Category Archives: Organic farming

Sustainable Agriculture: Definition, Concept, Goals The world has realised shortcomings and ill effects of Modern day agriculture Modern day Agriculture uses intensive methods like use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides etc to increase the production These intensive methods overlook the need to replenish the natural resources like soil and atmosphere which leads to degradation of the enviornment If we are to conserve our enviornment, then sustainable agriculture is a must What is Sustainable Agriculture? Gracet in 1990 defined Sustainable Agriculture as – A system of agriculture that is committed to maintain and preserve the agriculture base of soil, water , and […]

International inspection and certification agencies Soil Association Inspection Scheme, UK SKAL, Netherlands ECOCERT, France / Belgium / Germany IMO, Switzerland Organic Crop Improvement Association, USA Demeter Association, USA Certification agencies in India ECOCERT: International (Based in France and Germany branch office in Aurangabad, Maharashtra) IMO Control Pvt. Ltd. – Institute for Marketology (based in Switzerland, office in Bengaluru, Karnataka) LACON GmbH (based in Germany, office in Aluva, Kerala). SGS India Pvt. Ltd. (based in Switzerland, office in Delhi and other cities) BIOINSPECTA (based in Switzerland, branch office in Cochin, Kerala) SGS India Pvt. Ltd. (based in India, office in Bengaluru) […]

Mycoherbicides Mycoherbicides infected weeds The fungal pathogens that control specific weeds and continue to survive on the weeds year after year are called Mycoherbicides Fungal pathogens as a bioagent in controlling weeds are more popular than bacterial, viral or nematodes because, most of the plant pathogens are fungi, which are destructive and widely prevalent, and they can be safely used in organic farming. Phytopathogens normally initiate diseases in specific weeds and produce phytotoxins killing the weeds within 3-5 weeks. Characteristics of mycoherbicides They should be culturable in artificial media They should produce abundant spores They should be stable in storage […]

What is the main aim of organic farming? Organic farming aims to minimize or eliminate the use of chemicals in farming. Weeds are responsible for causing considerable crop losses if not taken care of What are different organic methods by which weeds can be controlled? Weeds can be controlled without chemcials in organic farming by the following methods Thermal weed control Thermal weed control involves the use of flaming equipment to create direct contact between the flame and the weed Although the initial equipment cost may be high, flaming for weed control may prove cheaper than hand weeding Soil solarization […]

Organic Farming: Plant origin Insecticides After witnessing the shortcomings of green revolution, the world agriculture has realized the importance of organic farming and has began its transition phase towards organic agriculture You may also like to read – Green Revolution: Shortcomings Organic farming: Concept and objectives One of very important components of Organic farming is Plant protection. In organic plant protection chemicals are to be replaced by naturally made or natural origin pesticides Given in this article, is the information of plant origin insecticides What are plant origin insecticides? The Insecticides extracted from extracted from seeds, flowers, leaves, stem and […]

Bacterial Insecticide – Bt More than 100 pathogenic bacteria were recorded of which Bacillus thuringiensis (B.t.) is important B.t. is known as a bacterial insecticide and is now being using by farmers mostly on lepidopterous larvae. It can infect more than 150 species of insects. T he entry of the bacteria is by ingestion of the bacteria, which infect the mid gut epithelia cells and enter the haemolymph to sporulate and cause septicemia. Properties of B.t 1. Highly pathogenic to lepidopterous larvae 2. Non-toxic to man 3. Non-phytotoxic 4. Safer to beneficial insects 5. Compatible with number of insecticides 6. […]

Introduction “Organic Farming is not a goal to be attained. It is an ongoing process. It is a journey rather than a destination” Definition Lampkin defined organic farming as a production system which avoids or largely excludes the use of synthetic compounded fertilizers, pesticides, growth regulators and livestock feed additives. To the maximum extent feasible, organic farming system relies on crop rotations, crop residues, animal manures, legumes, green manures, off-farm organic wastes and aspects of biological pest control to maintain soil productivity and tilth, to supply plant nutrients and to control insects, weeds and other pests. Concept of Organic Farming […]