REGENERATIVE AGRICULTURE PRACTICES
- Minimal mechanical disturbance of the soil – no tillage, through direct sowing
Cover crops in no-till systems provide a food source and habitat for soil organisms. It is applied over dried vegetation – cover crops or weeds. This reduces the time required for soil preparation, allows for early sowing and extends the growing season by up to 4 weeks per season.
Early sowing is especially important in dry climates. At the beginning of the season, it is crucial not to waste time preparing the seedbed so that the entire crop season can be used and valuable rainwater is not wasted. Summer crops can be planted directly, the same day as winter crops are harvested, to avoid loss of soil moisture.Правила при всички системи:
▶ Timely sowing – it should be timely for both the main and cover crops;
▶ Timely cessation of covering – it should be discontinued 2-3 weeks before the sowing date to avoid problems related to pests and allelopathy
▶Use of successful sowing methods – the least successful sowing method is broadcast sowing.
Regenerative agriculture is compatible with planting beds in permanently raised bed irrigation systems, and suitable equipment can be readily procured and developed. Crops can be sown in previously prepared permanent beds, 60-90 cm wide and 15-30 cm high, with 1 to 3 rows per bed. The beds are permanent in the sense that they are maintained over many seasons for successive crop rotations. The furrows (the unplanted space between the beds) provide water for irrigation and drainage, as well as tracks for the wheels of machinery. The initial formation of beds requires tillage. Subsequently, no further tillage is applied, except for periodic reshaping of the beds. This operation also serves to mechanically control weeds in the furrow areas. Permanently raised beds are both affordable and beneficial (sustainable and profitable) for small and large farmers.
▶ If residual nitrogen is low, consideration should be given to adding additional nitrogen fertilizer when covering small grains.
- Minimal chemical disturbance of the soil – this means reducing synthetic fertilizers and pesticides annually until the ecosystem is restored to balance.
Traditional agriculture not only exacerbates the potential shortage of mineral fertilizers, but also creates serious challenges for the agricultural system itself.
Agricultural toxins harm plants and the living organisms they fight against. They lead to a devastating loss of biodiversity, reduced productivity of fields and soil degradation. Pesticides contaminate our food and groundwater and thus reach our bodies.
Healthy soil, which is the goal of regenerative agriculture, is characterized by a balance between bacteria and fungi that provide a variety of nutrients and beneficial insects, which in turn leads to healthy plants that are resistant to diseases and pests.
Green manuring, or sideration, is one of the reliable means of increasing soil fertility, especially on low-fertility and sandy soils.
The cultivation of intermediate crops, which are sown in a period free from grain and other crops and provide green mass, which together with the roots remains in the field as organic fertilizer, is promising.
In practice, a combined form is also common, when the main yield is used for animal feed, and the roots and additional growth are plowed into the soil.
Various agricultural crops are used for green manuring, of which legumes have the greatest production importance. Unlike non-legume crops (mustard, rapeseed, etc.), which require a significant amount of mineral nitrogen for their rapid growth, legumes absorb nitrogen from the atmosphere. They enrich the soil with significant amounts of nitrogen and organic substances that are formed during their mineralization and humification. They are distinguished by a greater rate of decomposition than straw and other organic fertilizers. For example, the green mass of mustard is mineralized 1.5-2 times faster than straw and reaches 70% within 6 months.
Green manures, when intensively decomposed, have a stimulating effect on the soil microflora. As a result, the incidence of diseases of echimika and other cereals decreases by 8.6-10.2%.
The products obtained during the decomposition of green plant mass have an inhibitory effect on the germination of weeds – the weeding of the first cereal crop decreases by 26-33.9%, and of the second – by 17.7-25.3%.
All these factors contribute to the greater efficiency of green fertilization.
Siderates are especially effectively used under potatoes, beets, corn, autumn crops, tobacco, vegetable and fruit crops.
Plowing the entire green mass is recommended as the main method of fertilizing orchards and citrus plantations, with the land under the trees being sown in the summer with suitable crops such as lupine, pea-rye or pea-wheat mixture, fescue-wheat or fescue-oat mixture. The crops are plowed with deep plowing of the orchards in late October or early November.
