Nematode management in organic farming by Vikas Bamel

1. Nematode Management in
Organic Farming
Vikas Bamel

2. Organic farming
Definition
History
Importance
Disadvantages
Relation with nematode

3. Organic farming
Organic farming is a way of farming that avoids the use of synthetic
chemicals including fertilizers and pesticides as well as genetically
modified organisms (GMOs), and usually subscribes to the principles of
sustainable agriculture. It emphasizes on soil health. This system of
farming relies on crop rotation, crop residues, animal manures and
mechanical cultivation to maintain soil productivity and tithe, to supply
plant nutrients, and to control weeds, insects and other pests.
It is believed that healthy soil, maintained without the use of man-made
fertilizers and pesticides, and livestock raised without drugs, yields
higher quality food than conventional, chemical-based agriculture.
Organic farming refers not to the food itself, but to how it is
produced. All organic foods are required to be regularly inspected and
certified under an organic certification program.

4. History
In India, the practice of organic farming is there since time immemorial.
In modern day civilization, it was a reaction to industrialization.
The British botanist, Sir Albert Howard often called “the father of modern organic
agriculture” studied traditional farming practices in Bengal, India. He regarded such
practices as superior to modern agricultural science
In Germany, Rudolf Steiner's Spiritual Foundations for the Renewal of Agriculture,
published in 1924, led to the popularization of biodynamic agriculture.
The first use of the term organic farming is usually credited to Lord Northbourne, in his
book, Look to the Land (1940), wherein he described a holistic, ecologically balanced
approach to farming.
In 1972, the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), was
founded in Versailles, France. .
Since the early 1990s, the retail market for organic farming in developed economies has
grown about 20 per cent annually due to increasing consumer demand.

8. Current Global Statistics
• Total certified organic area: more than 24 million
hectares
•The market is 23 billion USD (Year: 2012)
•Countries with the highest area: Australia: 10
million ha, Argentina: almost 3 million ha, Italy:
almost 1.2 million ha
•The proportion of organically managed land is
highest in Europe

9. Asia: The Facts
• Area 880,000 hectares, 61,000 farms
•Main producing countries: China, Ukraine, India,
Indonesia, Israel
•Biggest market: Japan;
•Emergent markets: China, Malaysia, Philippines,
Singapore,Thailand
•Most certification carried out by foreign bodies;
own certification bodies in China, Japan, Israel
•China, India, Philippines, Thailand, Malaysia
work on organic legislation

10. Importance of organic farming
Pesticides
GMO
Environment
Food contaimination
Food quality
Children health
Soil conservation
Rural infrastructure
Sustainability
Certification

11. Flip side of organic farming
Some ingredients with higher carbon content:
•Dry, straw-type material, such as cereal straws
•Autumn leaves
•Sawdust and wood chips
Some ingredients with higher nitrogen content:
•Green plant material (fresh or wilted) such as crop residues, hay,
grass clippings, weeds
•Animal manures (choose vegetarian horse manure, cow manure,
etc.)
•Seaweeds
•Poultry manure provides lots of nitrogen but little carbon. Horse
manure provides both. Sheep and cattle manure don't drive the
compost heap to as high a temperature as poultry or horse
manure, so the heap takes longer to produce the finished product.

12. C:N ratio
Two classes of organic matter/nitrogen ratio:
• Semi-mature urban compost (OM:N < 60)
• Mature urban compost (OM:N < 50).
CN ratio fall in beginning due decrease of carbon and increase of N
•Typical carbon-to-nitrogen ratios:
Legume hay 15-19:1, Non-legume hay 24-41:1, Corn stalks 42:1,
Oat straw 70:1, Rye straw 82:1, Cow manure 8:1
Finished compost 17-20:1, Agricultural soils 8-14:1, Hardwood
sawdust 500:1
Bark contains a high level of N, Ca, and K, it also has a high
level of phenolic compounds Tobacco leaves and tobacco
factory wastes had a high content of nicotine as well as of N,
K, Ca, and Mg.

