From synthetic to organic farming systems

9 months ago (Edited)

As we have mentioned in different articles of our blog, there are a wide variety of alternatives to make organic fertilizers with endogenous resources that can provide nutrients and organic matter necessary for the recovery of soils and the development of agricultural crops. To check how effective organic fertilizers or fertilizers can be, it is important to establish experimental trials where variables are evaluated that allow deducing how favorable this type of products can be for the ecosystem without decreasing economic yields.

_{Public domain image taken from PIXABAY}

To enter into the context of pesticide contamination in Venezuela for several decades now, research has been carried out that has yielded alarming results, such as, for example, according to the Agricultural Development Foundation in 1994 samples of water, rice and soil have been analyzed in an area near the irrigation system of the Guárico River, with this, it has been possible to corroborate the presence of traces of endrin and Dieldrin, which are insecticides that according to certain reports are currently prohibited because they are harmful to human health and to the balance of natural ecosystems.

Due to the aforementioned, a tendency has been observed in high government agencies worldwide to reduce these toxic substances, although in some producers the custom of conventional agriculture that consists of the excessive use of these substances in different agronomic tasks has become ingrained. To briefly explain what happens when an insecticide is applied, we mention Carvalho et al. (1998), who indicates that only 0.1 percent of the amount of pesticides applied reaches the pest, while the rest circulates through the environment, possibly contaminating soil, water and biodiversity; therefore, it is necessary to characterize the final destination and the unforeseen toxicity of these pesticides to assess with certainty the risk associated with their use.

On this occasion, it is described how we can prepare an organic fertilizer with the elaboration of quarries with dimensions of 1.30 meters long by 50 centimeters wide, in these quarries green material such as gliricidia sepium leaves and Theobroma cacao leaves is mixed, then a black polyethylene plastic is placed on it in order to protect the mixtures against adverse climatic conditions, and to maintain in optimal conditions of temperature and humidity for the development of microorganisms that will help in the aerobic decomposition of the product (fertilizer).

The preparation of the fertilizer based on cocoa leaf litter (theobroma cacao,) and matarraton foliage (gliricidia sepium) can be carried out as follows:

1.- Collect cocoa leaf litter (theobroma cacao), logically on surfaces where cocoa is grown, in the case of the geographical space where we are located, the production unit la glorieta is located and the foliage of matarraton can be located in different areas that is used as living fences or silvopastoral systems, this plant adapts very well in tropical conditions.

The remains are taken to the aforementioned quarries, 100 kilograms of the material are placed, which must be finely cut with an average measurement of 2 to 3 cm.
Then water is applied depending on how the humidity of the organic material is observed and it can be turned more frequently the first few days to maintain aeration and then as the process progresses it can be turned up to once a week.
The substrate will be protected with a polyethylene plastic (black) to ensure an adequate temperature and humidity. This process can take approximately between 3 and 5 months for the decomposition of the organic material.
If you want to use it in a nursery, you can mix it with soil and thus have a good substrate for plant growth.

Final considerations

Dear readers, as it was possible to demonstrate the mentioned process for the decomposition of the organic matter of the cocoa and gliricide leaves is composting, in this article it is desired to make it clear that the leaves do not dirty the ecosystems on the contrary they are fundamental organic matter for the recycling of nutrients, therefore, the role played by each element that integrates the agroecosystems either of vegetable or animal origin should be understood for the great an ecological balance and good production of agricultural items.

Bibliographic references

Carvalho, F., Zhong, N., Tavarez y Klaine S. (1998). Rastro de plaguicidas en los trópicos. Boletín del POETA No 40.
FDA, Agricultural Development Foundation "FDA" (1994). Cultivation of Technician N° 21. Dominican Republic 5-12 PP