Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for - Aseanipm ...

Exercise No. 3.10
ORGANIC FOLIAR SPRAYS AS FOOD SUPPLEMENT FOR
ORGANIC SOLID FERTILIZERS IN ORGANIC VEGETABLE
PRODUCTION
BaCKGroUND aND raTIoNalE
Organic solid fertilizers such as compost, vermi-cast, and
others that are usually used in organic vegetable production
contain low plant nutrients and its solubility is low. If not
applied in large volume or quantities, such properties pose
problem in supplying right amounts of plant nutrients at
different growth stages of crops. To be more effective, soil
application of organic solid fertilizers can be supplemented
by foliar sprays of animal and plant juice extracts as rich
sources of plant nutrients. In organic vegetable farming,
these can be derived from different sources such as fruits,
90
Field Guide of Discovery-based Exercises for Organic Vegetable Production
when is this exercise most
appropriate?
ɶ In FFS, TOT, and VST
sessions, as follow-up
or integral part of topic
on ‘Integrated Soil and
Nutrient Management’
ɶ When farmers want to
learn from facilitators
and other farmers some
innovative organic foliar
sprays as plant nutrient
supplement for organic
solid fertilizers
young buds and foliage, materials derived from snails and marine fishes, and bones from grasseating
animals, as follows:
• Fermented plant juice (FPJ) is made from plant leaves such as thinned crop plants like axillary’s
buds and young fruits and whatever grasses 67 . With crude sugar, plant juice is extracted and
is fermented; liquid is applied to soil, plant leaves, and animal bedding to fortify microbial
activities 68 . It enhances plant growth for greener leaves resulting to faster photosynthesis.
• Fermented fruit juice (FFJ) is produced in the same way as FPJ. It uses ripen sweet fruits such
as strawberry, fig, mulberry, mango, papaya, or banana. FFJ contains enzymes rich in potash
for fruit sweetener.
• Fish amino acid (FAA) is made from fish trash such as bone, head, guts, and skin. With crude
sugar, juice of fish trash is extracted and is fermented. It is a nitrogen-fixing extract.
• Calcium phosphate (CP) can be derived from bones of animals and it promotes fruit setting.
67 Tinoyan, E.L. 2006. Preparation and Utilization of Organic Foliar Sprays as Supplement for Organic Solid Fertilizers. Paper presented during the 1 st
Cordillera Organic Congress 13-14 January 2006. Benguet State University (BSU), La Trinidad, Benguet.
68 Phil-Organic. 2006. Organic Farming. As cited in: Philippine Organic Agriculture Information Network (Phil-Organic). http//www.pcarrd.dost.gov.ph/
phil-organic/standards.