Published on: 19-Jan-2025
Updated on: 19-Jan-2025
In the league of exploring something new, we always exploit something that is few and that means whenever we talk about new innovations it always requires some resource degradation.
Let's understand this cycle with an example - we are cutting forests and ruining the vegetation to build or establish industries and infrastructure just for social development instead of planning and implementing sustainability strategies to protect natural resources.
We are living in an era where global warming and natural resource degradation are at their peak. However, we all have to pay attention to sustainability and learn about the types and methods of organic farming to promote sustainable agriculture.
What is Organic Farming?
Organic farming is the best way to protect the traditional form of agriculture over the advanced method of agriculture that requires the higher use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides for crop cultivation.
Instead of using synthetic mediums for farming, farmers use natural alternatives, such as compost, manure, and plant-based solutions to enrich the soil and protect crops.
The most important objective of organic farming is promoting natural agriculture and for these, it requires some basic principles that flourish the organic farming methods in India. Here are 4 principles of organic farming:
- No synthetic chemicals: Organic farming's only motive is avoiding the use of chemicals and fertilizers for growing crops because it can ruin the nutritional value. natural benefits of crops and are terrible.
- Protecting soil fertility: Organic farming also aims to protect the soil health and increase its fertility. Farmers use methods like crop rotations, green manure, composting, and cover crops to enhance soil fertility, structure, and biodiversity.
- Promote biodiversity: Organic farming fosters biodiversity in maintaining wildlife habitats and promotes beneficial insects, such as bees and ladybugs, that support plant growth and pest control. It will help reduce the risk of diseases and enhance healthy plant life.
- Using natural pest and weed control: Instead of using chemical-loaded pest controllers, farmers use a natural medium to protect plants from weeds and pests such as crop rotation, physical barriers, beneficial insects, and organic pesticides derived from natural sources like neem oil.
Types of Organic Farming
Organic farming is classified into two categories that employ various techniques and approaches, depending on environmental conditions, crop types, and farming goals. Here are the names of two different types of farming that occur in India:
1. Pure organic farming
- According to its name, this type of organic farming relies on only natural methods of cultivation. This approach staunchly avoids the use of inorganic chemicals that may pose harm to the soil, crops, and ultimately, those who consume the produce.
- In this type of farming only natural fertilizers such as compost, manure, and green manure, along with natural pest control like predators, neem-based products, or biological agents.
- Pure organic farming practices crop rotation and intercropping for soil fertility. It also uses the process of converting atmospheric nitrogen into forms that are usable by plants.
- There are several benefits of practicing pure farming like producing food that is free from chemical residues. promotes long-term sustainability. Supports ecological balance.
2. Integrated Organic Farming
- Integrated farming floors the concept that ‘there is no waste’ and ‘waste is only a misplaced resource’ which means waste from one component becomes an input for another part of the system.
- This type of farming supports the engagement of nutrition management by Utilizing crop rotation, intercropping, and green manure to maintain soil fertility. Farmers grow different crops in succession or together to improve nutrient availability.
- Integrated farming practices several different methods for organic cultivation such as the Integration of crops and livestock, where animal manure is used as fertilizer, and crop residues are fed to livestock and mixed farming.
- This type of farming is abundant with benefits like Enhancing biodiversity and ecosystem stability, reducing dependency on external inputs, and Improving resilience against pests, diseases, and market fluctuations.
Also Read: Types of Soil in India
Methods of Practicing Organic Farming
There are 5 different organic farming methods that are practiced in India. These practices focus on enhancing soil health, promoting biodiversity, and maintaining ecological balance. Here’s a closer look at the key practices involved:
1. Soil management
Soil needs to be healthy and fertile as it is the first pillar that supports organic farming by planting strong and productive crops.
- Composting: Organic farming implies a composting process of decomposing organic matter such as plant residues, kitchen scraps, and animal manure because they are rich in nutrients and are used to fertilize the soil.
- Animal Manure: Animal waste is packed with all the essential nutrients that help to replenish the soil’s fertility by adding nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium.
- Crop Rotation: It is a method of cultivating different types of crops on the same field of land in a rotation manner. This prevents soil depletion and reduces pest and disease buildup. For example, planting legumes can add nitrogen to the soil, benefiting subsequent crops.
- Green Manure: This involves growing plants specifically to be plowed back into the soil that increases organic matter and nitrogen content naturally. Plants like clover or alfalfa, decompose and enrich the soil with organic matter and nutrients.
2. Weed management
Weeds are unwanted plants that grow with crops in agriculture fields or at any place where they are not intentionally cultivated. They require similar resources for growth and need to be controlled often reducing crop yield and quality.
- Mulching: It is the process of layering the soil with organic materials (like straw, leaves, or grass clippings) or synthetic materials (like plastic films) as it helps suppress weed growth by blocking sunlight.
- Manual Weeding: Using weed control machines or removing the weeds by hand is called manual weeding.
- Cover Crops: Planting cover crops can outcompete weeds for resources, preventing them from establishing.
3. Crop Variety
Crop diversity plays an essential role in balancing the ecosystem. It is a method where different crops are cultivated within an agricultural system over time or in a particular location at the same time.
- Polyculture: Growing multiple types of crops in the same area at the same time. This method enhances biodiversity and reduces the risk of pests and diseases spreading. Example: A mixed vegetable garden with tomatoes, peppers, and spinach.
- Monoculture: Growing a single crop in a specific area is less common but can be used strategically. Organic farmers might use monoculture for specific crops, but they typically rotate them to maintain soil health.
4. Managing harmful organisms
Crop pests and pathogens are organisms that ruin the growth, yield, and quality of crops such as insects, fungi, bacteria, viruses, nematodes.
- Biological Pest Control: Using natural predators or parasites to control pest populations is included in biological pest control methods. For example, ladybugs can be introduced to control aphids.
- Natural Pesticides: Organic farmers use natural substances like neem oil, garlic, or hot pepper sprays to deter pests without harming beneficial insects or the environment.
- Crop Rotation and Diversity: These practices reduce the likelihood of pests and diseases establishing themselves, as different crops can break pest and disease cycles.
5. Applying green manure
The process of making green manure involves growing particular plants which are also known as cover crops and mixing them with soil to improve fertility, structure, and organic matter content.
- Nitrogen Fixation: Salt-tolerant plants can fix atmospheric nitrogen in their roots, which adds important nutrients to the soil.
- Soil Structure Improvement: Green manure adds organic matter to the soil, improving its structure, water retention, and aeration.