Chen Xingzong: Weeds are not the enemy, they are the soil's divine teammates that help farmers increase income
(Continued from previous article) Through long-term observation, I have found that weeds can only survive and spread when six factors are present: seeds or propagules, sunlight, space, water, nutrients, and rhizosphere respiration. If we deprive them of one, two, three... of the above six factors, can weeds still grow well? The previous article introduced the first four major factors; this article continues with two important factors, and a reasonable way to view weeds (to read the previous article, please click here)
5. Enabling water to move vertically is very important for crops, and grass cover cultivation provides important help:
In Taiwan, layered soil and soil compaction can be divided into those caused by "natural forces" and those caused by "human activities." Common natural formation occurs through the long-term repeated scouring force of floods over long ages, each time bringing soil particles of different sizes that settle at a given location, creating a layered structure like a thousand-layer cake. Continuous human plowing disturbance, mechanical compaction, and excessive fertilizer application will destroy aggregate structure and cause compaction.
Water within the soil is affected by capillary action in fine gaps, gravity, and adhesion between water and soil particle surfaces. Layered structure and compacted soil cause field water molecules to be significantly affected by capillary action and adhesion, and restricted to horizontal movement (for details, please refer to the video description)
On the contrary, allowing water to "move vertically" can induce roots to expand into deeper spaces, creating a deeper and broader effective soil layer. The more roots reside in the more stable deep soil, the healthier the crops, and the less they are affected by surrounding changes.
There are many methods to allow water to move vertically. Grass cover cultivation is one of the methods I commonly use. For this reason, everyone should consider reducing the application of herbicides.
Negative effects caused when water is restricted to horizontal movement
When water is restricted to horizontal movement, field moisture and temperature show huge fluctuations, crop roots become shallow, the effective soil layer is confined, the environmental specific heat becomes smaller, and soil ecology becomes monotonous. All of the above, in terms of farmers' harvests, we can see the following negative effects:
1. Lodging after being shaken by wind and rain.
2. Significant damage from drought and flooding, and high and low temperatures.
3. Continuous damage from soil-borne diseases (such as: Phytophthora blight, Fusarium, soft rot, bacterial wilt, sclerotinia) and plant-parasitic nematodes.
4. Decline in agricultural product yield. It must be especially emphasized that what is meant here is the quantity of products meeting high quality standards, not total output.
5. Impact on the quality of agricultural products. For example: when soil is unhealthy, the field heat of mangoes is relatively higher, affecting storage and transport life, quality stability, and product flavor.
6. Increased whole-plant respiration rate: fields with this type of soil have higher nighttime temperatures, or oxygen deficiency in the rhizosphere causes anaerobic respiration, both of which affect carbohydrate accumulation. The sweet, fragrant, and brightly colored qualities that farmers care about most are greatly diminished here.
7. Sunburn: crops on this type of soil experience large fluctuations in water supply. When crops lack water (moist soil does not mean crops are not water-deficient), transpiration is poor, and whole-plant temperature rises. During high-temperature periods, tissues facing a specific direction of sunlight are easily burned by the sun, producing wounds and causing damage.
8. Disease occurrence: localized high tissue temperatures caused by the above reasons give pathogens an invasion pathway and provide a warm, moist, nutrient-rich culture medium. If diseases did not run rampant, how could they repay farmers' enthusiastic hospitality?
6. Reappreciating weeds is a kind of wisdom:
The disadvantages of weeds are well known to farmers, who have even felt their sting personally, but is that all there is to weeds? If our management and treatment methods change, will weeds still be so repulsive to us? In ecological management, weeds are not entirely enemies, and managers should spend more time looking for answers from this perspective.
I sincerely hope that farmers, in each day's 24 hours, are not only struggling to survive, but also have spiritual leisure and a scientific spirit to learn the wisdom of living prosperously together with all beings. That is the cultivation of a kind of literacy and attitude, which requires bringing one's own ego down to zero and viewing all beings as equal. Although it cannot be forced, this is an important lesson that modern Taiwan farmers cannot avoid learning.
7. Cultivating a divine teammate alliance:
Among the factors of soil formation, "biological factors" play an important role. Soil organisms can be defined as "organisms that need to spend part of their life history living in the soil, and for which soil plays an irreplaceable role." In other words, stable soil conditions allow these soil organisms to survive healthily, and they are farmers' free divine teammate alliance.
Grass cover cultivation creates stable soil and environmental conditions, and has always been the living space and performance stage needed by the divine teammate alliance.
Summary: Manage soil and fertilizer well, reduce dependence on herbicides, and increase income
In summary of the above content, I hope the methods I have provided can help everyone rethink their attitude and actions when facing weeds. Through soil and fertilizer management, everyone can do their part as managers from the perspective of doing their best, and find more ways to have both the bear's paw and the fish. In addition to increasing one's own income, it can also reduce farmers' reliance on herbicides.
Chen Xingzong / Weeds are not the enemy, but the soil's divine teammates, and they can even help farmers increase income
[Recovering the power of grass cover! Series report on herbicide abuse harming soil]
Soil master's degree holder opens pesticide shop, Chen Xingzong's special-effect prescription: I advise you not to apply fertilizer anymore!
Spreading a carpet of native wildflowers and grasses in the orchard ~ the results surprised farmers
12 years without weeding in the orchard, what happened? The soil is fertile and the fruit trees are thriving
Ban on highly toxic pesticide paraquat remains unchanged. Council of Agriculture: the contract spraying system cannot be promoted. Farmers: crops sell better without spraying
Controversy over banning paraquat: rural suicide and loss of manpower vs. higher agricultural production costs, which weighs more?
References:
Kato Tetsuro (2019). Super Illustrated! Soil and Fertilizer: The Golden Partner for Vegetable Harvests (Yuan Ziyi, Trans.). Taipei, Ruicheng. (Original work published in 2019)
Xu Lingming, Lin Yuzhu, Lai Yongchang, Wang Qingyu (ROC 97). Weed flora and chemical control in sweet potato fields. Journal of the Weed Science Society of the Republic of China. 29(2), 131~139.
NewsMarket website. Taiwan's herbicide sales hit a historic high! Annual sales of 2.6 billion yuan, with usage per unit area ranking among the highest in the world. (ROC May 106) Retrieved from https://www.newsmarket.com.tw/herbcides/ch01/ (Jun. 23, 2019)
National Suicide Prevention Center. Chen Liqin et al. (2017). A critical moment, turning a life around: supporting the Council of Agriculture's ban on paraquat. Retrieved from https://ppt.cc/fr5aSx (Jun. 22, 2019)
Council of Agriculture, Executive Yuan, Hualien District Agricultural Improvement Station website, summary content of native grass carpet introduction. (ROC Dec. 106). Retrieved from https://ppt.cc/ffXjgx (Jun. 23, 2019)
H. Yilmaz, S. Toy, M. A., Irmak, S., Yilmaz, & Y Bulut. (2008). Determination of temperature differences between asphalt concrete, soil and grass surfaces of the City of Erzurum, Turkey. Atmósfera. 21(2).
Weil, R. R., & Brady, N. C. (2016). Nature and Properties of Soils( 15th Edition). Columbus : Pearson.
The Renewable Energy site for Do-It-Yourselfers. Gray(2015). Ground Temperatures as a Function of Location, Season, and Depth. Retrieved from https://ppt.cc/fAcW2x (Jun. 23 ,2019)
YouTube. Gembloux Agro-Bio Tech (2014). Water movement in the soil. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ego2FkuQwxc&t=277s (Jun. 23 ,2019)