Choosing Organic Farming
Choosing not to use numerous chemicals, including fertilizers, pesticides, antibiotics, genetically modified organisms (GMOs), and growth hormones, is known as organic farming (Garg 121).
Comprehensive System
It is a comprehensive system designed to maximize the health and productivity of various populations, including plants, soil organisms, livestock, and people, within the agro-ecosystem (Garg 123).
Main Goal of Organic Farming
The main goal of organic farming is to establish environmentally friendly, long-lasting businesses (Wongwai, Mungcharoen, and Tongpool 426).
Advantages of Organic Farming in Plant Science
This essay examines the advantages of organic farming with a particular emphasis on how it relates to plant science. In the modern world, plant science is of great benefit to the practice of organic farming as it enables individuals to learn ways of protecting the environment as well as reducing soil degradation, thereby optimizing plant biological productivity and promoting a sound state of health to both livestock and humans who feed on plants (Doring 57).
Maintaining Soil Fertility
Plant science also allows those who practice organic farming to maintain long-term soil fertility by maximizing conditions for microbial activities in the soil, thus assisting in the preparation of organic products and maintenance of organic integrity in crop production (Doring 59).
Promoting Biological Diversity
In addition to that, another important benefit associated with using the knowledge of plant science is that it enables organic farmers to avoid the use of genetically modified organisms as a means of maintaining the biological diversity of plants within the ecosystem and enhancing the reliance on renewable sources of locally available agricultural systems (Gill 54).
Crop Rotations and Cover Cropping
Another important aspect to note is that organic farmers use the knowledge of plant science in carrying out crop rotations and cover cropping, as well as encouraging balanced relationships between pests and crops (Doring 61).
Recycling Organic Nutrients
Through the knowledge of crop science, based on the principles of organic farming, the producers recycle organic nutrients and residues back to the ground to maintain soil fertility and organic matter content (Gill 56).
Controlling Crop Pests and Diseases
Organic farming also provides alternative methods of controlling crop diseases and preventing insect infestation, including the use of crop rotation, resistant crop varieties, and improved plant genetics. Other techniques for controlling crop pests and diseases in organic farming include the use of effective soil conservation systems and integrated management of weeds and crop pests (Banjara and Paudel 24).
Standards for Organic Farming
To ensure the high quality of products, the standards for organic farming prohibit the use of synthetic pesticides, genetic engineering, sewage sludge, synthetic fertilizers and drugs, ionizing radiation, artificial ingredients, and food processing aids. Such prohibited products must not be applied in certified organic farms for a minimum of three years before the harvest of certified organic products.
Challenges of Organic Farming
Organic farming also faces a broad range of challenges resulting from the difficulty of growing some crops naturally (Luetchford and Pratt 87).
Benefits to the Environment and Consumers
The main reasons for embracing organic farming relate to the concerns for the environment and the health of both plants and animals. Besides, since most chemicals require intensive use of non-renewable energy in their manufacturing processes, organic farmers tend to avoid extensive use of fossil fuels since it is harmful to the environment (Favilli, Rossi and Brunori, 235). The point of great importance is that food products made from organically produced crops also have a broad range of benefits to the consumers. Such food is usually free of chemical pesticides and has an appealing taste. Some consumers have great concern for the environment and, therefore, avoid consuming food containing genetically modified organisms (Favilli et al. 235).
Requirements for Organic Foods
To qualify as organic foods, the products have to contain at least 95 percent of natural ingredients, not including salt and water. According to the standards, organic farms must use various natural practices in the process of production for at least thirty-six months or three years before the first harvest of certified organic crops (Luetchford and Pratt 87). The three-year duration is often referred to as the transition period, and it is meant to allow both the farmer, the soil, as well as weed and insect populations to adjust to the new conditions (Luetchford and Pratt 87).
Conclusion: Organic Farming as a Viable Alternative
In conclusion, organic farming forms a viable alternative method of crop production for farmers. With the current rate of population increase, farmers would not only be compelled to stabilize crop production but also improve it further to sustainable levels through the use of organic farming, which might require using locally available renewable resources. Despite facing various challenges, organic farming remains the primary key to opening alternative scientific approaches to handling multiple crop production problems. Through the use of plant science, farmers are in a position to determine the causes of various issues in organic farming and evaluate the different strategies of avoiding or reducing the long-term effects of such challenges.
Works Cited
Banjara, R. and Meena, P. “Economic impact of organic farming: cases from the farmers of Nepal.” Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal 2.11 (2015): 23-29.
Doring, T. F. “How scientific is organic farming research?” Organic Farming 3.1 (2017): 57-63.
Favilli, E., Rossi, A. and Brunori, G. “Food networks: collective action and local development. The role of organic farming as boundary object.” Organic Agriculture 5.3 (2015): 235-243.
Garg, A. “Recent trends in agriculture: vertical farming and organic farming.” Advances in Plants & Agriculture Research 1.4 (2014): 121-129.
Gill, M. S. “Organic farming based farming system and its role towards sustainability.” Journal of Krishi Vigyan 3.1 (2014): 54-61.
Luetchford, P. and Pratt, J. “Values and markets: an analysis of organic farming initiatives in Andalusia.” Journal of Agrarian Change 11.1 (2011): 87-103.
Wongwai, C., Mungcharoen, T. and Tongpool, R. “Environmental mitigation possibility via organic farming: lettuce case study.” International Journal of Environmental Science and Development5.5 (2014): 426-430.
