Organic Farming: 4 Practical Tips to Improve Soil and Produce More Yields

In this modern age, where individuals are falling prey to viral diseases easily, no one wants to risk his/her life with the harmful fertilizers and pesticides? Well, we can always rescue ourselves from these life-threatening chemicals with Organic Farming. Being followed from ancient time, many farmers in Indian believe in organic farming which has several benefits over non-organic farming. It is a popular agricultural method which promotes planting the land and growing crops in such a way that the soil is kept healthy and alive with the help of organic wastes such as animal wastes, farm wastes, aquatic wastes, and other organic materials.

Why do We Need Organic Farming?

With an unstoppable expansion in the population, our compulsion would be not only to maintain agricultural production but to improve it further in an appropriate manner. Several pieces of evidence also advocate that a natural balance needs to be maintained for the survival of life and property. This is where organic farming comes in. As per FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization), organic farming is a sustainable production management system which improves agro-ecosystem health and can be easily achieved by using biological and mechanical methods

I have been involved in the field of agriculture for more than 3 years. I keep travelling to find latest innovations and technology related to Agriculture. Recently, I heard about Agri-Tech expo which is going to be held in Taiwan. Several business leaders, investors, farmers, and agricultural companies will visit this biggest agro-technology expo to discover innovative and economical farming solutions. Here, I will get an opportunity to know about latest technology and inventions in agriculture. Such expos and agricultural trade shows always make me learn new things and inspire me to share my knowledge with the readers. In this article, I am going to cover some basic tips that will help you farm organically.

Before we cut right to the chase and explore organic farming method, let’s have a look at some advantages associated with it.

Advantages of Organic Farming

• Less up-front investment

Unlikely conventional farm, an organic farm demands less investment since you don't need to spend your money in chemical fertilizers. Most farmers in Indian take massive loans to get started but end up with fewer yields and ROI. With organic farming, it's easy to improve the productivity of yields and crop quality without investing a huge amount. Do you know that organic products are sold for 25-30% more than conventional ones? Hence, organic farming can help you earn higher profits with less start-up debt.

• Biodiversity and Nutrition

With organic farming, you can protect the long-term fertility of soils and maintain organic matter levels. Due to the richness of the soil, your production would be more nutritious and tasty than conventionally grown crops. By avoiding harsh chemicals, you can also get several environmental benefits which involve conservation of natural habitats and wildlife.

• No Harmful Emissions

As I mentioned above, organic farming can help you conserve the environment in several ways. With organic farming, you can reduce the use of destructive chemicals and fertilizers which release toxic gases into the air and pollute the water.

Practical Methods of Organic Farming

Let’s have a look at 4 basic methods of organic farming:

• Organic Fertilizer to Increase Nutrients in the Soul

Fertilizer plays a vital role in organic farming which includes the process of adopting the optimal nutrients to improve the growth of your crops. Living organisms are essential to healthy soil. By adding manure and additional plants to your field, you can provide required nutrients to the soil. Popular farming methods such as mulching, composting and bio-fertilizers promote healthy crop growth and soil richness. Besides, you can consider vermicomposting which is known as the ideal method of naturally adding required nutrients to the soil.

Cover crops boost water infiltration, fight against insects, limit soil erosion, and control the growth of weeds. They also help you protect the soil from the impact of wind and rain while decreasing erosion and expanding nutrient efficiency.

• Weed Management

Weed management helps farmers to produce organic corn and other crops most effectively. As we all know that weeds tend to diminish yields and consume essential resources (nutrients, water, and sunlight) which are highly required for plants to grow. Famers can control weed by considering several techniques such as manual weeding (hand removal, cutting, and pulling), mechanical cultivation, mowing, and thermal control (flaming).

• Mechanical Weed Control: With Preplant Tillage (ploughing, disking, and field cultivating), you can diminish the spread of perennial weeds and prevent emerged weed seedlings.
• Manual Weeding: However, manual weeding is capable of stopping the growth of small weeds. But, you need to be very careful while removing to assure you don’t harm any corn seeds in the process.
• Crop Rotation: Crop rotation is also known as the powerful way of reducing weed pressure. It is also an excellent method for long-term weed control.
• Thermal Control: In this method, you need to use butane, propane, or gas powered flamethrower to rid the soil of pesky weeds.
• Flaming: Popular in 1940-1950, Flaming is another weed management method which was widely used by the farmers before the invention of synthetic pesticides. It is an ideal method for plans which are separated out in wide rows.

Mechanical weed control is the recommended option for corns. While hand weeding and pulling are often recommended for the wheat crop.

• Introduce Friendly Insects

Depending on which crops you’re planting, some insects will help them grow while protecting them from other harmful insects. You can call it a balanced ecosystem. Companies involved in biological pest control provide all kind of beneficial insects, especially for enclosed areas like greenhouses. You will be able to achieve more productivity by introducing friendly insects to your field and providing suitable living conditions for them. When it comes to preserving your field from mealybugs, mites, aphids, and other pests, Ladybugs is a highly recommended insect. In India, some farmers are also using cow urine to kill farm pests.

• Optimal Timing & Temperatures for Crop Growth

Soil prep is also the key to organic farming that must be done at specific times before planting. Depending on the intended crop, you need to add animal manure or organic compost to the soil and cover it with plastic sheets for a few weeks. Seeds respond to specific soil temperatures, so starting too soon may lead to waste of your time, money, and efforts. Different plants have different temperature thresholds so make sure to examine ideal planting times for the crops you wish to grow.

Organic farming is an ideal way to improve your yields and profits while living an environmentally-friendly life. Hope all these tips mentioned will help you grow crops organically and stabilize agricultural production.

Gaurav Prabhakar Mali is an enthusiastic writer & filmmaker. New trends & technologies inspire him to write engaging articles and blogs. He keeps himself up-to-date with the advanced web and mobile technologies.