The impact of conventional fruit and crop farming on the soil has been documented extensively over the years. People are now well aware that intensive agricultural activities, such as irrigation, chemical and biocide spraying and the use of heavy machinery, deplete the nutrients in the soil and prevent them from coming back.

1. Cost-Effective Ways
to Maintain Soil
Fertility and Nutrient
Cycling in the Farm
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2. The impact of conventional fruit and crop farming on the soil has been documented
extensively over the years. People are now well aware that intensive agricultural
activities, such as irrigation, chemical and biocide spraying and the use of heavy
machinery, deplete the nutrients in the soil and prevent them from coming back.
Nutrients such as nitrogen, cycles naturally in water, soil and air, human interventions
can immobilize the nitrogen, making it difficult to produce high yields. The same goes for
heavily grazed farmlands. But there are cost-effective ways to facilitate nutrient cycling
and maintain soil fertility in the field. Here are a few examples:
Effects of Leaching
The most prevalent effect of such practices is leaching or the removal of plant-soluble
nutrients through the percolation of water. The loss of soluble constituents in the soil
caused by irrigation water or rain can alter the soil structure and horizon and contribute
to poor drainage and groundwater contamination. The more devoid of nutrients the soil
is, the quicker it is for toxic chemicals to dissolve and reach groundwater sources and
nearby streams.

3. Allow the Soil to Heal
While leaching is avoidable, farm managers can reduce its effects by limiting farm
operations that speed up leaching. Some farms adopt innovative irrigation techniques
and crop rotation while others reduce or time the spraying of biocides. However, timing
chemical spraying only delays leaching. To fully restore the natural nutrient cycling in the
soil, it must first heal completely.
Amend the Soil with Compost and
Organic Matter
To restore the fertility of the soil and
supply plants with nutrients, some
farms, especially organic farms, add
manure and other organic soil
amendments, such as biosolids, yard
and food wastes, seaweed and animal
byproducts to the field. Some also use
inorganic byproducts to amend the soil,
but organic forms are more effective.
Switch to Organic Methods
Ultimately, the most cost-effective
and sustainable method to bring back
the plant nutrients in the soil is to
switch to organic farming. Organic
farming and grazing practices are the
best solutions to having healthy soil in
the field for life.

4. Naturally, fertile soils are teeming with billions of microbes, fungi and bacteria that
supply plants with nutrients. If nourished, these little critters will work together to
perform functions required to produce healthy and abundant yields.
Food production and security for all is attainable even without the use of synthetic
biocides and unethical farming practices. If farmers learn to work symbiotically with
the ecosystem, the ecosystem will provide.
SOURCES:
http://www.rainfilltanks.com.au/
http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/main/soils/health/
http://www.extension.umn.edu/garden/fruit-vegetable/nutrient-cycling-and-
fertility/#compost
http://www.caes.uga.edu/commodities/fieldcrops/forages/events/gs13/03/Soil%20Fer
tility%20and%20Nutrient%20Cycling%20in%20Grazed%20Systems.pdf