FACTS ON ORGANIC FARMING

 

Techniques and Methodologies Commonly Used in All Types of Organic Farming

Regardless of the types of organic farming, they all make use of the following techniques:

Soil Management

Soil management involves the use of natural fertilisers for replenishing the nutrients of the soil after every subsequent cropping season. Organic farming also uses crop rotation patterns to increase the fertility of the soil.

Weed Management

In organic farming, weed management discourages the use of chemical weedicides. However, pulling out the weeds mechanically require a lot of labour and is inefficient. Hence, organic farming recommends the use of natural weedicides by mowing or cutting and mulching.

Crop Diversity and Crop Rotation

Organic farming promotes intercropping, which allows the cultivation of different crops to meet market demands and revive the soil.

Biological Pest Control

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Naturally, as all types of organic farming avoid the use of chemicals, farmers are educated to use living organisms for pest control. For example, the unrestricted growth of water hyacinth can be controlled through weevils.

Green Manure and Composting

Organic farming emphasises the introduction of plant or animal-based products that are nutritionally dense. These fertilisers and manures are often composted to make the nutrients more readily available to the microbes present in the soil.

Types Of Organic Farming

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There are basically two main types of organic farming, which are:

Pure Organic Farming

Pure organic farming is one of the rarer types of organic farming. It is because of the fact that pure organic farming primarily depends on organic manure, fertilisers, and biopesticides for the cultivation of crops. It strictly forbids any kind of inorganic chemical or pesticides that may affect the yield, positively or negatively.

Integrated Organic Farming

Integrated Organic Farming is one of the types of organic farming that combines the best of organic farming with nutrient management and integrated pest management. In this type of farming, producers grow crops using natural resources, as they would in pure organic farming. However, to enhance its nutritional value and to protect the crops from pests, they will make use of additional inputs.

 Organic farming is divided into two types, namely:

• Integrated organic farming.
• Pure organic farming.
• Bio Farming
• Nature Farming
• Eco Farming
• Bio dynamic Farming