13. PROBLEMS IN THE USE OF COMPOSTS
• High price
The price of compost is 20 times higher than that of chemical
fertilizer.
• Unbalanced nutrient content
Sewage sludge as raw materials for composting with livestock
manure for composting and have a high phosphate content
•Immature compost
It takes about 6 months in a natural environment and about 80
days in an industrial facility.
• Salt accumulation and environmental pollution
When livestock manure compost is applied as N requirement to
crops, phosphate input becomes an excess of 200-954% over
standard input. Food waste compost has high concentrations of
salt and fat.

14. Natural gases release
During composting for eight days, each cubic meter of compost
produced 2 g of CO2, 239 mg CH4, and 660 mg NH3. Each ton of hog
wastes, cow wastes, and chicken wastes produced 22.1 g, 16.3 g, and
12.9 g of methane, respectively, during a year of composting. Methane
emission rates from the compost of the mixture of hog wastes, chicken
wastes, and sawdust ranged from 0.12 mg-2 h-1 to 707 mg-2 h-1 depending
on the stage of maturity. Nitrous oxide emission rates were between
0.15 mg m-2 h-1 and 25.0 mg m-2 h-1, and those of carbon dioxide ranged
from 1,036 mg m-2 h-1 to 19,558 mg m-2 h-1
.
Heavy metal content
sewage sludge contains considerable amounts of plant nutrients such as
organic matter, N, P, and K, it is not used in agricultural practices
because of its high concentration of heavy metals.

15. The Cu contents are generally high in poultry and hog composts _ from 9 mg kg-
1 to 394 mg kg-1 and from 6 mg kg-1 to 301 mg kg-1, respectively. The Zn contents
are between 56 mg kg-1 and 1,147 mg kg-1 and between 35 mg kg-1 and 623 mg
kg-1, respectively. The Cr contents are often high in organic manure of animal
origin, in hog compost, and in compound organic manure. The high content of
Cr in the manure is conjectured to be related to the admixing of animal skin
which is the powder by-product of the leather industry
Organic compounds
Biosolids can contain organic compounds as a result of the disposal of
industrial, commercial, and household wastes. Pesticides can be found in yard
wastes and food wastes. Pthalates are found in plastics along with other organic
dynes and compounds. Household wastes discharged into the municipal solid
waste stream contain oils, solvents, pesticides, and many other toxic organic
compounds. Paper products may contain toxic organics as a result of printing
inks and ash discharged from incinerators or boilers may contain dioxins.
Shelf life

16. Soil amendments for nematode control
Nematode-suppressive materials include
•Oilcakes
•Sawdust
•Sugarcane bagasse
•Bone meal, horn meal
•Compost and
•Green manures.
Organic farming and Nematode management

17. Green manure crops
Winter cover crops such as oats or rye have long
been used as green manures.
•Crotolaria juncea (Dhaincha)
•Clover
•Fenugreek
• Chari (fodder sorghum)
• maize
•Field beans
Ferns of the genus Azolla have been used as a
green manure in southeast Asia.

18. Crop Rotations and Cover Crops
A general rule of thumb is to rotate to crops that are not related to each other.
For example, pumpkin and cucumbers are closely related
and rotating between them would probably not be effective
to keep nematode populations down.
A pumpkin-pepper rotation might be more effective. Even
better is a rotation from a broadleaf to a grass.
Corn, onions, garlic and small grains (cereals) are good
rotation crops for reducing root-knot nematode populations.
Crotalaria and grasses like rye are usually resistant to root-
knot nematodes

19. Nematodes
Plant Species Root-knot Sting Lesion
Pangola digitgrass,Digitaria decumbens G* P P
Transvala digitgrass,Digitaria decumbens F G P
French marigold,Tagetes patula G** P G
Hairy Indigo,Indigofera hirsuta G G G
Showy crotalaria,Crotalaria spectabilis G G P
*G = good control of the most common species of this nematode; P =
poor or no control of this nematode; F = fair control.** Effectiveness
differs among varieties of marigolds;
Effects of some cover crops on nematodes

20. Companion crop
•Hedged investment -- multiple plants in the same space increase the odds of
some yield being given, even if one category encounters catastrophic issues
•Flavor enhancement -- some plants, especially herbs, seem to subtly change
the flavor of other plants around them.
•Level interaction -- plants which grow on different levels in the same space,
perhaps providing ground cover or working as a trellis for another plant
•Nitrogen fixation -- Plants which fix nitrogen in the ground, making it
available to other plants
•Pest suppression -- Plants which repel insects, plants, or other pests like
nematodes or fungi, through chemical means
•Positive hosting -- attracts or is inhabited by insects or other organisms which
benefit plants, as with ladybugs or some "good nematodes"
•Protective shelter -- one plant type of plant may serve as a wind break, or
shade from noonday sun, for another
•Trap Cropping -- plants which attract pests away from others

