Agriculture – Without Farm Management, Weeds Will Run Rampant
“Without farm land, there would be no agriculture,” said Senator Robert Kennedy (DEM). This comment of Senator Kennedy, made in a speech on the need for rural development during a National Governors Association meeting, set off a furor with many environmentalists and some rural people. Although I do not know his exact quote, I do know that he said it. I further learned that the furor originated from a fact that without farm land, there can be no agriculture.
“If you don’t have pasture, you can’t feed your cattle, raise your pigs, make your corn, raise your chickens, or raise your sheep. If you don’t have fences around your land, you can’t feed your cattle, feed your hogs, raise your sheep, make your corn, and raise your chickens.” Now let me add some scientific information to this. No, you cannot produce these products without grassy pastures. There are two different kinds of grasses: Anchona and Creosote.
Anchona grasses are tolerant to acid rain and are relatively abundant. Creosote grasses are not. They grow very slowly and are susceptible to being killed by frost and to infestations by termites and beetles. If you plan to plant corn, wheat, or soybeans near a river, you will need to plant a type of Creosote grass. In the same respect, you will need to plant a crop of anchona in areas that will get torrential rains.
The most common agricultural pest problems result from a few species that are present on a given piece of land. These species are known as Pathogens. We have good farmers because they are good at getting rid of Pathogens. We can identify a Pathogen if we recognize its physical characteristics (i.e., large body, dark green leaves).
Pathogens are most often associated with a fungus named Botrytis Spores. These pathogens are often introduced into a field from a neighboring field through soil, water, or animals, and then remain present until their host dies or moves out of the area. In agriculture, a few pathogens are directly related to crop fields, i.e., E. coli and Escherichia coli. When pathogenic bacteria infect a crop, the resulting damage occurs as a disease in the plant. Most commonly, pathogenic bacteria is associated with diseases in other organisms that directly cause the plant to abort its growth.
Farmers rely on soil testing kits to determine what type of fertilization is needed to improve the quality of the crop and to increase the yields. If the soil lacks microorganisms or other life forms that feed off the plant, then the fertilizer will do little good. Most farmers use potassium fertilizer to add enough nutrients for the crops to grow and thrive, however some studies indicate that increasing potassium levels in the soil may actually reduce crop yields by up to 30%. The alternative to increasing potassium content is to add nutrients directly to the seed, but this approach greatly increases seed scratching and manure loss since the farmer must till the ground to apply fertilizer.
Fungi also play an important role in nutrient cycling by breaking down dead plant materials to produce new plant materials. As plants mature, they stop producing seeds. Fungi consume these seeds to obtain energy and nutrients, so without beneficial fungi, plants will not reproduce. Beneficial fungi help plant development by ensuring that fungi-the “right” fungi-feed plant life.
To improve both crop production and weed control, agriculture relies on certified crop and weed control products that are organic and natural. Weed control products are generally formulated to specifically counter certain weed species, including noxious weeds, grasses, unwanted tree roots, and others. Most weed control products are designed to be applied to the plant in the field; however, some farmers have successfully used them outside on their fences or around livestock pens to control erosion and prevent weeds from growing through to the foundation of the structure.
