Jul 2, 2013 Posted by justin

Principle Of Organic Farming

Organic farming blends scientific knowledge with traditional farming methodology relying entirely on the natural biological processes. It also utilizes only natural pesticides and fertilizers restricting water soluble synthetic fertilizers that harm the soil and its products. This farming practice is based on certain principles that ensure soil fertility and high quality outputs in the long run. Principle of health signifies that the organic farming practices are concerned at maintaining the soil, food produces and the livestock in a healthy state. The measures adopted in this type of practice are crop rotation, biological pest control, green manure and mechanical cultivation. This also reduces the dependency on machinery and external sources for cultivation. • Principle of ecology implies that the farming practice synchronizes with the ecosystem and works along with the cycles of nature’s transformations. • Principle of fairness establishes a relationship with the nature spreading fairness regarding live opportunities of all plant and animal species involved. • Principle of care ensures handling the environment in a responsible manner so that the well being of nature and the coming generations are upheld. To carry out organic farming, certain preliminary steps are required to be undertaken. First of them involves conversion of land from conventional management to organic management. This takes considerable amount of time and effort as most agricultural lands would have been over exploited through modern practices. Synthetic fertilizers are cut out and the land is nourished using natural fertilizers and pest control techniques. Organic farming prefers crop rotation that cultivates different crops successively to retain and enhance soil fertility. Management of weeds and pests is carried out by biological control system. Another noticeable change invoked by organic farming is that it provides equal importance to livestock management as well. Maintaining the livestock in a well nourished manner enables to maintain a balance in the ecosystem. Another highly acclaimed principle in organic farming is the rejection of genetically modified plants and animals. The advent of genetically modified crops has been successful on the financial aspect but has a drastic effect on the plant species and its consumers. They alter the nature of the soil, produce rich looking output but are proven to be dangerous for the consumers and the environment. Considering the consequences, organic farming thus completely eradicates the idea of genetic modifications to be done on plants and animals. For more details on farming practices and expert guidelines and clarifications, visit... read more

Jul 1, 2013 Posted by alexo

IMPACT OF ORGANIC FARMING ON SOIL

The term ‘organic farming’ is one of those themes that is much discussed and debated in recent times. Awareness about the importance of switching over to organic farming and its benefits on soil and mankind has been spreading rapidly in the past few years. Due to the continuous efforts of environmentalists, people have now become mindful about the impact of excessive usage of chemicals and fertilizers on the soil. The key motive of Organic farming is to uphold soil fertility for a long term through soil biological activity and restricted mechanical intervention. In this method of farming, artificial fertilizers are not used as they degrade the quality of soil and the produces in the long run. Natural manure from livestock, organic wastes, legumes and crop residues are utilized so that they enrich soil texture and fertility. This natural manure enables the soil to acquire the required amount of nitrogen for crop growth. Nutrients required for crops are supplied by the micro organisms that thrive in the soil. These organisms get killed when artificial fertilizers are sprinkled on the soil. Organic farming encourages the growth of such micro organisms thereby cutting out the dependency on chemicals for nutrient requirements of the crops. Another major trouble that hugely depends on fertilizers for a solution is pest control. It is widely believed that chemicals are the only way out to the problems posed by pests and weeds in farm lands. But organic farming suggests precise techniques to handle such threats. Crop rotation method is one such remedy. Sowing different seeds each term keeping in mind the nature of soil, available resources and its requirements, enables a farmer to produce pest and disease free crop output. Farmers, who seek guidance on soil and farming related issues, now have access to numerous environment specialists through internet. One such website that facilitates such interactions is www.kisanhelp.com. This call centre attends to all doubts, clarification or improvisations regarding farming. Farmers receive expert guidance on the issues as this initiative is a platform for farmers and scientists to exchange ideas and suggestions. Organic farming does not stop with soil nurturing but caters to animal welfare as well. Management of livestock, tending to their nutritional necessities, breeding and rearing are the aspects covered in organic farming. This is because organic farming includes conserving the soil, livestock and the environment in a natural and healthy... read more

Jul 1, 2013 Posted by andrewk

HOW ORGANIC FARMING DIFFERS FROM CONVENTIONAL FARMING

With Organic farming becoming the need of the hour, there is still much speculation about how an organic farming practice will benefit the soil and nature, when compared to the conventional farming procedure. The difference between a modern farming method and the traditional farming method and the relation between organic farming and the old age farming is completely misinterpreted. Though the farming techniques practiced in India centuries ago are in close resemblance to organic farming, the intermittent invasions by foreigners led to revolutions in various fields including farming. They advent of newer methods, demand for fewer crops and arrival of farming tools and material from abroad, led to a drastic change in farming method which came to be known as the better farming approach and followed for the rest of the years as the conventional farming procedure. Primarily, conventional farming is carried out in large areas of land comprising many hectares together. This makes seeding, ploughing and other aspects easier as all operations are carried out on a large scale replacing manpower by machines. But since organic farming is slowly gaining importance, much smaller pieces of land are chosen for practice. Also, organic farming relies highly on the texture of the soil. The methodology adopted in organic farming, depends on the nature of the soil selected-its potential, deficiency and fertility. For this, larger area of land is not ideal as nature of soil might vary from one place to another. The next noteworthy factor in conventional farming is its dependency. All phases of crop cultivation are dependent on modern machinery and equipments. As this method does not prefer man power, employment opportunities are comparatively much lesser. With the advancement in technology and advent of artificial fertilizers, the land is entirely dependent on these chemicals for crop cultivation whose prices keep rocketing. But organic farming employs very limited machinery that does not harm the soil. Natural manure is used and skilled laborers are encouraged. Over usage of such methods and equipments creates a scenario of man-nature conflict in the long run. These practices try to dominate nature ending in exploitation of natural resources. Whereas, organic farming establishes harmony with the environment, trying to sustain the ecological balance. To encourage a resourceful exchange of views between farmers and environmentalists, websites like kisanhelp.com have taken the first step forward. This site enables farmers to get their views and questions answered by experts. Such initiatives, help greatly in supporting best farming... read more