Supply Deterioration Of Soil Health During Past Three Decades

Election of 1828 is what started it all. Andrew Jackson and John Quincy Adams was running for President, and Andrew Jackson won by an overwhelming majority. Jackson established the Spoil System. The Spoil System awarded Jackson’s friends and supporters public offices. During the 1830’s, abolitionist began to rise, and people began to revolt, for example, William Garrison wrote the “Liberator”, and Nat Turner killed his master and 60 more people. Money was a huge issue because tariffs were raised, and Jackson destroyed the National Banks, which caused the Panic of 1837. The big issue during the 1850’s was the decision if slavery should expand into the new territory that America had gained from the Mexican War. The documents support the explanation

With soil being washed away nearly 10 – 40 times faster than it is being replenished1, every single idea to avert this this crisis needs to be considered. No till farming, a method by which farmers implement a way of growing crops with minimal disturbance to the soil and the soil’s abiotic and biotic components, is a very important idea that is being employed worldwide with notable results. With food prices rising and people turning to their own backyards to grow food, the potential advantages of small scale no till can play a major role in the health and regeneration of our

Soil is the most important element for agricultural ecosystems. Healthy soil comes with beneficial microbes and insects. Unfortunately, these are often killed off by the abuse of pesticides. Healthy soil can produce strong crops that are less vulnerable to pests. Damaged soils often need strong fertilizers application to produce a high amount of crops. Soil quality can be amplified in many ways, including leaving crop remainders in the field after harvest and adding composted plant material (Union of Concerned Scientists) Compared to industrial agriculture, companies continue to damage and consume natural soil. While intensive plowing and monocrop (does not rotate) agriculture systems have caused nutrient exhaustion and soil erosion. Excessive application of fertilizers and pesticides has contaminated soils and polluted waterways (Grace Communications Foundations)

While watching the video-presentation of Tony Avants’ speech on soils, I came to realize the importance of not only the quality of soil that one begins with, but also the quality of products used to enhance it. He states that there is a common gardening myth that plants do not recognize the difference between chemical and organic fertilizers. While that may be true for plants, the microbes in the soil know the difference and have a preference. They prefer the fertilizers made by nature. It would be easy to add chemicals to increase the Carbon these microbes feed off, but it would be much more cost effective, and better for the environment to use a Carbon-rich compost to fertilize one’s soil.

The controversy in using synthetic fertilizers is argued between large production farmers attending to the global demand of food and environmentalists concerned with the alternative effects on the environment. Although there are more in depth issues depending on the type of fertilizer being applied. The environmental issues at hand has many questioning if we should even allow the usage of synthetic fertilizers. Though the original form of soil enrichments were primarily made of animal excrement and decomposed food matter, differing greatly to what has predominantly been used today in agricultural production. Today we use synthetic fertilizers which contain compounds that are more “man made.” These compounds are things such as Ammonium Nitrate, Ammonium Phosphate, Superphosphate, and Potassium Sulfate, which derive from the by-products of the

The Indo-Gangetic plain (IGP) of south Asia is formed by the sedimentation of alluvial soil by the Indus and the Ganges rivers. The large fertile plain with flowing rivers favours agriculture. The rice-wheat farming system in the Indo-Gangetic plain occupies 13.5 M ha of India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nepal (Timsina and Connor, 2001). In India, the rice-wheat farming system is the major source of food security as it produces more than 50% of cereal in 10 M ha (Ladha et al., 2000).

If insufficient fertiliser or the wrong nutrients are applied productivity can be compromised. Hence, it is important farmers undertake regular soil and leaf analysis to determine an appropriate fertiliser regime for maximum production (Queensland Government Department of Agriculture and Fisheries, 2012).

