sustainable, organic, & biodynamic approaches to...

Sustainable, Organic, & Biodynamic Approaches to Fertility & Plant Health

Dr. Lynne Carpenter-BoggsBIOAg CoordinatorCenter for Sustaining Ag & Natural Resources (CSANR), WSU

WSU BIOAg Program

A new program of WSU’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources (CSANR)

Sustainable AgricultureSustainable Agriculture

Social Economic

Environmental

BIOAg as an intersection of ideas

Sustainable

BIOAgBIOAg

Organic Biologically-

Intensive

BIOAg

=

Organic and/or bio-intensive, if it’s sustainable.

Organic agriculture: A legally defined and regulated practice that focuses on use of natural materials & non-use of synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, etc.

Biologically Intensive: using renewable biological materials & processes.

Sustainable: Producing high quantity and quality food & fiber with long-term economic, environmental, & social viability.

WSU BIOAg Program

► An integrated research, outreach, and education program

Striving for Sustainability

•

Sustainability: concept

providing for the best for people & environment both now & in the indefinite future.

1987 Brundtland Report, sustainability is: "Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs."

Brundtland definition is

Very much like the seventh generation philosophy of the Iroquois Confederacy,

mandating that chiefs always consider the effects of their actions on their descendants through the seventh generation in the future.

Sustainability: NOT a NEW concept

Climbing Mt. Sustainability

Soci

al

Econ

omic

Environmental

Striving for Sustainability

•

"Sustainable agriculture" defined by Congress in 1990 Farm Bill as an integrated system of plant and animal production practices having a site-specific application that will, over the long term:

satisfy human food and fiber needs enhance environmental quality and the natural resource base upon which the agricultural economy depends make the most efficient use of nonrenewable resources and on-farm resources and integrate, where appropriate, natural biological cycles and controls sustain economic viability of farm operations enhance quality of life for farmers & society

Sustainable AgricultureSustainable Agriculture A longA long--term goalterm goal

EconomicallyEconomicallyViableViable

EnvironmentallyEnvironmentallySoundSound

Socially AcceptableSocially Acceptable

A direction to move in

Not a fixed set of farming practices

Better to say “more sustainable”

Easier to define what is not sustainable

“A question, not an answer”

Pest management successes – IPM, biocontrol, reduced risk products

Apple - Cydia pomonella (coddling moth) control – change over time

Lead arsenate

DDT

Azinphos-methyl

Pheromone mating disruption

Codling moth granulosis virus

??

Conventional then

Conventional now

Sustainability is Relative

Practice Changes that Increase Sustainability

Drip irrigationDirect seeding for soil conservationAlternatives to agricultural burning Methane digester for animal manurePrecision N applicationBiodiesel for farm equipmentHabitat plantingsN fixing cover cropsReplace toxic pesticides with biocontrolsWorker training, housing, health insurance

Sustainable system development : stages of change

Dr. Stuart Hill : "Shallow sustainability focuses on efficiency and substitution strategies with respect to the use of resources. Deep sustainability, in contrast, re-evaluates goals in relation to higher values and redesigns the systems involved in achieving these goals to that this can be done within ecological limits."

National Organic ProgramNOP Definition of “organic”:

A production system, managed in accordance with the USDA

Regulation, to respond to site- specific conditions by integrating

cultural, biological, and mechanical practices that foster cycling of resources, promote

ecological balance, and conserve bio-diversity.

Organic Standards: Overview•

Crop production standards, livestock production standards, handling standards.

•

Organic System Plan with focus on preventative management. An agreement between an operation and the certifier describing how organic integrity will be maintained.

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Verification of three years of organic land management.

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Use of only approved materials and inputs.

•

On site inspections and annual application for certification required.

Characteristics of Organic Production

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Reliance on on-farm nutrient sources, fewer purchased inputs

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Holistic- emphasis on soil building, soil health, crop rotation, nutrient recycling

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Requires natural rather than manufactured nutrient sources

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Essentially all manufactured or synthetic fertilizers and pesticides are prohibited

Organic Crop Standards: Soil Fertility

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No raw manure applications within 120/90 days before harvest.

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Distinct composting guidelines.

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No destructive cultivation practices.

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Use of cover crops, crop rotations, and maintenance of soil organic matter.

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Producer must maintain or improve the soil and minimize soil erosion.

Characteristics of Organic Production: Philosophy of Fertility

Feed the soil, not the plantBuild a rich living soil and farm, and this will sustain healthy plants

Consequence: Organic systems more dependent on active soil biology for nutrient mineralization.