21. Phytochemical based nematode control-Repellant,
attractant, hatching stimulant and inhibitors,and
nematoxins
Sincosin-Prickly pear, red oak,mangrove, and sumac
-R reniformis, T semipenetrans,H schactii, M incognita, R similis
Tagetes Polythienle- Thiophen l terthienyl-P penetrans, G rostochiensis, A
tritici and D dipsaci
Isothiocynate and Glucosinolate from Brassicacea-G rostochiensis and H
schachtii
Cynogenic Glycosides-Sudan grass and cassava roots release cyanide on damage-
M hapla
Polyacetylene from asteraceae-P coffeae
Alkaloids –nicotine, cystisine and colchicine Acetyl cholinesterase inhibitors-
Calabar beans, Bocconia cordata, Crotalaria spectabilis, Sophora- M incognita
Fatty acids-Myristic, palmitic acid, oleic acids-P penetrans, M incognita
Terpenoids-Isoprenoids-Ocimum, Mentha, tulsi, Bottle brush, Eugenia, kachi
grass- A tritici, T semipenetrans, M incognita, H cajani
Sesquiterpenoids—Hemigossypol-Cotton- M incognita

22. Diterpenoids-Daphine roots-A besseyi
Phenolics-Pyrocatechol from Eragrostis, Propenylphenol from piper, chavicol
from Viburnum
Salicylic acid
Algae- Ascophylum nodosum- Betain aminovaleric acid- M javanica and M
incognita
Fungi-Ditera- Myrothecium verrucaria,
Linoleic acid from Arthrobotrys
Acetic acid from P lilacinus and Trichoderma,
Tricyclic sesterpenoids, citric acid and oxalic acid from Aspergillus
Phomalactone from Verticillum chlamydosporium
Cannabiorcichromenic acid from Cylindrocarpon olidum
The most common organic pesticides, accepted for restricted use by most
organic standards, include Bt, pyrethrum, and rotenone

23. Preventing Further Spread of Nematodes
Preventing nematodes spread i.e human-assisted spread of
nematodes to uninfected fields:
•Use certified planting material
•Use soilless growing media in greenhouses
•Clean soil from equipment before moving between fields
(washing equipment—including tires—with water is most effective)
•Keep excess irrigation water in a holding pond so that any
nematodes present can settle out, pump water from near the surface
of the pond; plan irrigation to minimize excess water
•Prevent or reduce animal movement from infested to uninfested
fields
•Eliminate important weed hosts such as crabgrass, ragweed, and
cocklebur

24. An IPM system is designed around six basic components
1. Acceptable pest levels: The emphasis is on control, not
eradication.
2. Preventive cultural practices: Selecting varieties best for local
growing conditions, and maintaining healthy crops, is the first
line of defense.
3. Monitoring: Regular observation is the cornerstone of IPM.
Record-keeping is essential, as is a thorough knowledge of the
behavior and reproductive cycles of target pests.
4. Mechanical controls: hand-picking, , using traps, vacuuming,
and tillage to disrupt breeding.
5. Biological controls: Natural biological processes and materials
for promoting beneficial organism that eat target pests.

27. Resistance
Mechanism
Advantages
Disadvantages
Solarisation
Red mulch
Suppressive soils

28. Conclusions
1. Organic farming and conventional farming has essentially similar
bearing on the nematode community though conflicting reports are there
2. Since use of nematicides is not permitted therefore cultural practices are
to be used effectively for they also require thorough knowledge and
understanding
3. Since enough guidelines are there so imminent nematode problem could
be checked naturally however use of organic amendment like neem
kernel, and some toxic plants like datura etc. play a major role.
4. There is need to develop a methodology for to reduce the quantity of
organic application which is limiting
5. Summer ploughing and solarisation are also useful
6. Cluster distribution of nematodes require site specific management
which is less feasible in organic farming