SUCCESSFUL POTATO PRODUCTION IN NATURE FARMING WITH EFFECTIVE MICROORGANISMS – A CASE STUDY

Organic potatoes are in demand, although their cultivation is difficult due to lower yields and disease problems. A field study carried out in Sri Lanka illustrated that using good quality organic manures combined with the technology of Effective Microorganisms (EM) in a system of Nature Farming could enhance yields of organic potatoes and also reduce disease incidence significantly. The prospects of producing organic potatoes are presented on the basis of this study

SOIL QUALITY AND CROP YIELDS AS AFFECTED BY MICROBIAL INOCULANTS IN NATURE FARMING

A field study evaluated the impact of Nature Farming with microbial solutions on soil quality and crop yields over one year encompassing tropical wet and dry seasons. The use of green manures or compost as organic matter was superior to using weeds for the same purpose for improving soil quality and crop yields. The microbial inoculant EM proved to have a greater beneficial impact than vermiwash or cattle manure slurries on soil properties and yields of the selected crops. The prospects of Nature Farming with EM are presented as a potential method of organic farming in the tropic

A COMPARISON OF STRATEGIES FOR WEED MANAGEMENT IN NATURE FARMING

Weeds are a major problem in organic or Nature Farming systems and mechanical methods are generally used for weed control. However either mulching or growing crop in-between rows of the principal crop offers scope as a means of protecting soil and suppressing weeds. Field studies thus evaluated the impact of either a mulch or growing two intercrops as possible management strategies for controlling weeds of vegetables grown in major and minor seasons of the tropics under a Nature Farming regime. All three strategies controlled weed numbers, their biomass and increased crop yields. However the least beneficial impact was from the dead leaf mulch, while the highest degree of weed control and increments in crop yields was with the green manure intercrop. The effects of these regimes were also greater in the drier season, where weed populations are higher. The potential of these three strategies for weed management in Nature Farming or organic systems are presented on the basis of these results

Crop diversification strategies for minor irrigation schemes: Proceedings of the workshop organized by the Irrigation Research Management Unit, Irrigation Department and the Sri Lanka National Program, International Irrigation Management Institute, held at the Irrigation Department, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 20 February 1996

The last few decades Sri Lanka has made detennined efforts for crop diversification to raise farm production and improve the quality of life of the farmers. Significant progress has also been made and a large area has been brought under different crops, especially, chili and big onion, two very important cash crops. Most of these developments have occurred in medium and major schemes resulting in significant increases in the cropping intensity as well as in the participation of farmers. Minor schemes which command around 42 percent of the total irrigated area of the country, however did not benefit much from the crop diversification program and their cropping intensity to fluctuate between 80 percent and 90 percent for nearly half a century. At the same time, because of increasingly reduced return from rice farming, many farmers in these schemes are looking for off farm employment to make a living. To understand the technical and socioeconomic dynamics and develop strategies for crop diversification in minor schemes, the Irrigation Research Management Unit (IRMU) of the Irrigation Department (ID) in collaboration with the Sri Lanka National Program (SLNP) of the International Irrigation Management Institute (IIMI) organized a consultation workshop on strategies for Crop diversification in Minor Irrigation Schemes. This volume is the report of the proceedings of the above workshop held at the Irrigation Department, Colombo, Sri Lanka on 20 February, 1996. The workshop provided an opportunity to the participants from different organizations to exchange experiences and identify new approaches to crop diversification