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6.4 Sustainable Agriculture (Methods to produce sustainably (expand…
6.4 Sustainable Agriculture
Methods to produce sustainably
conserve topsoil
Methods
Terracing
Intercropping
Hedges
Contour Planting & Strip Cropping
No-Till Farming
Don't use soil at all
restore soil fertility
Methods
Nitrogen, Phosphorus, potassium
Use organic fertilizers
Crop Rotation
reduce soil salinization
Methods
Reduce irrigation
Use more efficient irrigation methods
Switch to salt-tolerant crops
reduce desertification
Methods
Avoid overgrazing deforestation and destructive plating and irrigation practices
plant plants and other plants to anchor topsoil and hold water
avoid synthetic pesticides
Methods
Biological controls
using natural predators, parasites and pathogens
sex attractants
hormones
Ecological controls
polyculture provides habitat for the predators of pests
Cultivational controls
alternate crops from year to year so pest populations die out
expand organic argriculture
Benefits
emphasizes prevention of soil erosion and the use of organic fertilizer such as animal manure and compost
employs crop rotation and biological pest control
uses no genetically modified seeds
produces less air and water pollution
builds soil organic matter instead of depleting it
reduces erosion
reduce water pollution- no pesticides
matches conventional yield after the first three years
better for human health
crops are grown without the use of synthetic pesticides, synthetic inorganic fertilizers, or genetically engineered seed varieties
downsides
nutrients from fertilizers can still leach into the groundwater
large-scale composing creates greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide
getting rid of weeds by ploughing can damage soil and lead to soil erosion