Organic farming with Homoeopathic plant Nutrients and Plant protectors
Introduction:
India and China have a rich tradition in organic farming. In order to augment the need to produce more to meet the demand of increasing population, the Green revolution took birth assaulting the traditional, ecological and biological input based farming. The highly alluring, high yielding and hybridization took their birth, demanding more and more nutrition. This nutrition instead of being supplied with organic manures, the scientists borrowing and copying the western methods of chemical farming, started advocating the use of chemical fertilizers. Of course with no emphasis they are suggesting the use of large quantities of FYM (low value nutrition). This being most impractical especially when cooked food (NPK) is readily available, the farmers are showing interest in it, conveniently avoiding the cooking by themselves. To compensate the FYM, additional quantities of chemicals are used, greedily. As natural followers, the pests and diseases took hold of the plant-life and started multiplying posing a great threat to the very existence of plant-life. Both the scientists and farmers are now confronted with this threat rather than improving the yields. The day is not far off to have the pre- Green revolution yields but with heavy investments.
The traditional organic farming had been totally ignored which should have been going hand in hand.
The after effects of chemical farming may be summarized as—
Soils are getting depleted of nutrition. So supplementation is resorted to year by year, by adding larger and larger quantities of chemicals. Resulting in eruption of more and more pests.
The humus of the soil looses its grit due to chemicals and become prone to be flown away.
To control the pests, more and more powerful (poisonous) pesticides are to be developed.
In turn the pests are developing resistance to pesticides, which is known only after spending heavily and after facing failure.
The chain reactions are ever increasing.
The ill-effects of poisonous pesticides on plants, animals, human beings, environment, water and finally to the eco-system, are numerous and needs no explanation.
This slow poisoning poses a threat to the human health. Eruption of unknown diseases confuses the medical scientists and so on.
Prone to accidental, suicidal and homicidal deaths.
Having been undergoing and facing the multifarious, disastrous after- effects, it is not too late to think of coming out of the muddle. It is time to stop research with chemicals and start with alternative methods towards improving organic farming.
It is the right place to reproduce the writing of a botanist and a theosophist Mrs. Dorothy Shepherd, a Homoeopath of England.
About the essentiality of a healthy soil and bad effects of chemical fertilizers:
A healthy living soil is the first essential towards raising of the general standards of health and cosmic radiations* introduced through the agency of specially prepared herbs are vital. It is agreed that the inorganic minerals which are used freely in agriculture to show at first an increased growth of the plants, enormous cabbage, cauliflower etc. are produced in time, diseases become rampant and fertility rate of the soil decreased appreciably
Not only that, but the humus of the soil and the radiation through the soil disappear because man is working against and not with the nature. The rhythmic balance of the soil is disturbed and in time one finds that instead of the soil being bound together, the biological action is greatly interfered with more and earth becomes more like fine dust without any life in it at all and sooner or later man has to leave that particular part of the land having extracted all the fertility stored up in the soil for centuries, because it produces less and less for him and for his beasts. He has to move on then repeating the destructive process elsewhere, until we have reached the stage, where there is no fresh land to be found. We come across vast deserts in various parts of the globe which were fertile once, as a result of wrong agricultural methods employed by man, exploiting the natural fertility of the earth. The wonderful lands which were found in North America, only a short hundred years ago, are now fast becoming vast dust bowls, and the middle north American states suffer frequently from dust storms which blow up the humus and top soil away and burry other parts of surrounding country in time with sand. Gradually we have similar conditions arising here comparable to that of Gobi, Sahara etc. deserts extending continuously.
This new agriculture makes use of many different forces, solar, planetary and terrestrial, in order to return to the soil what is taken from it by growth and harvest of the different products, the vegetable grasses, corn etc.,. Every year compost made by this or similar methods either by bio-dynamic manner or by the ‘QR’ methods, returns humus to the soil, for if humus is not re-applied every year, the soil in course of time become more and more like a dust heap. (There are other methods of organic composting but only these two are dealt with.)
