Organic farming is a form of agriculture that relies on techniques such as crop rotation, natural plant fertilization, compost, and biological pest control and strictly avoids the use of any synthetic fertilizer or pesticide. Organic farming maintains is inclusive and maintains biodiversity, promotes ecological balance and conserves soil integrity. This is a traditional farming technique followed in India for centuries, now lost to the modern day conventional farming.
" Sustainable development conserves land, water, plant and animal genetic resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable - United Nations "
A BIT OF HISTORY
British botanist Sir Albert Howard, often referred to as the father of modern organic agriculture, as he was the first to apply modern scientific knowledge and methods to traditional agriculture.
From 1905 to 1924, he and his wife Gabrielle, herself a plant physiologist, worked as agricultural advisers in Pusa, Bengal, where they documented traditional Indian farming practices and came to regard them as superior to their conventional agriculture science.
At Adya Naturals, our approach to farming follows the basic tenets of sustainable organic cultivation. We use organic farming methods to produce nutritious and healthy fruits, vegetables and grains for our own consumption and to our extended organic family. Associated with professional experts in this field, we apply the best of farm practices to produce the safest and nutritious food.
We continuously research, innovate and evolve our methods, keeping track of the latest scientific developments as much as into traditional know how.
We do not use any synthetic chemicals or fertilizers during the cultivation and use a range of biological and natural pest control methods to protect the crops. We are also against using plastic in the farm, being mindful of the havoc plastic can create to the environment.
We weed manually and use mulches to reduce weed growth. Plants derive their nutrition from a variety of organic sources. Our nutrient management system is based on green manures, compost, bio-fertilizers and minerals. We work towards building a healthy and living soil by enhancing the beneficial living organism present in the soil like the microbial inhabitants that release, transform, and transfer nutrients and the earthworms that process green manure to compost for the plants to use. To efficiently manage and conserve water resources, we use drip irrigation extensively and this also helps in arresting uncontrolled weed growth.
Our methods farming methods, although labor intensive, prove to be beneficial in the long term and provide for sustainable long term farming ecosystem along with safe and nutritious food.
Difference between organic and conventional farming | |
Organic Farming | Conventional Farming |
Organic manures, compost, vermicompost | Synthetic non organic insecticides |
Green manures | Weedicides |
Cover crops & mulches | Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) seeds |
Nutrient fixing & solubilizing microbes | Plant growth hormones |
Natural Minerals | Synthetic dyes and colors |
Beneficial organisms | Sewage irrigation |
Biological pest control agents, traps and cow based preparations | Artificial ripening chemicals |
Companion crops and trap crops | Plant antibiotics |
Mechanical weeding | Soil fumigants |
Soil Management
Soil is the cornerstone in organic farming, as a rich and healthy soil produces crops that are healthy and nutritious.
At Adya Naturals and associated farms, we nurture soil as a living medium that provides nutrition and substrate for the crops we grow. We use traditional cow based farming techniques combined with best practices in organic cultivation to ensure our soils are fertile and rich in organic matter and humus.
Availability of all the essential nutrients is the key for a healthy crop. Modern research indicates that at least 18 nutrients are required for a plant. While some of these are obtained from the atmosphere, the rest is supplied by the soil. For this reason we ensure that the soil is rich in organic matter and alive such that essential nutrients are broken down and can be taken up by the plant. It is observed that fields that are high in organic matter have less soil erosion and retain water better.
Soil Management techniques
Organic compost, Manures
We make our own farm yard manure (derived from cattle) and we have in house vermi-compost production that is added to soil as required. We also produce and or procure manures like neem cake and castor oil cake from trusted sources.
As part of our soil strengthening techniques, we at regular intervals rejuvenate the soil by growing varieties of crops and then incorporating them back into the soil at various stages of their growth.
Mulches and cover crops
We use cover crops that we grow as mulches in the main crop for the inter row and inter plant areas. These cover crops are fast growing and also help in nitrogen fixation of the soil. Some of the cover crops we grow are Sun hemp, Red gram, Cow pea, Green gram, Horse gram, millets. When used as mulch, these crops provide the additional benefit of conserving soil moisture, reducing weed growth and are not conducive for pest habitation.
