Two things every farmer should farm test with the pH meter to get higher yields and better quality.
For farmers in India pH is only a number in the soil report.
There is more focus on pH of water over soil and the concept of pH of leaf sap or Petiole doesn’t still exist. This is one of the main reasons why Indian Agriculture is lagging behind over the world in terms of yield and more so in terms of produce quality.
It’s a change in mindset which is required, openness to newer technologies and adaption to change. Technologies which have been existing and used by US farmers since 1950s are still not seen to be used in Indian Agriculture.
Our farmers still live in the archaic world and do what the local agronomist with a local degree and limited knowledge tell farmers to do. Agronomists are company salesmen and they recommend products that adds jingles to their pocket.
A simple thing like testing soil pH is also given to a lab while it can be done by every farmer at an affordable cost. All you need is either a probe to get an approx idea or the regular pH meter or even a pH strip can make do.
Why the need to farm test pH of soil or leaf Sap?
Soil pH tells you the following :
1. Acidic pH : The bacterial workforce in the soil is under pressure that fix from Nitrogen and make Bio available fb the other important minerals. This will happen if pH is below 5.8Acidic pH will hamper Vegetative growth which can be corrected immediately if measured.
2. Alkaline pH : The fungi team in the soil is being attacked if pH is over 8.0 Alkaline pH will affect flowering, increase flower drop, fruit set and overall fruit quality.
Sap pH tells you the following :
1. Acidic pH : Below 6.4 there will be a noticeable deficiency in Cations – Ca, Mg, K and Na level. Since fungi love acidic pH, there will be an increase in fungal attack.
2. Alkaline pH : Over 6.4 means the anions – Nitrogen, Phosphorus & Sulphur are short. Over pH of 8.0 the chance of insect attack is very high or rather 100% certain.
Which is the right product to test Leaf Sap ? The only suitable product is from Horiba Japan shown below which has a smart compartment to take in just 2 drops of the sap and give you the perfect reading !
What is Measured can only be Managed. Once managed, it can be taken advantage off and every farmer can get higher yields and a great fruit with Balanced Soil Fertility.
So get juicing your leaves, after all it takes just 2 drops that make a huge difference!
How Farmers can Save The World by reversing Climate Change ?
There’s been too much focus on CO2 levels of Atmosphere and related pollution problems in recent times than focussing on putting back CO2 into Soil. Agriculture has never been looked at the way it is now and is becoming more important and will be the only reason for reversing Climate Change. We’ve seen pictures of dense smog in New Delhi and Beijing in media and the only thing we do to show our concern is by sharing the pictures on our FB page or Whatsapp.
We simply watch cities and people go down and do nothing about it. To bring about a change, to reverse climate change, we need to first understand the ‘Carbon Cycle’. We can not make new carbon and we need to drill this hard into our heads.
The global carbon cycle is divided into the following major reservoirs of carbon interconnected by pathways of exchange:
1. Atmosphere (as CO2 and methane).
2. Land : Carbon is stored in the soil as humus.
3. Terrestrials : Plants, animals, humans.
4. Oceans.
5. Earth’s interior.
Carbon moves between these storehouses in a phenomenon called The Carbon Cycle. When we talk about CO2 levels, here’s some perspective in terms of numbers :Soils contain roughly 2500 Gt (1 gigatonne = 1 billion tonnes) of organic carbon, making this the largest terrestrial pool. This is 3 times of what is stored in atmosphere 800Gt and 5 times of biotic (560 Gt). Hence, what we do with our soils or rather what we feed our soils becomes a matter of concern in terms of Reversing Climate Change.
The Problem :
1. Thanks to Modern Farming almost 70% of the organic carbon in the soil is now in the atmosphere.
2. Over farming has reduced Soil Organic Matter globally to below 2% from average 5%.
1. Soils whose upper horizons consist of less than 1% organic matter are mostly limited to desert areas and that’s where we are heading.
2. Oceans becoming acidic and temperature rising thus decreasing the ocean’s capacity to absorb CO2 and retain it.
3. GHG being trapped in the atmosphere and the layer is becoming thicker every day.
The Solution : FARMERS! Farmers are the only people who can save the world and reverse Climate Change. They can do this by adopting ‘Farm Composting’. Stubble burning or the deliberate setting fire of the straw stubble that remains after crop has been harvested is a common and an age old practice. The devastating result – Environmental Pollution, release of CO2 into atmosphere and massive health problem to people. While in countries like China, there is a governmental ban on stubble burning, so has India, farmers from Punjab and Haryana burn an estimated 35 million tons waste from their wheat fields after harvesting, as a low-cost straw-disposal practice to reduce the turnaround time between harvesting and sowing for the second (winter) crop. Smoke from this burning produces a cloud of particulates visible in images from space and has produced a “toxic cloud” in New Delhi, resulting in declarations of an air-pollution emergency. What can Farmers do? Farmers need to take up Farm Composting not as a means of Sustainability Agriculture Practice but as a solution to saving the world from pollution, climate change and as a sign of giving back to the Environment.
A few of the many benefits of Farm Composting are : Reduction in waste volume. A rich, natural fertilizer cuts back on use of chemical fertilizers. Improves soil aeration and drainage. Helps control weeds. Decreases the need for costly watering. An easy to use Compost Maker like “KickStart – C” is suitable to compost all kinds of organic waste generated by : Agriculture Farms.Household. Food Processing Units. Agriculture Markets. Farmers Market. KickStart-C is an effective, safe and environmentally sensitive facilitator of aerobic composting of organic waste. It speeds up natural composting process and rapidly converts waste into a rich manure. It preserves the vital nutrients and organic matter in the waste while making it free from pathogens, foul smells and weed seeds. There can be five billion organisms in every teaspoon of compost, involving over 30,000 different species. What better reason to consider Farm Composting than to create A Better Earth for the generations to come and to leave behind a legacy that it was indeed Our Farmers that Saved the World…?