Why is diversity so important in the battle with herbicide resistance?

Everyone would like the answers to farming’s problems to be simple, but the fact is, all over-simplistic solutions are prone to collapse. This has been repeatedly demonstrated with different weed species adapting to challenge different farming systems or practices. weeds use two mechanisms to survive weed control methods – they can either become ‘immune’ or ‘evade’ the control tactic.

The best way to keep all weed control tactics alive is to be unpredictable in your choice of crops, planting times, herbicide choices and harvest weed seed control methods. There is extensive research in the area of herbicide resistance showing the molecular, genetic and biological mechanisms that different weeds can use to become immune to herbicide treatments, Just as the systematic use of herbicides will lead to resistance, the routine use of non-herbicide weed control tactics will select for individual plants that can evade that tactic. In one study, started with wild radish plants that had not been subjected to harvest weed seed control and systematically collected seed from early flowering individuals. The seeds were planted to produce the next generation for further selection within five generations of selection the wild radish population had more than halved the time to flowering – from 60 days to just 29 days. As a result these plants will be carrying well-matured pods at harvest, and will be more likely to drop their seed, effectively evading seed capture at harvest. This is even more likely in years where there are periods of water deficit, high temperature or high wind.”

The good news is that the early flowering wild radish populations produced less biomass prior to flowering than the later flowering individuals, likely making them more susceptible to crop competition. Unfortunately, these early flowering plants also had poor structural integrity, with more pods set below the harvest cutting height.


How can I stop weeds evading weed control tactics?

Short answer: Avoid predictable and repetitive farming systems and weed control tactics, and aim to establish highly competitive crops.

Longer answer: The more diversity the better. Look for ways to add different crops to the rotation, mix and rotate herbicide modes of action, use different row spacing, alter sowing times and implement different strategies before and at harvest. Take advantage of weed control that comes through increased crop competition. For example, the early flowering wild radish plants are smaller, potentially making them more resistant to harvest weed seed control, but more susceptible to crop competition. All weed control strategies are most effective when weed numbers are low so concentrate on ways to drive down weed numbers, prevent seed set and remove survivors.

What about crop competition – can weeds evade that?

Short answer: Yes, weeds will respond to increased crop competition.

Longer answer: In a highly competitive crop a few individual plants are likely to gain an advantage through increased vigor or plant height. If left unchecked these individuals can set seed and the population can increase in size. This is less likely to become a problem if the farming system includes a range of crops and pastures of varying heights for example. A trait that is an advantage in one situation is often a disadvantage in another. The combination of highly competitive cropping with harvest weed seed control is a great example. Vigorous plants often hold their seed high in the crop canopy and so are readily collected at harvest in a competitive crop environment. On the other hand, these weeds would flourish and potentially lodge in a less competitive crop, thereby evading harvest weed seed control.


This pot trial is investigating the fitness penalty that may be associated with the early flowering trait of these specially selected wild radish plants when faced with stiff crop competition from a wheat crop compared to no competition.
How are weeds evading pre-emergent herbicides?

Short answer: Through selection for later germination.

Longer answer: Pre-emergent herbicides are being increasingly relied on to provide early weed control. Individual weed seeds that remain dormant for longer and germinate later in the season can evade pre-emergent herbicides altogether or are exposed to a low dose that can lead to resistance.

By mixing up planting dates and using different pre-emergence herbicides with different modes of action, growers can disrupt the shift in dormancy.

Weeds that emerge later, will be more susceptible to crop competition from an early seeded crop. Get the jump on weeds and make sure your crop is up and away.

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How Can Regular Crop Maintenance Provide Stable Yields?

Farming is a complex activity, one in which every segment impacts the crop production. To have a successful crop production, all segments need to be managed properly. Good soil preparation is half of the job, while the other half is good management of crop maintenance.

After soil preparation and planting are completed, there is still no break for the farmers. If they want to achieve a good and quality yield, they must constantly implement crop maintenance practices during the growing season.  

