizer. Soil scientists generally caution against nonjudicial fertilizer use and encourage the use of organic compost otherwise it may lead to the deficiency of micronutrients. Therefore in organic farming systems, there is no place for chemicals.

Low input alternative - In the first year simultaneously sow three different types of legumes in strips, first of 60 days (like moong), second of 90-120 days (Cowpea or soybean) and third of more than 120 days (red gram) in strips. Apply mixture of Compost and vermicompost (2:1) @ 2.5 ton per acre enriched with 4 kg Azotobacter and 4 kg PSB biofertilizers or 4 kg consortia of customized cultures as basal dose at the time of sowing preferably in furrows below the seeds. Seeds of legumes should be treated with crop-specific strains of Rhizobium biofertilizer. Mulch the entire surface with a thick layer of biological mulch and drench the biomass with Jivamrut @ 200 lit per acre. Seedlings will emerge from this layer. If soil is poor in phosphorus then apply 300 kg of low-grade mineral rock-phosphate along with the compost. Apply the second dose of Jivamrut after 25-30 days of sowing with irrigation water or during rains.

To add to diversity 100 plants/ acre of marigold or Hibiscus submarine or any other suitable plant effective as trap crop/plant may be planted randomly throughout the field. Few seedlings of vegetables such as chilies, tomato, brinjal, etc and rhizomes of turmeric, ginger etc can be planted randomly for home consumption

Harvest the pods/ fruits and use remaining biomass for mulch. Collect the crop biomass at the end of strips in the form of heaps and drench with Jivamrut. Sow short duration leafy vegetables (such as fenugreek or spinach) in the space vacated by the first and second crop and mulch the surface with treated biomass. Harvest leafy vegetable and grains and incorporate remaining biomass in the soil at the appropriate time.

In next season apply compost-vermicompost mixture @ 2.5 ton/ha and sow cereal crop with legume as inter or companion crop. After harvest use entire legume and remaining part of cereal crop as mulch. If irrigation facilities are there, take summer legume with some vegetable crop. Recycle entire residue as mulch. Use 3-4 application of liquid manure (such as Jivamruta) during each cropping season for soil application. Now the soil is ready for high value horticultural crops.

High input alternative – Incorporate 2.5-3.0 ton compost/ vermicompost or 1.5 ton of biodynamic compost, 500 kg crushed oil cakes, 500 kg rock phosphate, 100 kg neem cake, 5 kg Azotobacter and 5kg PSB biofertilizer or 4 kg consortia of customized cultures in soil through broadcasting or by drilling in furrows below the seeds. Sow 3-4 types of different crops in strips. 40% crop stand should be of legumes. Randomly plant 100-150 marigold and vegetable seedlings for increased diversity. After harvest incorporates entire residue in soil or use as mulch after sowing of the next crop. For second crop also use similar quantities of manures. Use liquid manure (Jivamruta) @ 200lit/acre 3-4 times during cropping season along with irrigation water. For increased productivity 2-3 sprays of vermiwash or vermiwash+cow urine or Panchgavya can also be provided

In fruit orchards cultivate 3-4 types of legume mixtures as mixed or intercrop in inter spaces along with adequate quantity of manures (as specified above). After pod/ grain harvest mulch the entire soil surface with the left over biomass and drench the biomass with 2 applications of Jivamruta.

After about 12-18 months the soil will be ready for organic cultivation of any crop combination. For next two-three years, along with any crop incorporate legumes as inter or companion crops. Ensure that crop residue always have at least 30% residue from legumes. Also treat crop residue with liquid manure before incorporating into soil or using as mulch. 

Multiple cropping and crop rotation 

Mix cropping is the outstanding feature of organic farming in which variety of crops are grown simultaneously or at different time on the same land. In every season care should be taken to maintain legume cropping at least 40%. Mix cropping promotes photosynthesis and avoids the competition for nutrients because different plants draw their nutrients from different depth of soil. The legume fixes atmospheric nitrogen and make available for companion or succeeding crops. Deep rooted plants drew nutrient from deeper layer of soil and bring them to the  . 

organic farming topic 1

Organic Management 

An Integrated approach

Growing Crops under Organic Management Philosophy - Organic farming management is an integrated approach, where all aspects of farming systems are interlinked with each other and work for each other. A healthy biologically active soil is the source of crop nutrition, on-farm biodiversity controls pests, crop rotation and multiple cropping maintains the system’s health and on-farm resource management with integration of cattle ensure productivity and sustainability. Organic management stresses on optimization of resource use and productivity, rather than maximization of productivity and over-exploitation of resources on the cost of resources meant for future generations. 