Since the dawn of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, both food production and the world’s population have experienced dramatic increases. The last five years have seen particularly significant benchmarks, with the world population reaching 7 billion in 2011. Looking to the future, experts have estimated that the population is likely to surpass 9 billion by 2050. As a result, the same amount of land (30% of the earth’s surface) will be expected to feed increasing numbers of people. The area will have to be used more intensively leading to soil deployment. For the above reasons fertilizers, will be in great

Sustainable agriculture is the production of food, fibre and animal products using farming techniques that protect the environment, public health, communities and animal welfare (Sustainable Agriculture, 2017). The alternative option of sustainable farming is industrial in which chemicals are used to fertilize the soil and plants. This chemical usage can lead to infected soil as well as excessive toiling on soil which can lead to erosion. Sustainable farming benefits the environment as well as the impacts on the produce that is found in the supermarket. There are many positive effects that sustainable farming can have but there are also negative effects as well. There are also huge benefits of buying sustainably. Therefore, agriculture is better and more environmentally friendly way of farming.

In addition the current method of monoculturing one crop can decrease the productivity of the soil and can lead to erosion of soil. These soil problems are crucial for farmers because the land is their important asset (Wilson, 2008).

Erosion removes the surface soils, containing most of the organic matter, plant nutrients, and fine soil particles, which help to retain water and nutrients in the root zone where they are available to plants. Thus it affects the productivity of plants. The remaining, the subsoil, tends to be less fertile, less absorbent and less able to retain pesticides, fertilizers, and other plant nutrients. There are over 17,000 soil types recognized worldwide. They vary widely in structure, erodibility, fertility, and ability to produce crops. A generalized soil profile for a humid, temperate climate is showed. When the natural vegetation is cleared for agriculture, soils become exposed to erosion and loss of soil fertility. The removal of the above-ground natural

Abstract: Our country is known worldwide for Agriculture as its major Industry. As per results till 2011, India had a large and disparate agricultural sector, counting, on an average, for around 16% of GDP and 10% of the total export earnings. Land area of arable land in our country is 159.7 million hectares (394.6 million acres) which is listed as the second largest of world, first is The United States. India is among the top global producers of many crops that includes wheat, cotton, pulses, rice, ground-nuts, fruits and vegetables. According to same study in 2011, in the world, till then, India had the largest numbers of buffalo and cattle, and amazingly was the largest producer of dairy products and has fastest growing and largest poultry

Conservative tillage is the most beneficial farming practice when it comes to enhancing soil properties, as compared to conventional tillage practices. The main contributing factor in this decision of zero tillage over conventional tillage is the reduced disturbance of the soil. This reduced soil disturbance allows for the soil to better hold more water and nutrients. The quality of the soil is also greatly improved because of an increase in soil organic matter. However conservation tillage is

Attaining food security for a growing population and alleviating poverty while sustaining agricultural systems under the current scenario of depleting natural resources, negative impacts of climatic variability, spiraling cost of inputs and volatile food prices are the major challenge before most of the Asian countries (Bhan and Behera, 2014). In addition to these challenges, the principal indicators of non-sustainability of agricultural systems include; soil erosion, soil organic matter decline, and salinization. These are caused mainly by: (i) intensive tillage induced soil organic matter decline, soil structural degradation, water and wind erosion, reduced water infiltration rates, surface sealing and crusting, and soil compaction; (ii) insufficient return of organic material (Bhan and Behera, 2014). Therefore, a paradigm shift in farming practices through eliminating unsustainable mode of conventional agriculture is crucial for future productivity while sustaining the natural resources. Conservation Agriculture (CA), a concept evolved as a response to concerns of sustainability of agriculture globally, has steadily increased worldwide to 124.8 M ha (FAO, 2012). CA is a resource-saving agricultural production system that aims to achieve production intensification and high yields while enhancing the natural resource base.

AGRICULTURAL ECOLOGY 1. Land and its Uses (a) Uses of land for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes: Uses of land for agriculture, forestry and wildlife conservation. (b) Factors affecting land availability and use: (i) Physical factors e.g., soil type, topography etc., (ii) Socio-economic factors e.g., population pressure. 2. Environmental factors affecting agricultural production: (a) Climatic factors: rainfall, temperature, light and wind. (b) Biotic factors: predators, parasites, soil microorganisms, pests and diseases. (c) Edaphic factors: soil pH, soil texture and soil structure. 3. Rock formation (a) rock types: igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic; (b) rock formation processes. Formation, composition and properties of soil (a) Factors of soil formation: parent rock, topography, organisms, climate, vegetation and time (b) Processes of soil formation: physical, chemical and biological processes.