*- Here also a dispute arises with the scientists, who are totally relying on their instruments, cannot realize their existence and many unseen conditions keeping the life in existence harmoniously. An open mind is needed to learn and appreciate many facts unseen and hence unknown to man. (GSR)
Agriculture is closely inter-woven with Astrology and for thousands of years; the ancient husband men would always sow their crops under the favorable sign of the particular planet and at a particular phase of the moon. Modern man with his superior knowledge of chemical compounds and with the aid of the many mechanized agricultural aids and machines remembers little of the ancient wisdom but he will have to return to it, unless he wishes to loose fertility of the earth, more within the appreciable short time.
About soils and compost:
Though it is an insignificant plant, yarrow, yet investigation, have shown that it is not only the storehouse of many substances, but it is a channel, as well, for powerful forces for good, I believe, it is metaphysician Rudolf Steiner, who first suggested yarrow as an important constituent for increasing the working efficiency of the organic compost, heap, in order to reintroduce new life into the soil. His suggestions were that the flowers should be placed into the bladder of a stag after which it is kept in the Sun…...*
Dr, Ooliske proved that the higher potencies of the prepared yarrow produced much growth in plants than the lower potencies did. The organic preparations obtained from this plant with other herbal preparations made from yarrow, when incorporated in the compost heap in minute quantities brought certain individual herbs. These forces enliven potentizes and strengthen the action of compost or manure heap, so that we therewith return great powers and forces by radiation into the soils, when this specially made organic compost is spread on the soil, in a thin layer. This is shown as already referred to, by increasing steady growth of the crops, which are not only stronger and sturdier than those crops grown under the influence of inorganic minerals, but the particular vegetables, corn and grasses, grown with the aid of these preparations, fermented in the compost heap, by the special methods are much healthier in appearance, more resistant to pests and virus diseases.
A second more practical method was worked out by Miss Maye E.Bruce, who suggested using the same herbs as suggested by Dr Rudolf Steiner, but she added honey, a product of flower essence obtained and worked out by bee. This “Quick Return (QR)” method of activating compost or manure heaps been experimented with and proved by Miss Bruce and although the herbs may be the same, the application and the methods of preparation are different, she chopped up herbs such as yarrow etc., and added them to a mixture of lawn-movings, weeds and vegetable matter in a no. of glass jars, they were then treated with the herbal solutions in varying strengths with two controls. After 10 days the glass jar which contained the herbal solution at the highest strength was the farthest advanced.
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.*- This being an impossible to common man it is left incomplete and can be ignored.
The content had almost completely broken down to compost. At the end of experiment the compost made from more material strengths, having less advanced thus confirming one of the Homoeopathic principle “the higher the dilution, the greater the energy”. The Devine essences are within the plants and need only to be freed by right method of preparation. These herbs contain between them when used in solution, the chief elements, needed by plant life and though very few plants have been analyzed yet their chemical and biological constituents vary each year quantitatively and qualitatively.
Miss Bruce is convinced that nature provides little extra of the various elements to the soil, balance is established. Elements which have been distributed by either a surplus or a lack of rain, too much sun or wind in any given season are reintegrated so that the normal growth of the plant life may be maintained. These cosmic radiations and planetary influence which enter into the compost heap through the action and channel of the specifically prepared yarrow plant, in combination with other herbs, show that yarrow is indeed one of the sacred or holy plants. Thus the necessary cosmic influences are introduced and passed through this plant into the soil, in order to produce healthy crops for the use of man. By these methods the health of man, animals and plants will be raised considerably and many diseases die a natural death, because the soil and the plants grown thereon become so resistant to disease that it can no longer get a foot hold”
----Mrs. Dorothy Shepherd.
(Author of The Physician’s Posy}
Types of organic fertilizers available:
So far we have—
1. Green manure:-
This is a very useful one to enrich the soil especially the humus. Wherever water facility of enough moisture is available, for germination, this should be followed.
F.Y.M :- (pit and heap methods)
Its effect is very less and cannot be considered for improving yields as it is
not processed but only a crude method.