Crop maintenance practices important for proper crop growth include:

• Weeding
• Soil cultivation
• Irrigation
• Mowing
• Insect pest and disease control
• Removal of standing water
• Pruning

Crop maintenance practices need to be done in a timely manner. When some practices will be implemented will, depend on crop growth stage, soil, crop, and weather conditions.

Weeding Removes Potential Threat to Crops

Weeding is a farm practice that involves the physical removal of weeds from the field. This practice can be performed manually or with the use of mechanization.

Although manual weeding is more labor intensive, it is the preferred farm practice due to the minimal soil disturbance it creates and its decreased opportunity for soil erosion. Oppositely, mechanized weeding is less labor intensive. However, it’s important to manage it carefully so as to prevent soil disturbance and the spreading of weed seeds.

Mechanized weeding is more appropriate for large farmland.

Soil Cultivation Improves Soil Performance

Soil cultivation is a farm management practice that breaks up and loosens the soil surface. The main purpose of soil cultivation is to create optimal soil structure, which will improve water retention, allow for better penetration of air, water, and nutrients, and help with weed control.

Soil cultivation is a favorable soil maintenance practice that helps retain water and provides optimal soil structure and favorable crop conditions. Soil cultivation may also reduce the need for water irrigation.  

Irrigation for Secure Plant Growth

Irrigation is a crop maintenance measure that is needed to provide normal crop growth when the water supply is limited. Maximizing plant potential, every farm production should set an irrigation system. 

Irrigation is especially important when the crop is in sensitive growth phases such as germination, flowering, and fruit setting.

Depending on the crop type and climate, different irrigation methods are used:

• Drip irrigation
• Furrow irrigation
• Sprinkler irrigation
• Pivot irrigation
• Flood irrigation

Mowing Enhances Orchard Management

Mowing is a regular farm maintenance practice in orchards and vineyards. It includes mowing of the space between and inside rows. Mowing is the manual or machine removal of grass and invasive weeds. It improves soil condition, reduces pest occurrence, and enhances crop growth.

Appropriate Insect Pest and Disease Control to Sustain the Yield

If not treated properly and on-time, plant pests can significantly reduce the crop yield and affect its quality. Therefore, regular crop maintenance needs to include insect pest and disease control. Crop losses can be reduced by using various organic and chemical crop protection measures such as:

• Natural; natural pest predators (ladybug, praying mantis)
• Cultural; tracking of weather, monitoring fields, and crops
• Physical; disinfection of the soil, seed, and seedlings
• Mechanical; pruning and removing of diseased plants from the field/orchard
• Biological; various beneficial fungi, bacteria, and parasitic wasps as pest predators
• Chemical; chemical based fungicides, insecticides, and herbicides

Removal of Standing Water Saves the Yield From the Beginning

Removal of standing water is a crop maintenance practice mainly used in cereal production.  However, it can also be practiced in the production of arable and vegetable crops. This practice includes the removal of standing water from the field that accumulated during the winter period as the result of melting snow.

Excessive water creates depressions on the field surface and harms young plants. If crops stay in the water for more than 3 days, the entire crop production can be destroyed.

Standing water can be removed by using soil cultivators to level the field’s surface and plows to create furrows around the field’s edges.

Crop maintenance is a common farm practice among farmers. Only regular and proper crop maintenance can provide quality crops and stable yields.

As every human being needs regular maintenance of the body to maintain optimal health, the plant needs regular maintenance of all factors crucial for its proper development and growth as well.

Pruning Is a Must-Have Practice for Permanent Crops

Regarding the maintenance of permanent crops, there is no alternative to pruning. Pruning is a selective cutting away of a portion of a tree or a shrub practiced for the following purposes:

• Balancing tree or a shrub growth and the fruit production
• Improving pest and disease management
• Managing the size and the shape of a tree or a shrub.

There are four types of pruning, regarding the different crop requirements:

• Formative pruning
• Dormant pruning
• Green pruning
• Restorative pruning.

Crop maintenance is a common farm practice among farmers. Only regular and proper crop maintenance can provide quality crops and stable yields.