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is a key aspect of sustainable organic farming. Different crop types have different nutrient requirements. After every season, the soil has to be enriched with the nutrients that have been taken up by the previous crop or a sustainable method would be to grow such crop types in the same plot, but which have a different nutrient requirement than the previous crop. This in effect ensures that the soil is always enriched with the essential nutrients.
Rotation of crops also ensures that certain types of pests are controlled as the crop rotation will break the life cycle of the pests as certain crop types are inherently unfavorable to pests.
Fixing and Solubilizing Microbes
In addition to encouraging the natural ecosystems to thrive, we also apply inoculum of a range of beneficial microorganisms. Some of what we add include Rhizobium cultures that form symbiotic relationships with legume crops to fix nitrogen, nutrient fixing bacteria and nutrient solubilizing bacteria. These microbes speed up the fixation of nutrients and convert the soil nutrients into forms that plants can absorb.
Indigenous Cow based Preparations
Indigenous cow breeds in India, traditionally have been part of the farming ecosystem. The various by products of the indigenous (Desi) cow have proven beneficial for soil and plant well-being.
We have 6 desi cows which provide sufficient bio manure and required plant growth promoting supplements.
We make in house, different cow based preparations like panchagavya, sand urea, vermi-wash, jeevamrutham, beejamruth etc which are used at various stages of cultivation like field preparation, sprouting, transplantation, flowering and fruit growth
IFOAM Organic Standards
International federation of Organic Agriculture Movement, the umbrella organization representing close to 800 affiliates with presence in 117 countries prescribed certain principles of organic agriculture.
The four principles of organic agriculture are as follows:
- The Principle of Health – Organic agriculture should sustain and enhance the health of soil, plant, animal and human as one and indivisible.
- The Principle of Ecology – Organic agriculture should be based on living ecological systems and cycles, work with them, emulate them and help sustain them.
- The Principle of Fairness – Organic agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities.
- The 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
With regard to the substances that may be used in organic production, IFOAM has defined certain substances along with their compositional requirements and conditions for use.
These substances are categorized into:
- Plant & animal origin
- Mineral origin
- Microbiological and
- Others.
At Adya Naturals we adhere to all these standards when working with the soil, nourishing crops at growth stages, harvesting, storage and packing.
Pest Management
A primary and visible threat any organic farming faces is protecting the crops from pests and diseases. Conventional pest and disease management uses toxic and in some cases genetically altering pesticides or fungicides.
We use scientific methods and organic techniques to manage pests and avoid any usage of synthetic products.
Pests usually attack the plants from within the soil, like nematodes, root borers etc, while insects, act as carriers of diseases and some feed on the crops.
Diseases are caused by fungi, bacteria and viruses. We constantly update ourselves in the latest techniques of ecologically safe pest management from the central government institutes like NIPHM.
A few methods that we use to control pests and diseases are mentioned below:
Trap and companion crops
A trap crop is a plant that attracts insects, away from main crop. This form of companion planting can save the main crop from decimation by pests without the use of pesticides. Trap crops can be planted around the circumference of the field to be protected, or interspersed among them, for example being planted after a set no. of rows.
Trap crops, when used on an industrial scale, are generally planted at a key time in the pest’s lifecycle, and then destroyed before that lifecycle finishes and the pest might have transferred from the trap plants to the main crop.
Advantages of trap cropping
- Lessens the use of pesticide
- Lowers pesticide cost
- Preserves indigenous natural enemies
- Improves crop’s quality
- Helps conserve the soil and the environment
Examples of trap crops include:
- Alfalfa planted in strips among cotton, to draw away lygus bugs, while castor beans surround the field, or tobacco is planted in strips among it, to protect from the budworm Heliothis.
- Banana as a perimeter crop to papaya
- Mustard and Alfalfa planted near strawberries to attract lygus bugs
Field Sanitation
By maintaining a hygiene environment on the field, that is by removing any infested material or environments that are conducive to pest infestation and disposing them safely using proper disposal techniques we ensure pest infestation is controlled to a large extent.
- Using sterilized or diseased-free seeds for sowing.
- Selecting healthy plants for transplanting.
- Keeping weeds under control at all times. Keeping the surroundings of our farm free of weeds, unless they are maintained and intended as habitat for natural enemies.
- Sanitizing oneself. Remember that you might also be a potential carrier of the pests while you move from one plant to another.