3. Composts:-
i)NADEP:
This is a superior method and can give assured yields but its bulkiness is a
great drawback. Hence farmers are not coming forward.
ii)NADEP-GOVINDU: (Improvised NADEP)
By adding Homoeo compost-activisers while filling and harvesting,
reduced the bulkiness to 2tonnes as against 8tonnes of NADEP. Scientific
experiments’ data is available on record. and was well proved to be equivalent to
chemical fertilizers. Adding Bio-fertilizers at the time of application would
enrich it more.
iii) Vermi- compost:
It is by far superior but its production at farmer’s land as in sith is difficult
and separate production units are to be established.
4. Others:-
i) Bio-gas slurry:
Its contribution is less and is rarely available, so cannot be classified
universally. Can be used wherever available.
ii) Bio-fertilizers:
These are very useful and being cheap can freely be used very safely and successfully. Unfortunately, being much bent upon NPK, the scientists are not advocating and so the Govt. is not taking steps to popularize and making these available to the farmers easily. I have used very extensively with good results are available.
Compost for Enrichment
a) on Rice crop.
b) on cereals.
c) on Sunflowers.
d) on Groundnut.
e) on Banana crop
Though they do not stand independently their contribution to the organic farming is very significant.
iii) Blue-Green Algae:
It is very cheap and very good in developing algae, in fields especially in Rice fields. It’s in-sith multiplication in the field, would go in a long way in contributing its might for improving the soil nutrition condition.
iv) Azolla: Its availability is rare though it has its own usefulness.
Plant – Protectors:-
Neem cake
Neem oil
Only these two are being frequently used. Many more like Kanuga,
Tabacco and Tulasi etc are available but there is no data or recorded experience is available.
After the farmers have tasted NPK, these useful organics are ignored by one and all.
Birth of Homoeo for vegetable kingdom:
When I was in Bilaspur, MP, it was a great task for me to maintain Roses in pots in summer season. In spite of great care and watering twice a day the plants were withering and there was no flowering. One evening when I was attending to the plants it struck to me that Homoeo may be able to help them from withering etc. I took a few Bio-chemic tablets supposed to be suitable for this and just buried them in the soil and applied water to it. Later in a few days I was to go to my native place on leave, entrusting these plants to somebody. After when I returned in a week, when I was just at the gate, shocked to see all the plants dead. But I was astonished to see one plant blooming, standing healthily alone among 30 of them. It then struck to me that this plant was treated with the Bio-chemic medicine. This incident confirmed that Homoeo would be very helpful to plant kingdom too!
Homoeo science:
Homoeopathy envisages some great principles out of which the following two, which are concerned with the subject can be considered.
Potentization
Vital force
Potentization:
As the disease is in the form of a force, the medicinal agent should be in the form of a force only to tackle it. So by potentization the medicinal agent is converted from its physiological form into a force and also the latent forces in them get liberated and acts on the body.
Vital force:
Every living being is endowed with a self protecting arrangement which protects the living mechanism at all times automatically. This is called vital force. When the disease (force) overpowers the vital force, the body succumbs to the disease. The result is expressed as signs and symptoms. The totality of signs and symptoms becomes the guide to select proper remedy. The individual symptoms should not be tackled as the disease force untouched grows stronger and stronger.
The above two principles can be applied to the vegetable kingdom also.
Supplementation: The chemical farming is based on the theory of supplementation only. Homoeo does not accept this to be correct. Dr J.T. Kent’s opinion is reproduced in this connection.
“If you were about to produce a Calcarea subject to order you could do so by feeding lime or lime water until the di8gestive organs were so debilitated that they could no longer digest lime and then the tissues will be deprived of what they need and give us the lime subject the “bone salt inanition “ case. Infants that are fed with lime water will in a little while lime subjects. They will soon get in such a state that they cannot take the lime from their natural food. But the natural lime cases are those that have a natural sickness, are born so, born with inability to digest the lime, that is in their natural food, and they grow fat and flabby and produce deficient bones.
