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GOOD Morning to you again, growing old is the hardest task we have to face in this life. As the old saying goes “getting old is not for sissies”. Growing old is about losses, we devote most of our early life to acquiring things, but they are things we will lose as we age, we lose our strength, our looks, our friends, our job. We may lose our wealth, our home, our health, our spouse our independence, and perhaps the greatest loss of all our sense o dignity and self worth. But there is one thing that you and I can never lose, the love of God. “Even to your old age, I am he, “God said to the prophet ,” and even to gray hairs I will carry you! I have made, and I will bear, I will even carry and deliver you.” Those who are planted in the house of the Lord shall flourish in the courts of our God, and they small bear fruit in old age. The Lord is my shepherd.-Amen.

Lets pause for a moment: Jesus loves me, this I know, though my hair is white as snow, though my spirit is growing dim, still he bids me to trust in him. Gods love, never grows old.

Our topic. Before I go on to major nutrients. I though it would be a good idea to spend a little time looking into organic matter. After all it does have a bearing on the amount of trace elements in the soil structure.

Improving agriculture

High input agriculture has placed considerable stress on the economic viability of the arming enterprises today.

The present trend in agriculture and horticulture systems, where high yielding and fertilizer responsive crops are used, will eventually exhaust the fertility of the soil, unless proper soil and fertilizer management is practiced.

There is need to balance the crop removal of nutrients from the soil and their additions through inorganic and bio-organic sources to avoid a continuous decline in the productivity level of the cultivated soils.

Farmers and technicians need therefore to increase their interest, awareness and knowledge in the more efficient use of fertilizers through the proper application. Also, they need to pay more attention to the integration and better utilization of rural waste, farm manure, agricultural waste and residues along with the use of N-fixing legumes in crop rotation and green manuring to help improve and maintain the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil.

The proper use of alternative fertilizer sources that will maintain if not improve production levels must be given due consideration. Organic farming can help maintain the balance required for more profitable agriculture.

3 Broad Groups Decomposing Residues – After death all plant and animal residues, including organic manure make up a group of material, which is actively decomposing in the soil – This process may release nitrogen. If rich in protein i.e.: bean – pea or cabbage residues or absorbed nitrogen if the protein content is low – i.e. straw or wood chips.

Residual Organic Matter or Humus – The residual organic matter remaining after decomposition is a dark colored material which gives the characteristic color of topsoil – this material behaves similarly in most soils – although it is much more resistant to breakdown than the residues from which it was formed it is however slowly lost by bacterial attack.

Organic matter influences soil behavior in a complex manner, which varies in importance from soil to soil.

Organic matte means greater flexibility and other aspects of soil management, in other words, it provides a better buffer against miss-management.

Living Material – A small but important fraction is made up of a great variety of living organisms. This includes roots – bacteria-fungi-insects-earthworms and soil pests in addition to many other organisms. This fraction achieves vital biological processes such as rotting, nitrification, which are essential to life on earth.

High levels of organic matter are associated with greater water holding capacity of soils.

The important natural source of nitrogen in the soil is contained in organic matter therefore, supplies of nitrogen from the soil are closely related to the level of organic matter.

In some soils rich in hums or residues, from legumes, this source of nitrogen can supply the total nitrogen requirements for the next crop.

Where the previous crop has been a legume, nitrogen from organic matter is available earlier to the crop and the deficiency is less likely to arise.

One ton of straw requires 20 kg. of nitrogen for decomposition.

Organic matter helps to prevent breakdown of structure by water. This role is important on soils with naturally unstable structures and on sandy soil subject to wind erosion. Even the most lifeless looking topsoil contains millions of bacteria as well as large numbers of other minute organisms in each spade full. These are responsible or a number of agriculturally vital biological processes, most of which are beneficial – but a few are harmful.

The general process of decomposition of plant and animal remains is one which a large number of different types of soil organisms play a part. In well-aerated soil, remains quickly become unrecognizable to the naked eye, but in poorly drained over cropped soil, straw in particular, can be ploughed up nearly unaltered after a year.

The type of decomposition taking place in soil depends on supply of air. If the structure and drainage of the soil is good, air enters easily and normal or aerobic decomposition takes place with the release of carbon dioxide into the air spaces in the soil. But, if oxygen supply is limited by wet compact conditions, bacteria using nitrates and sulfates as their source of energy rather than oxygen in the air dominate the decomposition process and produce conditions in which plant roots cannot live. (Foul smelling)

Two other important bacterial processes in soil involve nitrogen. The first-Proteins in plant and animal remains are broken down to ammonium compounds and these in turn are oxidized by nitrifying bacteria to give nitrates – the form, in which most nitrogen is taken up b plant roots, in turn oxidizes these. Similarly, urea and sulfate of ammonia are transformed to nitrated in the soil. Denetrification (liberation) or loss of an essential plant nutrient requirement is obviously a harmful process and is partly responsible for the extra nitrogen requirement of crops growing in poorly drained land. Denitrification bacteria only becomes active in anaerobic conditions,

Personal observations – At the present time there is no scientific evidence to prove that chemical fertilizers are destroying our soil, however organic matter or humus is sacking in the soil a higher application rate of chemical fertilizers are required, which in my opinion means that the soil is becoming to depend on the application. Just like a drug addict depends on his drugs! A higher input of organic material into our soils will at least increase the soil fertility and thus reduce the amount of chemical fertilizer required.

By this method we can maintain the soil fertility level thus reducing the amount of chemical fertilizer needed. Take care, see you next week.