Management Principals - A living soil is the basis of organic farming. A live, healthy soil with proper cropping patterns, crop residue management and effective crop rotation can sustain optimum productivity over the years, without any loss infertility. Organic farming envisages a comprehensive management approach to improve soil health, the ecosystem of the region and the quality of produce. It includes all agricultural systems that promote environmentally sound production of food and fibers. These systems take local soil fertility as a key to successful production, by respecting the natural capacity of plants, animals and the landscape; they aim to optimize quality in all aspects of agriculture and the environment. A living soil can be maintained by continuous incorporation of crop and weed biomass, use of animal dung, urine-based manures (FYM, NADEP, vermicompost), biofertilizers and bio-enhancers, special liquid formulations (like vermi, compost tea etc) during a crop’s duration. 

As a thumb rule, crop residues should be returned to the plot, directly or indirectly. Cattle droppings may be returned to the field as compost. As a strategy, the quantity of biomass removed for human food and fiber, cattle feed or firewood from an organic farm should be replaced with any other bio-waste on the farm. But it is important to account for it for preparing the balance sheet of nutrients for each crop being cultivated on the farm. In phosphorous-deficient and acidic soils, some quantity of mineral grade rock phosphate and lime can also be added either by direct application to the field or through addition to compost. The compost can be further enriched by the incorporation of biofertilizers, microbial inoculants, etc. Special composts like biodynamic compost, cowpat pit compost, biodynamic preparations such as BD-500 and BD-501, special formulations like Panchgavya, Dashgavya, Biosol etc are also useful and ensure optimum productivity. Use of EM formulation has also been found effective in soil enrichment and compost making. For high nutrient demanding crops and for intermittent soil enrichment use of oilcake, poultry manure, concentrated manures (a mixture of oil cakes, poultry manure and rock phosphate) can also be an ideal low-cost option of manuring.

Important steps 

While turning towards organic it is essential that the basic requirements of the system and the area are properly understood and long term strategies are addressed first. In most part of the country, poor soil health due to loss of organic matter and soil microbial load is a major problem. Reducing water availability and the increasing temperature is further adding to the problems. Too much dependence on the market for the supply of inputs and energy has made the agriculture a cost-intensive high input enterprise with diminishing returns. We need to address all these concerns and develop a system that is not only productive and low cost but also resource-conserving and sustainable for centuries to come. To start with, the following parameters need to be addressed in first stage

• Enrichment of soil

 • Management of temperature 

• Conservation of rainwater 

• Maximum harvesting of sun energy 

• Self-reliance in inputs 

• Maintenance of natural cycles and life forms 

• Integration of animals 

• Maximum reliance on renewable energy sources, such as solar power and animal power

How to achieve 

1. Enrichment of soil –

 Abandon use of chemicals, use crop residue as mulch, use organic and biological fertilizers, adopt crop rotation and multiple cropping, avoid excessive tilling and keep soil covered with green cover or biological mulch.

2. Management of temperature - Keep soil covered, Plant trees and bushes on bund 

3. Conservation of soil and rainwater – Dig percolation tanks, maintain contour bunds in sloppy land & adopt contour row cultivation, dig farm ponds, maintain low height plantation on bunds.

 4. Harvesting of sun energy – Maintain green stand throughout the year through a combination of different crops and plantation schedules. 

5. Self-reliance in inputs – develop your own seed, on-farm production of compost, vermicompost, vermiwash, liquid manures and botanical extracts.

 6. Maintenance of life forms – Develop habitat for the sustenance of life forms, never use pesticides and create enough diversity. 

7. Integration of animals – Animals are important components of organic management and not only provide animal products but also provide enough dung and urine for use in soil. 

8. Use of renewable energy – Use solar energy, bio-gas and bullock driven pumps, generator and other machines.

Developing organic farm

As organic management is an integrated approach, manipulation and adoption of one or few steps may not yield significant results. For optimization of productivity all the essential components need to be developed in a systematic manner. These steps include: (i) Habitat development, (ii) on-farm facilities for input production (iii) cropping sequence and combination planning, (iv) 3-4 year rotation plan and (vi) growing of crops suiting to the region, soil and climate.

Development of farm facilities and habitat Infrastructure –

 Reserve 3-5% of farm space for utilities, such as space for cattle, vermicompost bed, compost tank, Vermiwash/ compost tea unit etc. 5-7 trees should be planted only on this space, as all utility infrastructure need shade. Irrigation well, water pumping infrastructure etc can also be in this utility area. Dig some percolation tanks (7x3x3mt or of any other size depending upon the rainfall and run-off pattern) for rainwater conservation (1 pit per ha) at appropriate places depending upon slope and water flow. If possible develop a farm pond of preferably 20x10 mt size. Keep few 200 lit tanks (1 per acre) for liquid manure preparation and few containers for botanicals. For 5 acre farm, develop 1-2 vermicompost beds, 1 NADEP tank, 2 biodynamic compost beds, 2-3 compost tea/ vermiwash units, 5 liquid manure tanks, five cowpat pits and one underground cattle-urine collection tank. Efforts should also be made to produce sufficient quantities of BD500 (cow horn manure) and BD-501 (cow horn silica). 10-12 horn products are sufficient for 5 acre farm. Use of biodynamic compost prepared with the use of BD502-507 has also been found to be very effective.

