by Petra Newman

Created on: May 02, 2008   Last Updated: May 07, 2008

"If we allow the quality of our top soil to degrade to any degree, the life it supports goes with it." (Malcolm Beck - leading authority and practitioner in the field of organic growing.)

As the demand for food increases so does the challenges it presents. Valuable top soil with its natural goodness is almost a thing of the past. The demand for high yield in agriculture depleted the soil of its nutrients, leaving it barren and unable to produce. Farmers fed the land artificial fertilizers and pesticides to meet their quota.

Each passing day the world is shrinking. Suburbs are crowding farmlands. Chemically over processed soil will eventually become a waste-land. Yet who will feed the world? What does the future hold? How will we sustain and manage the soil to ensure there will be a future?

It's ironic that in order to reverse the damage our modern times created, we have to go back to the past for answers. It all sounds very complex and scientific, but in fact our fore-fathers who farmed the land many generations ago, used this technique everyday on the farm. Today it's called Agroecosystems.

1) Crop Rotation; If the same species of crop is planted each year it will result in the buildup of disease and insect infestation specific to that crop, reducing crop yield. It is better to plant a variety of different species of crops and rotating them every year or two. This will not only reduce insect and disease, but improve the soil's organic structure, reduce weed infestation, and increase yields.

2) Polycultures; When the land is bare and seemingly dead, there are ways to bring it back to life. The trick is to plant two or more species of plants at close proximity of the other, encouraging them to compete, complement and increase yield.

3) Agroforestry System; Trees are grown side by side other plants and/or animals. They complement each other, increasing multiple uses of the agroecosystems.

4) Cover Crops; protects the soil from erosion and improves its organic structure. During the cool season when the garden is at rest, you can consider to grow cover crops. Plant cover crops beneath fruit trees to improve soil fertility, enhance biological control of pests and modify the orchards micro-climate.

5) Animal Integration in agroecosystems achieves high biomass (fertilizer) and optimal recycling.

These diversified forms of agroecosystems, conserves soil and water through the no- till practice, mulching and cover cropping methods. Manure, compost, and promotion of biotic activity in the soil provides a steady supply of organic matter. Pests and disease are controlled by introducing biological control agents.

If we integrate plants, animals, soil, water, climate and people, and each compliments the other; we will maximize our chance to save the future.

Sources; http://www.malcolmbeck.com/articles/articles-index.h tm
http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/~agroeco3/principles_a nd_strategies.html
http://www.agf.gov.bc.ca/agrofores try/overview.htm
Projecthttp://www.tortuga.com/permac ultural/English/polycultures,htm

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