🌳 Introduction to Natural Farming (NF)🌳
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✍ What is this NF ?
👉 NF means for all the crops, the production cost will be zero.
👉 Natural Farming (NF) or holistic agriculture is a method of agriculture that counters the commercial expenditure and market dependency of farmers for the inputs like fertilisers and pesticides.
👉 In the Natural Farming nothing has to be purchased from outside. All things required for the growth of the plant are available around the root zone of the plants. There is no need to add anything from outside.
✍ Who has popularize NF in India?
👉Noted agriculturist Padmasree awardee Sri. Subhash Palekarji (he is from Maharastra) has helped popularise NF practices across the country. And
✍ Which are the 4 basic principles (wheels) of NF?
👉 Sri Palekarji has identified four aspects (wheals) of NF
👉(1) Beejamrutham, (microbial coating of seeds using cow dung and urine based formulations)
👉(2) Jeevamrutham, (the application of a concoction made with cow dung, cow urine, jaggery, pulse flour, water and soil to multiply soil microbes)
👉 (3) Mulching, (applying a layer of organic material to the soil surface in order to prevent water evaporation, and to contribute to soil humus formation)
👉 (4) Waaphasa, (soil aeration through a favourable microclimate in the soil.
✍ How insects ate controlled in NF?
👉 insect and pest management is done by various kashayams (decoctions) made with cow dung, cow urine, lilac and green chillies.
✍ How much nutrients the crops takes from the soil?
👉 Only 1.5 to 2.0 % Remaining 98 to 98.5% nutrients are taken from air, water & solar energy.
👉 Agriculture Universities says false that we have to add fertilizers from outside. If science says, that 98% crop body is constituted by air and water, then where is the need to add the fertilizers from the outside?
👉 That means 98% body of the plant are available free of cost. Remaining 1.5% nutrients taken from the soil are also available free of cost as it is taken from the prosperous soil which is enriched with nutrients.
✍ Why Agriculture University says for soil testing?
👉 It is fraud ( Sri Subhash Palekarji strongly oppose soil testing ). The soil testing report says that there is enough amount of nuitrients in the soil but it is in unavailable form. So, add it from outside. Actually, they are not saying false. They say true but half true. Our soil is enriched with nutrients, but these nutrients are not in the form, which the roots want. These nutrients are available in the form of grains not in the form of Chapati or Roti. If there is enough amount of grains in your house, but nobody (your wife or mother) to cook it. And you do not know cooking, then either you have to be hungry or go to hotel. You will definitely go to the hotel is it not? If we do not want to go to hotel, then you have to bring back your mother or wife😁 So, these chemical fertilizers are the hotel foods.
👉 Which one you prefer? Home food or hotel food? Obviously home food.
✍ How unavailable nutrients are converted into usable state?
👉 The nutrients in the soil are in the unavailable form. They are in the form of grains not Chapati or Roti. The roots cannot take it inthis form. Therefore, the soil testing report says that it is in the unavailable form!!
This non-available form is converted to available form by the millions of micro-organisms. In the forest, these micro-organisms are present in tremendous amount (One crore per gram soil !!!) that convert these non-available form nutrients into available form and make available to the plants.
👉These microorganisms are like you wife or mother; she prepare highly delicious food for you 🙂
👉 That is why there is no need to add any fertilizers (hotel food) from outside in the forest.
✍ What is the damage made by chemical fertilisers and insecticides?
👉 Micro-organisms which convert these non-available from nutrients into available from are destroyed by means of poisonous chemical fertilizers, insecticides, weedicides and cultivation by the tractor!!!. If these cooks are destroyed them how the roots will get the nutrients?
✍ How Bijamrita works??
👉 When we apply Jiwamrita to the soil, we add 500 crore micro-organisms to the soil. All these are beneficial effective microbes. Our soil is saturated with all the nutrients. But these are in the non-available form to the roots of the plants. These micro-organisms convert these non-available form nutrients into available form, when we add Jiwamrita to the soil. These micro-organisms available all the nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, Iron, Sulphur, Calcium etc) to the roots of the plant. After applying Jiwamrita to the soil, the local earthworms start their work. These earthworms bring the nutrients from 15 feet deeper soil to the upper surface and get available to the roots.
✍ What is Waaphasa
👉Waaphasa means the mixture of 50 % air and 50 % water vapours in the cavities between two soil particles.
✍Why water vapour ? Why not water ?
👉 Because, any root takes the molecules of water vapour. 92 % microorganisms and 88 to 95 % root hairs are working in the upper most 10 cm surface soil. So, the air must be circulating in this surface layer and vapour molecule must be available.
👉Waaphasa is that microclimate in the soil, by which the soil organisms and roots can live freely with availability of sufficient air and essential moisture in the soil.
✍ What is mulch? why it is applied?
👉A mulch is a layer of material applied to the surface of soil. Reasons for applying mulch include conservation of soil moisture, improving fertility and health of the soil, reducing weed growth.
Dear Farmer Friends,
✍Many correct & real basic principles / science behind agriculture system is not taught by our agricultural universities.
✍ Soil is huge storehouse of nutrients necessary for all plants.
✍ Life in the form of microbes & plants are incubated in the soil exactly as a CHILD is incubated an a mother’s womb.
✍ Humus in the form of moisture retained by the healthy soil, second reservoir of natural water after oceans!!!!! Humus in soil is increased by increasing soil carbon. Minimum carbon content in soil must be 1%; other wise profit or survival in agriculture is dream
The shocking news is that, in our soils carbon percentage is only 0.03 !!!
✍ If quantity of humus reduced, then soil requires all external inputs, including waters for plants growth & thus the sustainability cycle of starts breaking down.
✍ The lesson is: every farmers should understand basics soil structure & importance of Humus, its retention and its significance.