The bones simply stop growing and the patient goes into marasmus. What a foolish notion it is to feed that infant with lime water because he cannot digest lime!. Now, it is astonishing that one single dose of the potency suitable to meet the state of disorder will make that infant to commence to digest its food, and appropriate from its food the lime substance that it needs in its bones and wherever else it needs it. All at once the teeth begin to grow, legs become stiff. The remedy must be sufficiently potentized to correspond with the wrong. It certainly must not be crude because the child is already stunted by the crude material. You do not build molehills out of our higher potencies; they simply establish a state of order, so that digestion and assimilation go on, order is established and the tissues are improved” --PP 276.277
“Salt is so common article of diet that it has been assumed that it could be of no use in medicine. This is only the opinion of men who operate entirely on the tissues” One may find an individual growing thin with all the symptoms of salt. He is taking salt in great quantities, but digesting none of it. Salt will be found in the stool for it does not enter into the life. There is a Natrum Mur inanition a starving for salt.
The same is true for lime children can get plenty of lime from their food and that is better when the salt or lime is given in such a shape that it can not be resisted by the internal man, aimed not at the house he lives in, but at the individual himself then the bone- salt inanition, the Natrum Mur inanition will soon passes away. We do not with our small doses supply the salt that the system needs, but we cure the internal disease, we turn into order the internal physical man, and than the tissues get salt enough from the food.”
--PP 712 of Kent’s Materia Medica.
These principles to the chemical farming, we have to understand that the unutilized fertilizers, impoverish the soils and damages the humus, making chemical changes in it. It may also harm the helpful organisms and bacteria .
Even if the uptake is good, if the plant is so affected, cannot assimilate but the unassimilated chemicals instead of helping the plant, established its own effect. This is more so in fruit-bearing trees than in crops with short life.
Hence, Homoeopathy works naturally in bringing up healthy plant life, in a better way. My 30 years of observations confirms this.
Homoeo plant nutrients:
These have been proven (like Homoeo medicine for human beings) on some hundreds and thousands before fixing them. After fixing, several plants were tested for any bad effects of repeated use, prolonged use and for excessive dosage. Those specimens were kept undisturbed, that too for several years, in some cases up to 10 years.
An irony – After 2 years (2-applications) of use of Gangadhar on coconut arcades in Kaviti (Srikakulam district) area, when our representative approached the farmers, their reply was astonishing. It was—“ when we are continuously getting good yields, what is the need for further application?”
As for crops, these have been tested in the scientific experiments on the following crops.
Rice 23 experiments
Ground nut 4 experiments
Black-gram 3 experiments
Sunflower 3 experiments
Vegetables 3 experiments
In all the experiments, the Homoeo treated plots have never been treated with either chemicals or organic manures but left untouched for over 6 years to see the effect of, depletion of soil after uptake of nutrition by the crops and the results proved my assumed theory.
The results are that the Homoeo treatments are either At-Par or ever significant over chemicals. High significance over chemicals was also achieved in a few instances.
Plant protection:
Presently plant protection gained more importance than fertilizers as the national loss due to pests and diseases in the year 1993 was up to 1000 crores. The consumption of pesticides was
2,333mt in the beginning
90,000mt in 1985
2, 00,000mt in 2000
If we see the overall scenario of pest control, we notice
1. Failure to control the pests since they have developed resistance to pesticides. But still many new pesticides are being allowed to come in the market, each one claiming its own merits but ending in failure to control.
2. Started advising “Integrated pest management” and to take recourse to pesticides as a last resort. That means we are accepting our own failures.
3. Bird –perches and mechanical removal of Caterpillars etc. and physical removal of diseased plants and burning them etc .
If this is needed why this hubbub of pest control at all and national wastage?
Homoeo plant protectors:
These Homoeo products aid the life force or the vital force in triggering the inherent self-defense mechanism of the plant in developing pest-resistance. Once the pests do not find a congenial atmosphere and the plant can no more be a host for them, the pest can no longer be there and withers away for want of food.