As every human being needs regular maintenance of the body to maintain optimal health, the plant needs regular maintenance of all factors crucial for its proper development and growth as well.

POTATO FARMING IN KENYA

Potato farming is one of those businesses that can either make or break you. You can get good returns provided you are willing to learn how to navigate your way up or you can literary “burn” your whole investment in less than 3 months. Read the next few paragraphs to find out the truth about this age-old business idea.

Potato Farming In Kenya

Potatoes are highland crops and they grow well in most major parts of the nation including Molo, Kinangop, Taita Hills, Yatta, Timboroa and parts of Laikipia.

Step 1: Getting Started

The first step is to find land in one of the high production areas. If you live in Nairobi area then you can think of going to places like Kinangop or North Nyandarua (an hour’s drive from the City). Remember, you don’t have to be a land owner to get started as you can simply lease. Currently, the cost of leasing a good chunk of land in Nyandarua about 1 Kilometre from the tarmac is Ksh15,000 per year.

Tips For Picking Land For Potatoes

• Should not be too far from tarmac (1-2Km recommended)
• Look for one with reddish soil (toney)
• Avoid land with a bad history of potato production
• Avoid land that lies adjacent to a river to minimize chances of frost bite

Step 2: Prepare The Land

Now that you have found a nice piece of land, the next step is to till it and prepare furrows ready for planting. Here again you don’t have to do all the work yourself. You only need to hire a few village labourers and delegate the job to them. If you’re too busy with your current job or business, you can pick one of your idle uncles from the village and hire them as the farm manager.

Another thing to do is to get some manure. Manure is normally sold in lorries (mostly from Masai land) and a good load goes for Ksh20,000 delivered to your place.

Step 3: Buy Certified Seeds

You may be tempted to take a short-cut by buying seeds from other farmers but you should know that this is the biggest mistake that most farmers make. If you want to get the best harvest, then you have to get the best disease-free seeds. A good source of these seeds is The Kisima Foundation…this is an organization that allows you to even pay by Mpesa and they deliver right outside your farm. The average cost of a bag of certified potato seeds is Ksh3,000.

Tips For Buying Seeds

• Only buy certified seeds
• Talk to local farmers about which breeds do well in the area around your farm.
• Examples of potato breeds are Tigoni, Kenya Mpya, Asante and Shangi

Step 4: Plant and Wait For 90 Days

The good thing with potatoes is that they only take 90 days to mature. But in order for that to happen (and in order for the yield to be profitable) you need to ensure that your crop is well watered either through rain or irrigation. Also, be sure to apply DAP fertilizer in combination with manure. Take care of the farm by weeding it. Lastly, you will need to invest in chemicals and yield boosters – and these you can buy from the agrovet shops. 

Tips For Buying Chemicals

• Go for nematicides if you notice small wounds on potato roots
• Go for fungicides in case of signs of blight

Now from this point we can start talking business…

How To Get The Best Prices

It is one thing to plant potatoes; selling them and getting the best prices is another. Let me tell you something…in the potato world, there exists some sharp individuals called brokers.

They come with lorries and move from door to door buying farm produce at some punitive prices. The good thing with brokers is that they save the farmer the hassle of finding the market, but the bad thing is that the prices they give are sometimes unsustainable and that explains why many first-time potato farmers “burn”.

So what’s the secret to dealing with brokers? The first strategy is to plant your crop at around December so that you harvest it at around February or March when there is short supply and prices are favorable. For instance, right now as we write this a bag of potatoes is going for Ksh4,000 and above. However, the same bag of potato may fluctuate to as low as Ksh1,000 at the month of July.

Another strategy is that some government and non-goverment institutions are now building special granaries where you can keep your potatoes until the market stabilizes. You can take your produce there and hold until the ripple effects of a bumper harvest subside. But what if you don’t want to wait or play with the seasons? If you can’t beat them join them. Using the many sales and marketing skills we equip you with here , there is absolutely no reason why you should not look for your own market of potatoes. You simply need to approach fast-food chains, restaurants, schools, institutions etc and give them a good quote.

