Sustainable Agriculture

1. Module 4

2.  SYNTHETIC/INORGANIC FERTILIZERS
- product w/c properties are determined predominantly by its content
of mineral matter or synthetic chemical compounds.
- Chemical compounds w/c is in liquid or solid form and contains
considerable amounts of at least one of the essential plant nutrients,
such as nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, secondary macronutrients
and micronutrients
- Nutrients added to the soil to increase the quantity and quality of
food crops, flowers and other plants
- Have high nutrient content resulting to rapid growth and higher
yields

3.  Made the soil acidic and has posed problems of high nitrate
accumulation in plants
 Use of fertilizers containing nitrogen like urea (45-0-0) or
complete(14-14-14) will result to deficiencies of the other nutrients
also needed by plants
 Continuous use of synthetic fertilizers alone will not add organic
matter to the soil resulting to the degradation of the soil structure
 Excess supply in the soil inhibits the growth of N-fixing
microorganisms

4. LEACHING from the synthetic fertilizers pose not only
groundwater pollution but also health problems
Contamination of drinking water with nitrate concentration
greater than 45 parts per million (ppm) can cause
methemoglobinemia, a disease which affects both livestock
and human infants
When nitrates in the food or in the digestive system
combine with protein to form nitrosoamines which are
carcinogenic
Synthetic fertilizers contain about 80% ammonia, most
farmers are exposed to ammonia from inhalation of the gas
or vapors

5. Nitroge and Phosphorous nutrients in fertilizers run-off into
streams, lakes and rivers, accumulation of these inorganic
pollutants in the aquatic ecosystem causes the overgrowth
of algae.
When this enormous number of algae die, this will lower
the oxygen level in the water.
The process of rapid plant growth followed by increased
activity by decomposers and a depletion of the oxygen
level is called EUTROPHICATION.

6. In LOO VALLEY in BENGUET Province, excessive use of
chemical fertilizers in vegetable gardens has lowered the
soil’s pH level to an average of 4.4.
Acid soils become vulnerable to erosion, Acidity also
depletes fertility through the development of toxic levels of
iron and by lowering the amount of many essential
nutrients in the soil
Soil microbes which are partly responsible for nutrient
release, are adversely affected

7. When synthetic nitrogen fertilizers such as urea and
ammonium nitrates are used in conventional agriculture,
they become main contributors to N2O (nitrous oxide)
pollution.
One N2O molecules is equivalent to 310 Co2 molecules in
its greenhouse effect in the atmosphere
Synthetic fertilizers are significant contributors, to climate
change both in their contribution to nitrous oxide (N2O)
and methane (NH4) and to the energy used to manufacture
them.
An estimated 40% of energy used in the food system is
devoted to the production of synthetic fertilizers and
pesticides.

8.  The Philippines National Standards for Organic Fertilizers (PNS-OF
2013)
- REFERS to any product in solid or liquid form of plant or animal
origin that has undergone substantial decomposition that can supply
available nutrients to plants with a total Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P)
and Potassium (K) of 5 to 7 percent.
- This may be enriched by Microbial Inoculants and naturally occurring
minerals but no chemical or inorganic fertilizer material has been
added to the finished product to affect the nutrient content.
- Any similar material but with a total Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P) and
Potassium (K) of 2.5 to less than five (>5) percent is called COMPOST or
Soil Conditioner
- Organic fertilizers are natural fertilizers that help provide various
important nutrients required by plants.
- Improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soil
- Nutrients in organic fertilizers are released gradually from the organic
matter in forms that plant roots can absorb.

11.  Philippines National Standards for Organic Fertilizers (PNS-OF) of
2008 is being revised by a Technical Working Group assigned by the
Bureau of Agriculture and Fishery Product Standards (BAFPS)
 Aims is to set good quality standards that organic fertilizer
manufacturers must meet before they can sell their products in the
market
 Protects farmers and buyers from paying for bad quality organic
fertilizers as is already being experienced by some farmers.
 We emphasize the need to follow recommended procedures of
organic fertilizer production to be able to meet quality standards
required by law

12.  Organic Fertilizers for commercial sale are required to meet the
qualities presented in Table 4.2.Prohibited in organic fertilizer
production is the addition or fortification with synthetic fertilizers,
presence of pathogenic microorganisms and infective parasites and
presence of heavy metals above allowable limits.

