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Environmental issues such as climate change, soil, water, and air agent preservation, and global warming interfere with the practice of agriculture in our country which results in the innovation of organic methods of production. Estimating the amount of harm done to the environment by our current agricultural methods, organic farming is being practiced on a large scale. The financial condition of the farmers affects the selection of agricultural practices- methods and the technologies to be used. The three types of agricultural practices are sustainable farming, organic farming, and industrial farming.
Read Also: Ecology and Environment
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Key Terms: Organic farming, agricultural practice, chemicals, crop production, fertilizers
Organic Farming
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The current agricultural method is the agricultural practice which involves excessive use of pesticides, chemicals, and fertilizers to increase production but it deteriorates the quality of the crops.
In order to control such production by sustaining and maintaining the quality of the crops, organic farming is practiced. No chemical fertilizers, insect repellents, pesticides, synthetic chemicals, etc are used in organic farming. It is the agricultural practice where organic materials are used in the place of chemicals and fertilizers in order to get effective production.
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Methods of Organic Farming
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Organic farming is practiced in two types:
Pure Organic Farming
There are no artificial, unnatural, toxic, or harmful chemicals used in this kind of farming. The pest control chemicals and the fertilizers that are needed in farming are acquired from completely natural and biodegradable sources such as bone meal, blood meal, cow dung, green manures, dead remains of plants and animals, etc.
Integrated Organic Farming
Chemicals, pesticides, and insecticides are formed by certain synthetic farming in this type of farming. It not only targets fulfilling economic demand but also ecological requirements such as nutrients management, weed, and pest management, disease management, and integrated pest management.
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Advantages of Organic Farming
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Some of the benefits of organic farming are:
- Quality produces: not only is the practice good for the environment but also healthy for human consumption. The crops contain multiple nutritional values as organic farming involves only natural resources for making fertilizers.
- Eco-friendly: the usage of non-toxic fertilizers makes the environment free of harmful chemicals. Organic farming aims at reducing the addition of harmful chemicals to the existing increased amount of pollutants in the environment. It improves the fertility of the soil and increases its physical and chemical properties.
- Cost-effective: Although organic farming initially seems to be expensive compared to traditional farming as it involves intensive labor costs. But eventually, the limited use of fertilizers and the pest control tool makes the output more cost-effective than traditional practices of farming.
- Enhanced sustainable development with the help of information technology: Information technology is essential for determining the crop that will be supported by the particular land and climate. It aims at the proper implantation of the fundamentals and guidelines of sustainable development. Thus, information technology creates awareness in the agricultural sector regarding technology that can be implemented to increase production and generate higher revenue.
- Maintains ecological balance: Use use of biodegradable products brings down the amount of harmful substances that are released into the environment thus maintaining the ecological balance.
Read Check: Strategies for Enhancement in Food Production
Nutrient Management
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Plants require nutrients for growth and wellbeing. Air, water, and soil are the three components from which plants absorb nutrients. There are sixteen nutrients that are important for plants. There are six nutrients that are required in large quantities and are known as macronutrients whereas micronutrients are those seven nutrients that are required in small quantities. Psychological processes in plants such as reproduction and growth are affected as a result of deficiency of these nutrients. Manures and fertilizers fulfill such deficiencies in the plants.
| Source | Nutrient |
|---|---|
| Air | Carbon, oxygen |
| water | Hydrogen, oxygen |
| soil | Nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, sulphur, iron, manganese, boron, zinc, copper, molybdenum, chlorine |
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Things to Remember
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- In disease management, genetic engineering practices and hormonal experiments are not allowed on animals
- Crop production can be increased by the practice of crop protection management, crop production improvement, and crop variety improvement.
- Organic farming includes bioagents, a healthy cropping system, recycled farm waste, minimal fertilizers, chemicals, etc
- Plant diseases can be minimized by supplying macro and micronutrients and adopting the method of crop rotation.
- The two types of organic farming are pure organic farming and integrated organic farming
- Organic farming controls degradation, soil erosion, and crop failure
- Organic farming aims at reducing overall pollution and increasing dependence on renewable energy.
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Sample Questions
Ques. What are the different types of cropping patterns? (3 Marks)
Ans. The different types of cropping patterns are:
- Mixed cropping: the practice of growing two or more crops at the same time in the same field is known as mixed cropping. Controls the risk of crop failure and gives insurance against failure of one of the crops.
- Inter-cropping: the practice of cultivating two or more crops at the same time in the same field in a definite pattern. Two rows of each crop grow alternatively. Crops with different nutritional requirements are selected for cultivating as this ensures the complete utilization of the nutrients provided and also prevents the growth of pests.
- Crop rotation: the practice of cultivating many types of crops on a single piece of land in alternative succession.
Ques. What is crop protection management? (2 Marks)
Ans. A large number of field crops are destroyed by the infestation of insect pests, weeds, and diseases when not controlled at an appropriate time. Removal of weed from the cultivating field is important because they compete for space, light, and food with the field crops.
Ques. Why is there a large amount of loss in the process of storage of agricultural products? (3 Marks)
Ans. Certain factors such as rodents, insects, pests, bacteria, mites, and inappropriate temperature and moisture in the place of storage destroy agricultural products. These factors result in poor marketing as there is a loss in weight, degradation in quality, discoloration, and poor germinability. The agricultural produce should be properly cleaned before storage, properly dying in the shade followed by drying in the sunlight and fumigation using chemicals that can kill pests.
Ques. What are the disadvantages of organic farming? (3 Marks)
Ans. The various disadvantages of organic farming are:
- Limited production: although the crop production through the process of organic farming is high in quality, the overall quantity is comparably lesser than traditional cultivation.
- Maintaining a suitable infrastructure: organic farming is only possible with adequate farming knowledge and suitable infrastructure. Farmers who do not have the financial strength and knowledge often fail to carry out organic farming.
- Limited longevity of farming inputs: the biodegradable fertilizers which are obtained from natural sources have limited longevity. These products tend to get wasted if they are not used within their expiry date.
Ques. What are genetically modified organisms (GMOs)? (2 Marks)
Ans. The modification of the DNA of plants and animals using genetic engineering techniques is known as genetically modified organisms or GMOs. Organic farming uses genetically modified crops. The three modification methods of crops are genome editing, genetic engineering, and traditional crop modification.
Ques. How can manures and fertilizers enrich the soil quality? (2 Marks)
Ans. Not only do manures and fertilizers enrich the quality of the soil and increase the yield but also help in controlling diseases, making the soil fertile by supplying nutrients to the soil. The development of the plants happens because of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen which are available in the manures and fertilizers.
Ques. What are the different types of manure? (2 Marks)
Ans. Based on the kind of biological materials used, there are two types of manures- green manure and compost and vermicompost. The decomposition of waste materials in a pit is known as composting. Vermicomposting is the process of decomposition with the help of earthworms. Green manures are plants such as guar or sun hemp that are mixed in the soil to enrich the amount of phosphorus and nitrogen in the soil.
Ques. How does organic farming affect climate change? (3 Marks)
Ans. Food production depends on the soil, water, and other resources. Global warming or increase in temperature lead to heat waves intensifies droughts etc. affects the growth of crops. Organic farming aims towards enhancing the fertility of the soil and increasing tolerance to the impact of climate change.
Organic farming helps in mitigating climate change through the process of carbon sequestration where carbon dioxide is captured and stored in the soil. Carbon sequestration and carbon can be enhanced by crop diversification, reduced tillage, organic amendment, cover cropping, and sound nutrient management.
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