Peas, rye, pea-rye or pea-wheat mixture, barley, fescue-wheat, fescue-rye mixture are recommended for autumn sowing, which are plowed in the spring.
The advantage of green fertilization over manure:
– lower cost.
– more uniform distribution of organic matter over the entire area, which is difficult to obtain when spreading manure
Plants for sideration
Suitable for green cover and sideration are nine types of cereal grasses, the main ones being: hedgehog grass (Dactylis glomerata); hybrid ryegrass (Lolium X boucheanum); grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolcr); Sudan grass (Sorghum sudananse); mossy oats (Avena strigosa); Italian ryegrass (Loloum multiflorum);.
As sideration crops from legumes, the following are suitable: garden beans (Viciafaba), meadow clover (Trifoliumpratense), mossy peas (Viciavillosa), fodder peas.
Practical tips for green cover using siderations:
– The earliest recommended sowing date is July 16, and the latest date is October 1. These dates do not apply to the sowing of grasses accompanying the main crop.
– Use at least two types of crops from the list, each of which should not exceed 60% of the mixtures (measured by the amount of seeds per 1 sq.m.), and the share of cereal grasses in total should also not exceed 60%.
– To improve soil fertility, alternate:
▶ crops with shallow roots and crops with deep roots;
▶ crops that use a lot of moisture and crops that require less moisture;
▶ legumes and grasses
▶ legumes and Brassica – Brassica (cabbage, radish, turnip)
▶ crops with high root biomass (e.g. rye) and low root biomass;
▶ high-feeding crops and medium or low-feeding crops;
▶ crops that clean nitrogen and crops with high nitrogen requirements;
– For successful weed management, follow these principles:
▶ Crops that suppress weeds should precede slow-growing crops that are more susceptible to their competition;
▶ Low-residue crops cannot follow another low-residue crop;
▶ Crop rotation should include plants that have allelopathic inhibitors of weed germination.
- Complete soil coverage and protection – this means providing sufficient biomass from previous crops and cover crops to achieve reliable protection and insulation for moisture retention and weed suppression. The goal is to achieve 5-8% organic matter in the soil.
USEFUL TIPS:
- Keep roots alive as long as possible throughout the year – In nature, you can find plants that are green and try to grow regardless of the season, even in winter, breaking through the snow. On the one hand, living roots provide most of the biomass needed to increase the organic matter in the soil, on the other hand, they lead to living plants that photosynthesize and convert solar energy into carbon sugars, which they feed the bacteria in the soil.
- Some cover crops can become weeds themselves if they have resistant seeds. Therefore, it is advisable to avoid using the same types of cover crops each year. Weed emergence can be reduced by sowing the next crop immediately or as soon as possible after harvest, rather than leaving the ground uncovered.
- Sow mixes of cover crops – Cover crops have another important function besides their biomass and are selected according to the season and soil needs, because each different plant family needs different nutrients and therefore attracts and feeds different types of bacteria.
Advanced regenerative farmers sow mixes of cover crops with over 10 species of plants in them. In addition to crops, look for a variety of beneficial insects, for which it is good to create habitats of plants to increase their population and increase their role in natural control of harmful insects
- Avoid leaving the land fallow – some farmers use a fallow period after a crop growing season, believing that letting the soil «rest» will restore it to its original state of productivity.
Leaving the field unused, even for a few weeks, makes it vulnerable to wind and water erosion, as well as to noxious weeds, which rob the soil of nutrients and thus eliminate any benefits of not planting crops.
Fields that are left unplanted throughout the growing season have no source of energy for the soil, other than the spontaneous weeds that emerge, which in turn provide a continuous supply of weed seeds.
Therefore, instead of restoring the soil’s nutritional qualities, this practice further degrades soil organic matter, which in turn leads to runoff and leaching of nutrients during the rainy season and severe erosion.
If you are still reluctant to give up this practice, you should replace tillage with intensive grazing in early autumn to reduce weeds.
- Change the sequence of crop rotation in the crop rotation:
– Rotate cereals, legumes and broadleaf crops.
– Rotate crops that have different pests and diseases.
– Plant deep-rooting crops after shallow-rooting crops. The greater the number and the wider the variety of crops and species included in a crop rotation, the better the potential for biological control of diseases, pests and weeds..