13. One of the advantages of organic agriculture is that it promotes self
sufficiency of the whole farm. Commonly regarded farm wastes such
as animal manures, crop residues, rice straws, cut weeds and leaves
of multi-purpose trees can be used as raw materials to make organic
fertilizers.
 Microbial inoculants may be added to hasten the decomposition
process or to encourage the growth of favorable microorganisms.
There are two main factors to consider in producing organic fertilizers,
namely
(1) The raw materials
(2) The production process

14. The use of guano and natural rock deposits such as
dolomite, limestone and rock phosphates is restricted due
to possible depletion of natural resources and concerns of
environmental sustainability.
There is also risk of accumulation of trace elements and
heavy metals after prolonged use.
Prohibited raw materials include human excreta and
Chilean nitrite
ANIMAL MANURES – good fertilizers bec. of relatively high
contents of macro (N,P,K) and micro nutrients (boron,
manganese, cobalt, copper, zinc and molybdenum)

15.  COMPOSTING METHOD
- Process which allows a mixture of organic raw material to decompose
under controlled conditions to produce a stable end-product which is
the organic fertilizer or soil conditioner.

17.  Add a single microbial inoculant such as Trichoderma. This is a
popular inoculant that enhances the composting process through
rapid decomposition of the plant substrates.
 Multi-strain inoculants containing a combination of microorganisms
have been used by farmers who claim these products to be effective
in hastening the composting process. Some of these popular multi-
strain inoculants are Effective Microorganisms (EM), Indigenous
Micro-Organisms (IMO) and Fermented Plant Extracts such as
Fermented Plant Juice (FPJ) and Fermented Fruit Juice (FFJ).

18.  VERMICOMPOSTING – kind of composting method which makes use
of earthwormsl
 The worms’ excreta is what is called “vermicast”.
 VERMICAST is rich in nitrate, available forms of phosphorus,
potassium, calcium and magnesium.
 Bacteria and actinomycetes were found to be over six times greater
in vermicast than in the soil.
 VERMICOMPOST – the remaining decomposed materials containing
some of the vermicast, earthworm cocoons and small earthworms

19. Fermented Plant Extracts more popularly called Fermented
Plant Juice (FPJ) and Fermented Fruit Juice (FFJ)
These products have been popularly referred to as Foliar
Fertilizer
Results of on-going studies and chemical analysis of these
fermented plant extracts reveal that it contains very little
amounts of N, P, and K – too little for them to qualify as
fertilizers (Table 4.4). But they do contain other secondary
macro and micronutrients required by plants for proper
growth and development as shown in Table 4.5.

20. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rIXtSabF0kQ

21.  ORGANIC PLANT FOOD SUPPLEMENTS
- FPJs and FFJs, are being commonly referred to as liquid organic
fertilizers but recent chemical tests are showing otherwise. It seems
that the good effects claimed by farmers could be due to the action
of microorganisms or from plant growth regulators.
- During 2nd meeting of the PNS-OF Technical Working Group, it was
proposed to call these and other similar products as “organic plant
food supplement”.
- Other liquid products and extracts under this category include like
Fish Amino Acid (also called Fish Emulsion), blood meal and bone
meal extracts and seaweed extracts.

22.  This are biologically active products containing an optimum population of one or a
combination of active strains of beneficial bacteria, algae and fungi that are useful
in different biological activities such as decomposition of organic residues,
nitrogen fixation and enhancement of nutrient availability to plant roots
 Microbial inoculants contain living microorganisms which can be applied to seeds,
plant parts or to the soil.
 The microorganisms colonize the rhizophere or area around the plant root hairs.
 They are able to improve better plant growth by increasing the supply or
availability of nutrients to the plant.
 Microbial inoculants are sometimes also called biofertilizers.
 The national Institutes of Biotechnology and Microbiology (BIOTECH) and the
Institute of Biological Sciences both at UPLB have also developed microbial
inoculants.
 Bio N, MykoVAM and Biogree are some of the known and commercially available
examples

23.  The method of application and timing is of value.
 Fertilizers should be applied to coincide with the critical stages of
plant growth when the plant needs the nutrients most.
 Specifically these are at the seedling stage, vegetative stage and
fruiting stage
 Remember that organic fertilizers take time to release their nutrients.
Thus they should be incorporated to the soil 1-2 weeks before the
stage of critical crop growth.
 Liquid Organic Plant Food Supplements are usually diluted with
water first to about 3-5% by volume.
 Microbial inoculants which contain live microorganisms have specific
recommendations in their labels. Be sure to follow them strictly

24. WHETHER for own use, for business or for livelihood, we
emphasize the need to follow basic concepts and
procedures of organic fertilizer production to be able to
meet quality standards required by law.
WE encourage creativity and discovery in improving the
methods for organic fertilizers production.
HOWEVER, let us not short-cut the procedures to gain
higher profits but sacrifice product quality in the end.
ALWAYS keep in mind our catch phrase: “ Organic farming
is farming with a conscience!”

25. ANY QUESTION?