Habitat and biodiversity- Management of appropriate habitat for the sustenance of different life forms is an essential component of organic farming. This can be achieved by ensuring crop diversity and by maintaining a wide variety of trees and bushes as per climatic suitability. These trees and bushes will not only ensure the nutrients from air and deep soil layers to the surface layer but also attract the birds and predators, friendly insects and also provide the food and shelter. There may be some loss of productivity due to shading effect but that loss can be compensated with reduced pest problems and natural biological pest control system. In the plains, for a 10-acre farm, plant at least five to six neem trees (Azadirachta indica), one to two tamarind (Tamarindus indica), two gular (Ficus glumerata), eight to ten ber (Zizyphus Sp) bushes, one to two aonla (Emblica officinalis), one to two drumstick and 10–15 wild bushes. 

More specifically, if we classify areas into wet and dry farms, then on the wet farms there should be five to six neem trees, one to two wood apples, one to two star fruit, eight to ten guava or sour soap, three to four drumstick, one to two fig and 10–15 bushes of mulberry, star gooseberry, curry leaf etc, and on the dry farms there must be at least five to six neem, one to two bael fruit, eight to ten ber or custard apple, one to two aonla , one to two drumstick and 10–15 bushes of sasaka , nirgundi (Vitex negundo), Cassia auriculata, C. tora, etc.

In hilly areas, Alnus nepalensis is considered to be a wonderful tree as it fixes good amount of nitrogen. It is being promoted in a cropping system mode particularly in northeastern India. Bushes of Prunus, oak (Quercus glauca), Pinus species along the farm boundary and yarrow (Achillea millifolium), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum), lupin (Lupinus sativus), Himalayan stinging nettle (Urtica parviflora), marigold, etc., in between the plots invite a lot of predators and also attract a large a number of pests. Fruit orchards also need to maintain adequate diversity with at least 3-5 types of fruit plants and few non-fruit trees (as listed above).

Major and minor plots should be separated by bunds about 1.5m wide and should be planted with Glyricidia, perennial Sesbania (jayanti), Leucaena leucocephala, cassia siamea, etc. The internal hedgerow should consist of perennial pigeon pea, Crotalaria , seasonal Sesbania, etc. Lops from these trees will provide enough quantity of biologically fixed nitrogen

In between Glyricidia/Sesbania rows insert few plants of pesticidal value such as Adathoda vesica, Vitax nigundo, Calotropis, Datura alba, Ipomea (Besharam) etc. Surrounding the farm or garden, there should be hedgerows or a live fence of coppiced or pollarded, multipurpose, deep-rooted trees and shrubs and medicinal herbs such as Adathoda vasica, Vitex negundo, Jatropha curcas, etc. Ecological diversity is an essential component of any successful organic farming system. Trees on utility space can be allowed to grow fully. Trees and bushes on farm bunds should be placed randomly at sufficient distance and pruned at repeated intervals. Glyricidia plants should be planted at close spacing on all major bunds and all around the farm. They will act not only as biological fence but also provide biologically fixed nitrogen to soil.

A 400 mt long Glyricidia strip can provide 22.5 kg N/ha per year from the year 3 and up to 77 Kg N/ha from year 7 under rainfed conditions. This can be 75-100% higher under irrigated conditions. Three to four harvests can be made under irrigated conditions and two harvests under unirrigated conditions. Never allow them to grow above 5.5 ft to avoid shading effect. Lopping is used as green leaf manure. Simply harvest them and incorporate in soil before sowing or use as mulch.

 we study about Conversion of soil to organic in next post.

principles of organic farming

The Principles of Organic Agriculture

To understand the motivation for organic farming, the practices being used and what we want to achieve, it is important to understand the guiding principles of organic agriculture. These principles encompass the fundamental goals and caveats that are considered important for producing high quality food, fiber and other goods in an environmentally sustainable way. The principles of organic agriculture have changed with the evolution of the movement and are now codified. The principles apply to agriculture in the broadest sense, including the way people tend soils, water, plants and animals in order to produce, prepare and distribute food and other goods. They concern the way people interact with living landscapes, relate to one another and shape the legacy of future generations. The principles of organic agriculture serve to inspire the organic movement in its full diversity. They are the roots from which organic agriculture grows and develops. They express the contribution that organic agriculture can make to the world and a vision to improve all agriculture in a global context. The Principles of Organic Agriculture serve to inspire the organic movement in its full diversity. 

The International Federation for Organic Agriculture Movement’s (IFOAM) definition of Organic agriculture is based on:

The principle of health 

The principle of ecology 

The principle of fairness.