- Weed management – one of the biggest differences between regenerative agriculture and tillage is weed control.
The main objective of tillage (turning) is to mechanically control most weeds by burying them deeply. The cessation of tillage requires the implementation of other weed control measures, as well as regular monitoring of the development of their populations. This process is of utmost importance in the transition period (the first 2-3 years of the transition to regenerative agriculture), as the weed seed bank in the arable crops is then well filled.
Therefore, it is important to avoid reseeding by implementing an integrated approach including:
▶ Crop rotation: rotating crops of many crops will help control weeds more effectively.
▶ Species selection: species that provide rapid and dense ground cover smother weeds. Sufficient cereals should be included to provide a large amount of slowly decomposing residues (e.g. rye, sorghum, turnips and high biomass legumes such as hairy vetch). Weed suppression by the cover crop residue mat depends on both the type of cover crop and the height of the weeds and the density (thickness) of the cover crop mat. Small weeds are not killed by rolling.
▶ Use of cover crops: cover crops can be used to physically or allelopathically suppress weed germination (i.e., release compounds that inhibit weed seed germination and growth), which favors the emergence and growth of the main crop
.▶ Crop succession: Successive crops in the crop rotation should produce enough biomass to shade weeds and/or compete with them through rapid growth and dense cover.
▶ Sowing: Early sowing gives crops a better chance to compete with weeds; dense sowing provides better soil cover, which results in shading and weed suppression. Although the narrow row spacing of the main crop may hinder the cover crop, it reduces weeds.
▶ Residue management: A prerequisite for effective weed control is that residues are evenly distributed.
- Nutrient management
Crop nutrient requirements are the same for regenerative agriculture and tillage systems.
A balanced nutrient and pH status is necessary to achieve good productivity.
If soil analysis reveals low values for certain elements, corrective fertilization and/or liming should be applied to achieve at least medium, and over time, high, nutrient levels in the soil.
The difference between the two systems is the type and timing of nutrient application.
In regenerative agriculture, the critical percentage of base saturation is 40. If it is below this level, lime should be applied to raise it. It is important to note that regenerative agriculture reduces lime demand by 35-50 percent compared to tillage.
– Lime application – if lime is needed to neutralize soil acidity, it should be applied before the transition to regenerative agriculture and preferably several months before sowing to provide a longer reaction time. A single application of lime of approximately 1 ton/ha every 2-3 years may be sufficient to regulate acidity.
– Gypsum application – gypsum is spread in small quantities with the aim of correcting calcium and sulphur deficiencies and reducing aluminium toxicity. Gypsum can be applied with lime.
– Nitrogen top-dressing – during the first few years of applying regenerative farming methods, nitrogen is in organic form and therefore not readily available to plants. Therefore, in the first years (when the mineralisation process is slow) it is advisable to apply nitrogen in mineral form.
Over the years, increased biological activity will effectively recycle nutrients for plants and reduce the need for fertiliser per unit of production.
To avoid a lack of nitrogen for plant growth it is necessary:
▶ If possible, allow time for organic matter to decompose before sowing.
▶ Apply nitrogen fertilizer at seeding. Always apply nitrogen fertilizer in bands to ensure more efficient use.
– Phosphorus top dressing – soils with high clay content require increased phosphorus fertilisation. Phosphorus fertiliser should be applied as a band close to the seed row at sowing. Phosphates should not be spread together with surface lime applications as surface pH close to 7 causes phosphorus depletion. Soils with pH values of 6-7.5 are ideal for phosphorus availability. Short cycle crops have a higher need for phosphorus than long cycle crops which have more time to extract it.
– Potassium top dressing – potassium band fertiliser should be applied under or to the side of the seed row at sowing to promote early seedling growth.
*Mulching – In this technique, the soil is covered with various plant residues (straw, corn stalks, sunflowers, tobacco, cotton, etc.). When applying each layer of mulch, the soil to be covered must first be loosened; the covering material must be crushed before use; green and succulent material can be applied very thinly and is therefore often renewed; dry material, such as straw, can also be applied in a thicker layer of 2 to 10 cm and must be moistened; the covering material must not contain weed seeds.