Organic fertilization requires mineralization to release nutrients

organic

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7Months after application

mineral

% to

tal n

utrie

nts

rele

ased

025

5075

100

Authorized Methods and Materials (Organic Matter )

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Cover crops

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Manure (special guidelines)

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Green manures, crop residues, peatmoss, seaweed…

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Composted food and forestry by-products

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Sewage sludge, septic waste prohibited

Green Manures

Green manure = crop incorporated into soil while green

•

Add organic matter

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Fix nitrogen

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Suppress weeds & pests

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“Catch” cropsMustard green manure crop between

wheat and potatoes; Idaho

Bio-intensive• Prevention first:

Resistant varietiesCrop rotations Maintaining beneficial species habitatSanitary cultural practicesBarriers: physical and/or timing

• Approved materials used only when crop rotation, biological control, and cultural practices are insufficient to control pests.

Pest Management

Disease Management

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Mixed cropping•

Plant, row spacing

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Vigorous plants are more resistant to disease

Healthy, microbially-active soil suppresses root diseasesCompost: disease-suppressive soilCompost extracts

Weed Management

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Long-term plan based on weed ecology

Crop rotations to suppress, smother weedsAllelopathic cover cropsTimed cultivation to reduce weed stands and prevent seed setMulch in high value cropsLivestock grazing

•

Few quick-fixesVinegarFlamingBrassica seedmeals

Biodynamics

What is it?How is it used?What does it do?

Biodynamics

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Created by philosopher Rudolf Steineralso

Anthroposophy•

Anthroposophic art and medicine

Waldorf schoolsCamphill communitiesEurythmy dance

•

Demeter, Weleda brand certification

Differences in Ideas: BD vs. conventional

•

View whole farm as an organism•

Heal the soil, people, plants, earth

•

Astronomic, cosmic effects

•

Organic + subtle forces

Cosmic /Planetary

Mineral

PlantAnimal

Human ENERGYCYCLES

Presenter

Presentation Notes

In anthroposophy, many troubles in the world are explained by the reduced connections among basic energies: Plant, Animal, Human, Cosmic, and Mineral energies. If the connections among these forces is weakened or simply ignored, any or all of the individual factors can become weakend. By reconnecting these factors through conscious activity, humans can improve the energetic, and thereby the physical, environment. The BD preparations are a physical manifestation of this idea. Through the fermentation process, all of these energies are brought to bear on the farm. Most of the preparations are made by collecting a specific part of a specific plant, placing this into a specific body part of a specific animal (dead, that is), and burying it in the soil over a specific season. Several are also hung in the sun to collect t the sun’s energy. In this way, all of the energies can be brought into physical connection, which in the end are said to make plants and animals healthier, make humans happier, make the weather more favorable, and make the soil healthier and more resilient.

Differences in Practice: BD vs. conventional

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Manage & design farm for self-support•

Organic fertility management

compost is primary fertilizerrotations for N fixation, weed controlrecycling nutrients

•

Natural & homeopathic pest control•

Livestock integrated in most farms

•

Biodynamic Preparations

BD Preparations fermented products of:

•

Field, Crop SpraysCow manureSilicaEquisetum

•

Compost preps YarrowChamomileStinging nettleOak barkDandelionValerian

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Again, there are 9 biodynamic preparations, each of which is the product of a specific treatment. All but the valerian and horsetail also undergo fermentation. The procedures for making the preparations are one of the primary reasons that many people are instantly put off by biodynamics, because the procedures are so esoteric. For instance, to make the yarrow preparation, which is used in compost, is made by gathering yarrow blossoms, then letting them air-dry for a few hours to a day. Two hanfuls of the blossoms are then placed into a bladder of a stag. This is sewn closed and hung uup duing the summer so that is exposed to the sun. In the fall, it is taken down and buried in soil, where it stays throughout the winter. In the spring the material inside the bladder is ready to be used as a preparation. Less than one gram wet weight, about one teaspoonful, of this preparation is used, along with five other preparations, to treat up to ten tons of raw material.

Preparation 500 Cow Horn Preparation

Very low dose application~ 2 Tbsp per acre

Soil Effects•

Biodynamic farms have better soil quality than conventional farms

more organic matter•

more available N, P

•

buffered pH•

more microbes, mesofauna and earthworms

•

better soil structure•

Great benefit from compost

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Differences in microbial activity & community

Compost Effects•

Slightly higher temperature

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Slightly faster to matureLower respiration rateMore enzymatic activityDifferent microbial communityMore nitrate

Potential modes of operation (Western)

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Nutrients – macro & micro•

Microbial inoculants

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Stimulants / Inhibitors / Hormones / Signals

Plant hormonesMicrobial signals

Hormone (i.e. auxin)

Hormone Receptor

Signal Transduction

Gene Expression

Plant Growth & Development Response(i.e. rooting)

Action of Homeopathy & HormonesDo not cause effects “in a vacuum”Effects may not appear linear

Stimulate a biological response or cascade which causes the observed effect

So

•

What works for me?

•

Try it.

Don’tTreat Don’t

Treat

Don’tTreat

TreatTreat Don’t

Treat

1 2

3 4

TreatTreat

Soil organisms do not constitute the life of the soil;they are the actual organs of a living organism.

Sattler and Wistinghausen, 1992

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