Abstract
There is a need to investigate and identify locally available organic substrates with acidifying potential, which can be used as an additive in rock phosphate (RP)-organic material composting mixtures. This paper reviews attempts to increase P availability in the context of smallholder, low-input and organic farming, and presents a case study from Central India that used a participatory approach to address P deficiency issues in cotton-based organic systems. Study was conducted from 2010 to 2014 through 61 on-farm trials and investigated the agronomic effectiveness of buttermilk-acidulated RP compost. The application of buttermilk-acidulated RP manure resulted in higher yields of cotton in all field trials and higher yields of soybean in all but one field trials. While on majority of the farms (18 out of 28), wheat yields increased with the application of buttermilk-acidulated RP compost, a quarter of the field trials (7 out of 28) exhibited yields lower than farmers’ practices. The study showed that it was possible to develop a locally adoptable solution to an agronomic constraint using locally available resources including the indigenous knowhow. Buttermilk proved to be an effective acidulating agent that can be added to RP-amended compost.
Highlights
Crop production in organic systems strives to achieve closed nutrient cycles by enhancing ecological processes and recycling of nutrients
The application of buttermilk-acidulated rock phosphate (RP) manure resulted in higher yields of cotton in all field trials and higher yields of soybean in all but one field trials
While on majority of the farms (18 out of 28), wheat yields increased with the application of buttermilk-acidulated RP compost, a quarter of the field trials (7 out of 28) exhibited yields lower than farmers’ practices
Summary
Crop production in organic systems strives to achieve closed nutrient cycles by enhancing ecological processes and recycling of nutrients. The global P cycle is far from being closed, as P exports from the field through harvests have not been adequately replenished by providing sufficient external P sources This is especially the case in organically managed production systems because of the limited number of permitted P fertilizers. In systems where widespread RP application is reasonable, strategies involving plant and microbiological mechanisms that promote RP solubilization have been suggested [16] These management interventions in large-scale organic and conventional farming can broadly be classified into following:. This paper reviews past and current attempts to increase P availability in the context of smallholder, low-input and organic farming, and presents a case study from Central India that used a participatory approach to address P deficiency issues in cotton-based organic production systems
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