Post on 19-Oct-2020
http://www.extremepumpkinstore.com/ecom-catshow/soilconditioner.html
Soil
• Is a complex plant-supporting system
made up of rock, remains and waste of
organisms, water, gases, nutrients, &
microorganisms.
http://www.growfreshorganics.com/soil-building-of-better-soil
Humus
Partially decomposed organic matter
Micro-organisms
• maintaining soil fertility, productivity and
cycling of nutrients.
• Examples fungi, bacteria
Soil Characteristics
• Color- Darker usually indicates humus and
nutrients
• Texture – Based on particle size
Clay, Silt, Sand
Our soil tests
• pH- soil’s acidity or alkalinity
Best if 6 to 7.5
• Nitrogen – Produces protein and nucleic
acid.
• Phosphorus – storage and transfer of
energy through the plant.
• Potassium – improves the plants ability to
withstand extreme temps, drought and
pests.
Fertilizer
• Any material added to a soil to supply
plants with nutrients essential to the
growth of plants.
Agriculture
Traditional Agriculture
• Biologically powered agriculture
Industrial Agriculture
• Mechanized farming technology, the fossil
fuels, manufactured chemicals, and
irrigation.
Industrialized Agriculture
Green Revolution (1950-1970)
To obtain high yields:
• Plant monocultures (one type of plant).
• Input pesticides and fertilizers.
• Increase frequency and intensity of
cropping.
Wheat and corn
(industrial agriculture)
Rice (Intensive
agriculture)
Livestock
• Cattle – beef = affluence
• Horses
• Oxen
• Sheep
• Chicken
• hogs
http://www.youtube.co
m/watch?v=p_pLy7Gjl
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Cattle Ranching
Beef Cows
Dairy Cows
Trade-Offs
Inorganic Commercial Fertilizers
Advantages Disadvantages
Do not add humus to soil
Reduce organic matter
in soil
Reduce ability of soil to
hold water
Lower oxygen content of
soil
Require large amounts of
energy to produce,
transport, and apply
Release the greenhouse
gas nitrous oxide (N2O)
Runoff can over fertilized
nearby lakes and kill fish
Easy to transport
Easy to store
Easy to apply
Inexpensive to produce
Help feed one of every
three people in the
world
Without commercial
inorganic fertilizers,
world food output could
drop by 40%
Eutrophication
• accumulation of nutrients that support a
growth of algae, depleting the shallow
waters of oxygen.
Pesticides
• Chemicals that kill insects, microorganisms,
or weeds
A.K.A. – herbicides, insecticides, fungicides
• Summary: A look at corn pests including the corn earworm, corn borer, and wire worm.
Wheat plant infested with greenbugs.
DDT
• Dichloro-diphenyl-trichloro-ethane
• Developed first of the modern synthetic
insecticides in the 1940s.
• 1972, EPA bans DDT based on adverse
environmental effects.
DDT Saving Lives
George Silk/Time Life/Getty
Children playing in a DDT fog left
behind by a spraying truck
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=gtcXXbuR244
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v
=nP3ZLNSJu5g
Bioaccumulation occurred!!!
Humans & DDT
• Difficult for DDT to be absorbed through
human skin.
• 1968 Americans consuming an average of
0.025 milligrams of DDT per day!
• High concentration leads to headaches,
nausea, vomiting, confusion, and tremors.
Superbugs
• Insects become resistant to pesticides.
Hybrid Plants
• any offspring resulting from the mating of
two genetically distinct individuals
Fragaria x ananassa is the scientific name
for commercial strawberries, a cross
between Fragaria chiloensis and F.
virginiana.
Example: Red and Yellow corn cross-pollinated to yield several color
kernels on the same plant.
Example: Short ear corn with big kernels cross-pollinated with long ear corn
with small kernels to get long ear with big corn kernels.
Genetically Modified Foods
(GMO’s)
• are plants or animals created by gene
linking of biotechnology
• DNA from different species combine to
create plant, animal, bacterial and viral
genes that cannot occur in nature.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAP6ZtfP9
ZQ
Example: Corn with Bt, a pesticide, added is likely to kill bugs
1990 Organic Food Protection Act
National standards for “organic”.
USDA states to be organic it CANNOT be:
• Genetically engineered/modified;
• Fertilized with municipal sludge;
• Zapped with radiation
Pesticides Residue
• 12 Least Contaminated
• Onions
• Avocado
• Sweet Corn (Frozen)
• Pineapples
• Mango
• Asparagus
• Sweet Peas (Frozen)
• Kiwi Fruit
• Bananas
• Cabbage
• Broccoli
• Papaya
12 Most Contaminated
Peaches
Apples
Sweet Bell Peppers
Celery
Nectarines
Strawberries
Cherries
Pears
Grapes (Imported)
Spinach
Lettuce
Potatoes
Organic Farms on Long Island
• Garden of Eve
• Golden Earthworm Organic Farm
• Hamlet Organic Garden
• Organics Today Farm
• Quail Hill Farm
• Sang Lee Farms
• http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/07/
colbert-washington-gmo-
labeling_n_4233762.html