Organic farming

Organic farming

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  ORGANIC FARMING Presented by: MahewashSana A. Pathan
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  ORGANIC FARMING/ ECOLOGICAL FARMING “Production of crop, animal and other products without application of harmful chemicals like synthetic chemical fertilizers & pesticides, genetically modified or transgenic species or antibiotics & growth enhancing steroids.”  Organic agriculture is a production system that sustains the health of soils, ecosystems and people. It relies on ecological processes, biodiversity and cycles adapted to local conditions, rather than the use of inputs with adverse effects. Organic agriculture combines tradition, innovation and science to benefit the shared environment and promote fair relationships and a good quality of life for all involved...  Organic farming consist of several principles & practices, given by the standards of International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM).
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  AIM BEHIND ORGANICFARMING  Production of food of high quality in sufficient quantity.  Minimization of all forms of pollution.  Processing of products using renewable resources.  Production of biodegradable organic products.  Consideration of the wider social & ecological impact of the organic production.  Maintenance of long term fertility of soil.  Maintain the genetic diversity of the plants & wildlife habitat.  Promotion of healthy use & proper care of water, water resources, all life therein.  Development of a valuable & sustainable aquatic ecosystem.
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  METHODS  Organic farmingmethods combine scientific knowledge of ecology and some modern technology with traditional farming practices based on naturally occurring biological processes.  Organic farming methods are studied in the field of agroecology.  Organic farmers are restricted by regulations to using natural pesticides and fertilizers. An example of a natural pesticide is pyrethrin, which is found naturally in the Chrysanthemum flower.  The principal methods of organic farming include 1. crop rotation 2. Green manures and 3. compost 4. biological pest control 5. mechanical cultivation 6. These measures use the natural environment to enhance agricultural productivity:
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  EFFECT OF ORGANICFARMING  Improve in biodiversity: Organic farming encourages Crop diversity. The science of agroecology has revealed the benefits of polyculture (multiple crops in the same space), which is often employed in organic farming. Planting a variety of vegetable crops supports a wider range of beneficial insects, soil microorganisms, and other factors that add up to overall farm health. Crop diversity helps environments thrive and protects species from going extinct.  Helps to improve soil quality & microbial biomass: Organic farming relies heavily on the natural breakdown of organic matter, using techniques like green manure and composting, to replace nutrients taken from the soil by previous crops. This biological process, driven by microorganisms such as mycorrhiza, allows the natural production of nutrients in the soil throughout the growing season, and has been referred to as feeding the soil to feed the plant.
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   Weed management:Organic weed management promotes weed suppression, rather than weed elimination, by enhancing crop competition and phytotoxic effects on weeds.  Organic fertilizers have lower nutrient content & release of nutrient is slow. So they are more effective for long term use.  Biofertilizers contain microbial inoculants of living cells like bacteria, algae, fungi alone or combination which increases crop productivity.  Organic farming can act as on plant growth directly through the production of phytohormones or indirectly through nitrogen fixation or production of bio control agents against soil borne phytopathogens for better yield.
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  TOOLS  Organic farmersuse a number of traditional farm tools to do farming. Due to the goals of sustainability in organic farming, organic farmers try to minimize their reliance on fossil fuels. In the developing world on small organic farms tools are normally constrained to hand tools and diesel powered water pumps.
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  APPLICATIONS  Vermin compostedwith coir pith & coir pith composted with microorganisms were used as a growth medium for growth of Andrographis paniculata.  Asparagus racemosus grown through organic farming using organic manures showed high antioxidant activity & increase in total polyphenol content.  Organically grown Thymus vulgaris was found to contain highest value of thymol.  Treatment of Ocimum basillicum roots with rhizobacteria results in increased growth & volatile oil.  Organic farming of Geranium results in increase in fresh weight & oil percentage.  Increase in herbage, essential oil content & dry matter yield in Java citronella.
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  INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT(IPM) “The method of cultivation of plant by consideration of all the factors that can provide to the plant efficient use of environmental resources for higher quality & quantity.”  Biofertilizers are microorganisms which bring about nutrient enrichments of soil by enhancing the availability of nutrient to crops.  A culture medium made up of vermuculite, peatmoss, & pearlite is quite suitable for the application of biofertilizers.