You can then hire a mguu kumi or mguu sita lorry and go back to the village where in addition to collecting your own produce you can link up with other farmers to fill up the lorry. This way, you will be in a position to dictate the price and you will be able to get better returns.

How Much To Invest

In total, you will require about Ksh80,000 for an acre of potatoes (from planting to harvesting).

How Much To Expect

The current market price for a sack of Shangi potatoes is Ksh4,000. An acre of land can produce 80 bags of potatoes in 3 months. So let’s do the math.

Ksh4,000 x 80 bags = Ksh320,000 (Revenue)

Ksh320,000 (Revenue) – Ksh80,000 (Expenses) = Ksh240,000 (Net Profit) in just 90 days.

Note that the recommended size of potato bag is 110Kilograms according to the National Potato Council of Kenya.

Final Word

Potato farming is a good venture. It is not a get-rich-quick scheme (though) and majority of first time investors may lose their money due to obvious mistakes. On a positive note, if you have read this article to the end you can now proceed to make an investment confident of making returns. All it takes is a bit of discipline, hard work and strategy.

WATER MANAGEMENT

This winter, the UK has suffered from severe weather conditions, storm surges and river floods. Many were affected and the economic damage is enormous. As in other cases of flooding around the world, Dutch water managers offered assistance, and talk emerged of the ‘Dutch approach’ to flooding as a solution. But what is it exactly that British water managers could learn from their Dutch colleagues, if anything?

Flood plain occupancy It is possible that the recent floods in the UK can be interpreted as indicators of climate change. But even if that is the case, changes in climatic conditions, rainfall intensities and flood frequencies likely offer only part of the explanation for the increased flood impacts. Equally important are human settlement and investment patterns, most notably in flood prone areas. If the situation in the UK is comparable to that in the Netherlands, then growing flood plain occupancy and increased investment in flood prone areas may be significant factors in explaining the large damage caused by the recent floods.

Spatial planning Flood risk management can thus not only be about the construction of innovative flood defenses, but should also involve spatial planning aimed at keeping economic activities out of flood prone areas. This has partially been achieved in the Netherlands. In flood plains along the main rivers (Rhine, Meuse) in particular, the Dutch spatial policy to inhibit development in flood plains along the main rivers has been quite successful, for instance by introducing a ‘water test’ that needs to be applied to every change in zoning plans. However, next to the sea coast, less success has been accomplished, and the Dutch continue to plan urban development there, sometimes in areas that are several meters below sea level.

Restoring and using natural dynamics Both in the UK and the Netherlands water managers have adopted and gained experience with what in the Netherlands has been dubbed space for water policies . They no longer exclusively fight against the water by constructing technical flood defense infrastructures, but also try to restore the natural water storage capacity of river systems by giving back reclaimed land to the river, creating retention areas and so on. The Dutch also started to experiment with using natural processes in their coastal defense strategies under the slogan ‘building with nature’. A good example of this is the so called sand motor, which revolves around sand supplication along the coast and helps reduce the energetic impact of tidal waves.

Water safety standards In spite of the many similarities between Dutch and British flood risk management, there are also striking differences, such as the safety standards that guide government action. For the urbanized western part of the Netherlands the coastal defense safety standard is 1: 10,000 years (which means that coastal defenses are designed to withstand sea flooding that is expected to occur only once in 10,000 years); by comparison, in the UK the coastal safety standard typically is 1:200 years (1:1000 for London). The safety standard along the Dutch main rivers is 1:1,250; in England this standard typically is 1: 100. The Dutch safety standards were formulated by the first Delta Committee. This committee was established in the aftermath of the 1953 storm surge, which also affected the UK. The second Delta Committee, which issued its report in 2008, argued that given the enormous growth of the GDP since 1953, Dutch flood safety standards should actually become more stringent by a factor of 10, which would imply a standard of 1:100,000 years for the coast. One can understand that from a Dutch point of view, flood safety standards in other countries, such as the UK and the US, appear relatively lax, even taking into account the unique geophysical and hydro logic circumstances in the Netherlands (1/3 of the territory is under sea level).