The principle of care 

Each principle is articulated through a statement followed by an explanation. The principles are to be used as a whole. They are composed as ethical principles to inspire action.

1. Principle of health

Organic Agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal, human and planet as one and indivisible. This principle points out that the health of individuals and communities cannot be separated from the health of ecosystems - healthy soils produce healthy crops that foster the health of animals and people.Health is the wholeness and integrity of living systems. It is not simply the absence of illness, but the maintenance of physical, mental, social and ecological well-being. Immunity, resilience and regeneration are key characteristics of health. The role of organic agriculture, whether in farming, processing, distribution, or consumption, is to sustain and enhance the health of ecosystems and organisms from the smallest in the soil to human beings. In particular, organic agriculture is intended to produce high quality, nutritious food that contributes to preventive health care and well-being. In view of this it should avoid the use of fertilizers, pesticides, animal drugs and food additives that may have adverse health effects.

2. Principle of ecology

Organic Agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them. This principle roots organic agriculture within living ecological systems. It states that production is to be based on ecological processes, and recycling. Nourishment and well-being are achieved through the ecology of the specific production environment. For example, in the case of crops this is the living soil; for animals it is the farm ecosystem; for fish and marine organisms, the aquatic environment. Organic farming, pastoral and wild harvest systems should fit the cycles and ecological balances in nature. These cycles are universal but their operation is site-specific. Organic management must be adapted to local conditions, ecology, culture and scale. Inputs should be reduced by reuse, recycling and efficient management of materials and energy in order to maintain and improve environmental quality and conserve resources. Organic agriculture should attain ecological balance through the design of farming systems, establishment of habitats and maintenance of genetic and agricultural diversity. Those who produce, process, trade, or consume organic products should protect and benefit the common environment including landscapes, climate, habitats, biodiversity, air and water.

3. Principle of fairness

Organic Agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities. Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the shared world, both among people and in their relations to other living beings. This principle emphasizes that those involved in organic agriculture should conduct human relationships in a manner that ensures fairness at all levels and to all parties - farmers, workers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers. Organic agriculture should provide everyone involved with a good quality of life, and contribute to food sovereignty and reduction of poverty. It aims to produce a sufficient supply of good quality food and other products. This principle insists that animals should be provided with the conditions and opportunities of life that accord with their physiology, natural behavior and well-being. Natural and environmental resources that are used for production and consumption should be managed in a way that is socially and ecologically just and should be held in trust for future generations. Fairness requires systems of production, distribution and trade that are open and equitable and account for real environmental and social costs

4. Principle of care 

Organic Agriculture should be managed in a precautionary and responsible manner to protect the health and well-being of current and future generations and the environment. Organic agriculture is a living and dynamic system that responds to internal and external demands and conditions. Practitioners of organic agriculture can enhance efficiency and increase productivity, but this should not be at the risk of jeopardizing health and well-being. Consequently, new technologies need to be assessed and existing methods reviewed. Given the incomplete understanding of ecosystems and agriculture, care must be taken. This principle states that precaution and responsibility are the key concerns in management, development and technology choices in organic agriculture. Science is necessary to ensure that organic agriculture is healthy, safe and ecologically sound. However, scientific knowledge alone is not sufficient. Practicalexperience, accumulated wisdom and traditional and indigenous knowledge offer valid solutions, tested by time. Organic agriculture should prevent significant risks by adopting appropriate technologies and rejecting unpredictable ones, such as genetic engineering. Decisions should reflect the values and needs of all who might be affected, through transparent and participatory processes.

In totality, organic agriculture aims at a sustainable production system based on natural processes. Key characteristics are that organic agriculture: 

•  relies primarily on local, renewable resources; 
•  makes efficient use of solar energy and the production potential of biological systems; 
•  maintains the fertility of the soil; 
• maximises recycling of plant nutrients and organic matter; 
•  does not use organisms or substances foreign to nature (e.g. GMOs, chemical fertilisers or pesticides); 
•  maintains diversity in the production system as well as the agricultural landscape; 

 gives farm animals life conditions that correspond to their ecological role and allow them a natural behavior.

Organic agriculture is also a sustainable and environmentally friendly production method, which has particular advantages for small-scale farmers. Available evidence indicates the appropriateness of organic agriculture for small farmers in developing countries like India. Organic agriculture contributes to poverty alleviation and food security by a combination of many features, such as; 

•  increasing yields in low-input areas; 
•  conserving biodiversity and natural resources on the farm and in the surrounding area; 
•  increasing income and/or reducing costs; 
• producing safe and varied food; 
•  being sustainable in the long term.  

  The evaluations by IFAD in India and China (Giovannucci, 2005) reported that the income of participating farmers can increase substantially by adopting organic practices of farming. Certified production gives access to a premium market, or simply just better market access.