- Weeding out plants that are heavily infected with insect pests and those that are showing heavy symptoms of disease infection.
- Pruning the plant parts where insect pests are found congregating and those that are showing heavy symptoms of disease infection.
- Properly disposing all the infested plants in the farm. Do not put them on compost pile.
- Picking out rotten fruits and collect those that dropped. Diseased and pest infested fruits must be properly disposed. Do not put them on compost pile.
- Plowing under the crop residues and organic mulches. This improves the soil condition and helps disrupt the pest’s lifecycle. The pest is exposed to extreme temperature, mechanical injury, and predators.
- Maintaining cleanliness on the irrigation canals/drip
- Removing all the crop residues after harvest and adding these to compost pile.
- By making our own compost.
- Cleaning farm tools. Washing plows, harrows, shovels, trowels, pruning gears, bolos after use.
Green manuring
Green manuring is the process of incorporation of any green manure crops into the soil while they are green or soon after they flower. Green manures are forage or leguminous crops that are grown for their leafy materials needed for soil conservation.
Advantages of green manuring
- Improves soil fertility
- Adds nutrients and organic matters
- Improves soil structure
- Improves soil aeration
- Helps control insect/mite pests, nematodes and diseases
- Helps control weeds
- Promotes habitat for natural enemies
- Increases soil’s biodiversity by stimulating the growth of beneficial microbes and other soil organisms
Beneficial insects and predators
By not using toxic synthetic chemical pesticides, we allow nature to take control of the pest naturally. It has been observed that every living thing has a place in the food chain in an eco-system. The predatory insects that check the spread of unwanted insects naturally follow the unwanted pests and there by automatically decimate the pest population without causing any harm to the plants.
This is possible, only if the farms are maintained to be non-toxic. For example, an increase in aphid (pest) population results in an increase in ladybird (predator) population that then controls the aphid population. Birds, lacewings, spiders, praying mantis, wasps, lizards, and snakes are all natural pest controllers that help us control pest levels safely and naturally.
Light, Food, Pheromone & Sticky traps
By using pest attractant traps that are based on light, pheromone entrapments, food bait, colour stickies we monitor the intensity and manage the pest population. As an example, pheromone traps are used to trap male fruit flies while we use light traps to control brinjal borer moths, and colour based sticky traps for aphids & thrips.
Biological agents and bio-pesticides
There are certain microbial agents and beneficial bacteria strains and fungi that arrest the spread of insects and undesirable fungi respectively.
This are used either as soil or foliar applications to manage pests and diseases.
- Trichoderma viride and Pseudomonas sp. help control a number of fungal infestations in plants,
- Bacillus thurungiensis kurstaki, Verticilium lecanii, Metarhizium anisopliae are some of the microbial agents that help us keep in check specific insect pest types.
Plant extracts & concoctions
Nature provides a wide range of natural pest repelling agents in the form of leaves and seeds.
Some of the known natural pest repellents are, neem extracts, neem cakes derived from need seeds, castor oil cakes, green chillies and garlic, custard apple seed powder etc.
Traditional preparations known as astrams or kashayams such as neemastram, brahmastram, agniastra etc. which are done in our farm, use some of these naturally occurring agents for control of pests and diseases.
Weed Management
Weeds in a farm are synonymous to leeches. Weeds are plants that suck the nutrients from the soil and dominate the main crop. Weed management is the most intensive, expensive and laborious farm operation in organic farming. Conventional farming takes the easy way out by spraying weedicides or using GMO seeds.
However we at Adya Naturals do not use any weedicide, but use natural techniques like cover cropping and mulches to stem the growth of weeds and also apply mechanical & manual ways to control weeds.
Mechanical Weeding: We use tractor driven implements, mechanical and power operated weeders to turn the soil after seeding to kill weeds, including inter row cultivation of row crops.
Manual weeding, Mowing and Cutting: We periodically cut back weed growth using sickles or a brush cutter and typically use the cut material as a mulch to cover the soil around the plants.
Cover Crops: We grow companion crops that grow fast and give shade that controls weed growth. Legumes such as sunnhemp, horse gram, green gram etc. are used which also enrich the soil.
Mulching: We use the cover crop to cover the soil with the cut material to arrest weed growth. This also conserves soil moisture and protect the top soil from erosion.