Flood insurance A second main difference is that unlike UK citizens, until recently the Dutch had no option to take out private flood insurance. Instead, the Dutch government may compensate for flood losses using the disaster fund, which is funded by general income tax. Only recently has one insurance company started to offer insurance policies in the Netherlands. As only a few have taken out insurance so far, the disaster fund will remain the main source for compensating flood losses. One of the potential drawbacks of introducing a private insurance system is that the government may feel tempted to no longer invest in flood protection infrastructure as the citizens already enjoy the benefits of an insurance system.

Regional water authorities Unlike most other countries, the Dutch have very powerful regional water authorities (known as ‘waterschappen’, or waterboards), whose jurisdiction is grounded in the Dutch constitution, a fact that has helped them survive attacks from various political parties and other regional governments, who regularly propose to abolish the regional water boards. What is probably more important however is that these water authorities have their own tax system, which enables them to collect the financial resources needed for the construction and maintenance of flood defense infrastructures and other tasks that have been allocated to them. Precisely because these authorities have a special status and their own tax base, the availability of sufficient financial resources for the construction and maintenance of flood protection infrastructure is guaranteed institutionally. This is quite different from the situation in the UK, where the Prime Minister was blamed for having cut the budgets for water safety.

Delta Program After the issuing of the report of the second Delta Committee in 2008, the Dutch national government launched the Delta Program , a large national program aimed at developing and implementing strategies to guarantee flood safety and availability of fresh water in the long run, taking into account the impacts of climate change. Financial resources were recognized as a crucial factor for success. Therefore, the national government, following the recommendations made by the committee, decided to establish a Delta Fund, which should guarantee that 1 billion euros can be spent yearly as from 2015, primarily to improve the national flood defense infrastructure.

Lessons? Clearly, the relative success of Dutch flood risk management should not only be explained by Dutch engineering expertise or newly introduced concepts of adaptive or eco-system based water management. The institutional characteristics of Dutch water resources management and specific ways of addressing water governance issues are equally important. Even though one should be careful with institutional transplantation as similar institutions might not be effective within a different context, the institutional mechanisms for generating sufficient financial resources are particularly worth looking at. Given the vulnerability of large parts of the UK to flooding, a specific flood protection tax or the creation of a national fund are worth considering. Of course, this also presumes a willingness to pay on the part of the population. There is no such thing as a free lunch, but going Dutch with the bill might be considered. 

Let's keep using and conserve water in everything we do for future..

Extracted from :water management

by Sander Meijerink and Dave Huitema.

THE IMPACT OF SOIL MANAGEMENT

For over a decade, CIAT has tested agronomic and soil management practices in Western Kenya. From minimum tillage to integrated soil fertility management, two trials, established in 2003, are the most comprehensive picture of tropical soil health that we have in Kenya. What these trials allow us to do is show-case changes in soil fertility and health – for example the impact of conservation measures like minimum tillage, manure application or green manure cover cropping – on soil fertility and crop yields, and what happens if these are absent. They also enable us to show the impact of cropping systems and rotations, providing farmers with advice about which mix of organic and mineral fertilizers can restore productivity to degraded soils, for example. These are not quick-fixes: they take time to develop, hence the importance of these long-term trials.
Over the years, the trials have been visited by hundreds of farmers, regional stakeholders, and students studying agronomy and soil health practices. They also provide a platform for students to pursue their BSc, MSc or PhD studies, and to dig into some of the fascinating aspects of soil biology and biodiversity. Farmers will often use technologies they are familiar with and are often be reluctant to try new technologies. Farmers need options as they are dealing with multiple constraints.

Lessons learned: what’s in it for farmers?

