Organic farming

About: Organic farming is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 7254 publications have been published within this topic receiving 138030 citations. The topic is also known as: pertanian organik & organic farming.

Evaluating the benefits of organic farming in rice agroecosystems in the Philippines

Abstract: Organic rice farming utilized only 33% (39 USD ha−1) of the cash capital required to grow a hectare of rice when compared with conventional farm which spent 118 USD ha−1. This much reduced cash capital expense in organic rice farming relieved women from the burden of sourcing credit to finance crop establishment. Women are in-charge of family finances. Cooperation among members of the family (husband, wife, children) enabled them to cope with the increased labor requirement of organic farming–as in spreading rice straw, preparing and applying compost, hand weeding and picking-up golden snails. All organic rice farmers who participated in the study were members of farmers organization and/or cooperative while only few conventional farmers' were members of farmers' organization. Organic farming improved the soil quality. The paddy soil was loose and had deeper mud which was attributed to the higher soil organic matter (SOM) accumulating as a result of crop residue recycling at 3-4t ha−1 and animal ...

Organic zero-till in the northern US Great Plains Region: Opportunities and obstacles

Abstract: The use of killed cover crop mulch for weed suppression, soil erosion prevention and many other soil and crop benefits has been demonstrated in organic no-till or zero-till farming systems in eastern US regions and in Canada. Implements have been developed to make this system possible by terminating cover crops mechanically with little, if any, soil disturbance. Ongoing research in the US northern Great Plains is being conducted to identify cover crop species and termination methods for use in organic zero-till (OZ) systems that are adapted to the crop rotations and climate of this semi-arid region. Current termination strategies must be improved so that cover crop species are killed consistently and early enough in the growing season so that subsequent cash crops can be grown and harvested successfully. Delaying termination until advanced growth stages improves killing efficacy of cover crops and may provide weed-suppressive mulch for the remainder of the growing season, allowing no-till spring seeding of cash crops during the next growing season. Excessive water use by cover crops, inability of legume cover crops to supply adequate amounts of N for subsequent cash crops and failure of cover crops to suppress perennial weeds are additional obstacles that must be overcome before the use of killed cover crop mulch can be promoted as a weed control alternative to tillage in the US northern Great Plains. Use of vegetative mulch produced by killed cover crops will not be a panacea for the weed control challenges faced by organic growers, but rather one tool along with crop rotation, novel grazing strategies, the judicious use of high-residue cultivation equipment, such as the blade plow, and the use of approved herbicides with systemic activity in some instances, to provide organic farmers with new opportunities to incorporate OZ practices into their cropping systems. Emerging crop rotation designs for organic no-till systems may provide for more efficient use of nutrient and water resources, opportunities for livestock grazing before, during or after cash crop phases and improved integrated weed management strategies on organic farms.