Having no opportunity, I could not conduct scientific experiments on plant-protectors to prove the effectiveness of them. But my experience like a lay, farmers showed that in a period of about 15 years almost all the pests and diseases could be successfully controlled or brought below ETL and the efficiency can simply be said that during 15 years in about 15 acres raising 3 crops a year, not even single need arose to resort to chemical pesticides. And there was no single incidence of loss. Such is the efficacy of Homoeo plant protectors.
In one scientific experiment the dreaded disease Ganoderma on coconut arcades was found to have been controlled with Homoeo plant protectors more efficiently with 86% when compared to chemicals(Calexin) with 34% result.
More so the technicality in selection and usage by mostly uneducated farmers, is taking a different turn. Though many Governmental assistance is said to be available, the fact is that it is not reaching the farmers. The illiteracy of farmers is much more exploited by the commercial agencies. The pesticide shops owners are acting as pseudo scientists by thrusting the pesticides, they are benefited, when they ask for something else. So there is no wonder, in future, if some private plant doctors come up and charge for technical advise and prescription. It is not wrong because a university demanded payment of charges to the volunteering scientists when their services were asked by a district Collector to establish a plant health clinic in a village. Such is the level of commercialization.
In addition, the chemical farming has made the farmers more dependent by
1. Removing the seeds from the hands of farmers.
2. Procuring the required quantity of fertilizers and seeds by purchasing.
3. Usage of fertilizers, pesticides –type, quantity, time and application.
4. Testing water and soil samples.
5. Diagnosis of pest attack, diseases, deficiencies etc.
All these have erupted out of chemical farming, ignoring the traditional organic farming. Worst of all is the soil application of pesticides like Carbofuran, phorete granules. The soil bacteria, earth worms, known and unknown pathogens those are helping for soil health and nutrition are killed totally. Are we not converting the soil into dust bowels?
This alone cannot be said to be a complete package and a few scientific experiments have been conducted and on record, but they are very small and a lot more is to be done. I am leaving this to somebody else to take up, as my part is nearing completion. All this I did it alone with out any financial assistance. CAPART extended support for 3 projects but later withdrew with a petty pretext. All these experimental data and results are published by me in the book called “Homoeo in Agriculture”.
The following advantages can be summarized under Homoeo farming.
1. It is a total and complete organic farming with assured yields.
2. Healthy soils, healthy plant life and healthy yields.
3. Improves the condition of humus- helpful to soil bacteria and other
helping soil insects and pathogen.
4. Restores natural taste, color and flavor of the yields. The cooking quality
of rice and other cereals improves very much.
5. Reduces incidence of pests and diseases.
6. Reduces the need of pest control measures.
7. Poison-free pest control methods.
8. Poison-free fodder, produces and food.
9. Removes environmental pollution and ecological disturbance.
10. The plants are not subjected to shocks due to chemical fertilizers and
chemical pesticides.
11. Safe to handle the plant-protectors.
12. No chance of accidental poisoning, suicidal incidents etc.
13. No chance of developing immunity to pesticides by the pests.
14. No possibilities of developing new pests, as the pests are not killed.
15. Easy to carry and handling charges are nil.
Ex: 200-450 ml (1kg max) of Tincture per acre as against 50 -100 kg of
chemical fertilizers.
16. These are cost-effective.( 200-300% less than chemicals.) So it is very
much helpful to small and marginal farmers. A great advantage for
Indian Agriculture.
17. Leads to sustainable Agriculture.
Conclusion:
This new science when used by large number of farmers would change the entire agriculture sector and reap the benefits of organic farming. A few suggestions for implementation as it is natural to develop fears for a change over.
1. Start a pilot project covering one Taluk or Mandal or a group of villages and implement this organic farming including the other useful ones, with the willing farmers with able monitoring one season.
2. Start an agricultural research station by any agricultural university to prove or otherwise of what is expected of. This helps in scientific analysis of many things.
3. Train a few for monitoring.
4. Establish a research wing to improve the present formulae and explore many plant drugs so far untouched.
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