During the last field day, themed: “Research for Long-term crop productivity and Soil health” in July, more than 176 farmers, half of them women, came from various counties in Western Kenya together with local extension officers. The practices we have tested during the trials were showcased to farmers. What we have found during these long term trials and the feedback from farmers is that some technologies take a long time to yield results. Yet farmers cannot afford to wait for long if the technology comes with a yield penalty, or requires too many resources to start with. That’s why farmers were most impressed by methods they perceive as easy and affordable, which save time and boost yields. We also have to remember that farmers are dealing with multiple constraints. For example, they own small plots of land or have communal land ownership – and land inheritance issues greatly inhibit a farmer’s ability to try new technologies. Some farmers fear that others may later claim the land and this may lead to financial losses if they have invested heavily. Many farmers also highlighted that some new technologies are expensive to use, for example if significant amounts of commercial inputs have to be purchased, like mineral fertilizer, improved seeds, herbicides or pesticides. Loans are often expensive and expensive or risky to take, unless farmers are insured against potential losses. Demonstrating technologies that work. Demonstrating different technologies and results. What technologies that have worked?

Farmers will often use technologies they are familiar with. For example, for livestock feed, they will use Tithionia, a shrub for livestock feed, instead of the flowing plant Tephrosia, to plant in rotation with other crops to boost yields, because they know it has multiple uses: for livestock feed for goats and because it can prevent termites from attacking the crops. They are only familiar with Tephrosia to capture fish, and so are not likely to use it as livestock feed. A key messages for farmers is that mineral fertilizer use application alone is not sustainable. Maintaining soil health long-term requires returning organic matter back to the soil; be it as green manure – special, often leguminous plants grown to produce organic matter to feed the soil – soybean, farm yard manure or compost. In addition, good agronomic practices – timely planting and weeding – are essential to make chemical fertilizers more efficient. Soils with low organic matter content may also be unresponsive to mineral fertilizers and first of all need to be rehabilitated by adding organic resources.
Conservation agriculture, which among other things means disturbing (tilling) the soil as little as possible, can prevent further destruction of the precious soils, ensuring higher and more stable yields while reducing production costs and increasing labor productivity.
Conservation agriculture also includes protecting the soil surface by retaining crop residues like maize stover, to reduce erosion by fast-moving water or wind. This conservation soil moisture can also reduce weed growth and increase the rate of water infiltration into the soil.
Farmers may be reluctant to try these new technologies – but seeing is often believing.
Soil management is not a quick-fix: hence the importance of these long-term trials.

HOW DO SOIL MICROBES INFLUENCE NUTRIENT AVAILABILITY?

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Soil is rich with biological diversity and complexity that is not immediately apparent to the un-aided eye. Without a strong microscope, you wouldn’t know that there are hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of organisms in a handful of soil. Bacteria, Archean, algae, and fungi play critical roles in the growth and well-being of plants. I like to think about these millions of microbes under our feet as workers at recycling plants, mining operations, and refineries. They all have specific jobs helping make nutrients available for plants.

lichen in soil
This fruticose lichen is a mixture of fungi and algae living in harmonious symbiosis. They are part of the soil life structure that recycles, mines and refines soils. Credit: Barret Wessel
Most soil microorganisms work in the “recycler” role. These are the decomposers that take dead plant and animal matter and break it down. If these recyclers didn’t do their job, the world would be a heap of unusable trash! Instead, recyclers use the organic matter to release the fundamental components that are used as food by plants.

The microbes that work in the recycling role use the organic carbon in the organic matter as an energy source (food). Recycling frees up nutrients like nitrogen, potassium, and phosphorus that are important to plant health. The importance of these recycling microbes cannot be overstated; they turn the world’s refuse into the building blocks of life. The maintenance of plant-life would be nearly impossible without these hard-working organisms.

Grey and Tan colored soil
Microorganisms are the work horses of nutrient cycling in soils; they decompose organic matter, form mutualistic relationships with plants, and contribute to soil structure. Here, iron reduction and re-oxidation features are evidence of hard working bacteria!  The soil microorganisms that fill the “miner” role work on nearby rocks and minerals, not organic matter like the recyclers. Miner microbes make a kind of “bacterial goo” – scientifically called an “exudate”. The goo has a special pH and other key characteristics specially formulated to bind and extract nutrients like phosphorus, calcium, and potassium. All of these minerals are needed for healthy plants and good crop yields.

A specific group of these “mining” microorganisms is called mycorrhizal fungi. Mycorrhizal fungi form special symbiotic relationships with plant roots. They connect with plant roots to provide access to the freshly-released nutrients. In return, the plant roots provide the fungi with tasty, energy-rich carbon that the fungi use for growth in an otherwise desolate area of the soil environment.

The final type of microbes are the “refiners.” Refiner microbes, a class of bacteria called Rhizobia, are able to take nitrogen from the air and process it into a form usable by the plant. These “nitrogen-fixing” bacteria take inert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere (N2

gas) and convert it to the plant-available ammonia and other nitrogen-rich organic compounds.

Generally, refiners only live in special root formations called “nodules” of legume plants. Peanuts, alfalfa, clover, beans, and lentils, are all legumes. They can all form this symbiotic relationships with Rhizobia. The legumes house the Rhizobia and provide them with energy-rich compounds for food. Due to this special symbiotic relationship, legumes make for great cover-crops in agricultural settings. The dead tissues of legumes (re-introduced to the soil for future plant use by the recyclers!) are nitrogen-rich. This nitrogen-rich plant material can provide nitrogen to the next planted crop. This means that the farmer is not required to spend as much time, money, and energy applying nitrogen fertilizers.

So how do you make your soil hospitable to these microbes that have the potential to enrich your farm or garden? In simple terms, you must “feed” the microbial communities in your soil. Recyclers use organic carbon in dead matter as an energy source. Cover crop residue, compost, or mulch are good sources of organic matter. To help the nitrogen-fixing “refiners”, plant some legumes, like clover or alfalfa,1 as a cover-crop. The Rhizobia will make the legume and surrounding soil nitrogen rich. Leave this cover crop on the soil after it dies to provide nitrogen-rich organic material, and start the cycle over!

Soil microbes play a vital role in the sustained growth of plants. They decompose and recycling nutrients bound in organic materials. They help access minerals in rocks large and small. And, they can even refine nitrogen from the air into a useful form for plants!

Answered by Caitlin Hodges, Pennsylvania State University

WATER SCARCITY AND AGRICULTURE

Water scarcity has a huge impact on food production. Without water people do not have a means of watering their crops and, therefore, to provide food for the fast growing population. According to the International Water Management Institute , agriculture, which accounts for about 70% of global water withdrawals, is constantly competing with domestic, industrial and environmental uses for a scarce water supply. In attempts to fix this ever growing problem, many have tried to form more effective methods of water management.

One such method is irrigation management. Irrigation is a method of transporting water to crops in order to maximize the amount of crops produced. Many of the irrigation systems in place do not use the water in the most efficient way. This causes more water then necessary to be used or for there not to be enough water to ensure healthy crops. According to the World Bank, irrigation management works to upgrade and maintain irrigation systems, such as groundwater irrigation, that are already in place and expands the areas of irrigation to increase the amount of crops being produced.

Another method is water management for rain fed agriculture. Rain fed agriculture is the most common method of agriculture in developing nations. According to the book, Rain fed Agriculture: Unlocking the Potential, 80% of the land farmed around the world is rainfed and it "contributes about 58% to the global food basket" (xiii). Some techniques in water management for rainfed agriculture include the use of supplemental irrigation and water harvesting techniques, such as rain catchment systems and weirs or sand dams. These techniques help provide much needed water to areas where rainfall is inconsistent. Having this water helps to increase the number and quality of the crops grown.

The Water Project works to combat this issue by helping to build water collection systems, such as weirs or sand dams . Not only do these water collection systems provide clean water for people's everyday needs, they can be used for simple irrigation and "can actually benefit crop production by raising the ground water levels… Water is collected and stored for drinking and the rest seeps into the ground and creates more fertile fields" (The Water Project).
 
Using these different methods of water management and mostly Drip irrigation technology is essential for agriculture, as the increasing population calls for an increase in food production.

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