Eggplant Integrated Pest Management AN ECOLOGICAL GUIDE

___________________________________________________________________________________Major Agronomic PracticesRelated exercises from CABI Bioscience/FAO Vegetable IPM Exercise Manual:2-A.10. Test for seed germination2-A.11. Preparing seed for sowing3.7 Soil3.7.1 The living soilWhen looking at the soil of a field, it may seem like a lifeless amount of sand and pieces of organicwaste. But in fact the soil is very much alive! Many millions of small organisms live in the soil, most ofthem can only be seen with a microscope. These organisms include small nematodes, earthworms,bacteria, fungi, mites, and spring tails. Little is known about the way all of these organisms interact andrestrain each other. But most of them are harmless to the crop and have a beneficial function indecomposing crop left-overs and assisting other conversion processes in the soil. Others may serve asfood for predators such as spiders. And some other organisms may be classified as neutrals: they do notdamage the crop and do not have a clear beneficial function in the agro-ecosystem. Until we knowotherwise, it is prudent that we don't harm the neutrals! See also section 3.8.3 on role of microorganisms.The Living Soil: soil contains many small organisms like nematodes, fungi, and small insects.(Picture from Schoubroeck, 1989).Soil is living and should stay alive, so it is important to:1. Feed it through regular supply of organic material (=food for micro-organisms),2. Protect it from water of wind erosion, for example by covering the soil,3. Remove or reduce disturbing factors such as (broad spectrum) pesticides and high dosesof chemical fertilizers.Related exercises from CABI Bioscience/FAO Vegetable IPM Exercise Manual:2-A.4. The living soilFor more exercises on soil, see B. Settles’ manual on the website of Community IPM(www.communityIPM.org).3.7.2 Soil typeSoil is made up of a mixture of different-sized particles, sand, silt and clay. In nature, sand, silt and clayare almost always mixed together in a great variety of combinations which give the soil its characteristictexture. Terms such as sand, sandy loam, loam, clay loam, clay, heavy clay indicate the particle size inthe soil. Light soil is composed largely of sand and the name indicates the ease with which it is worked.Heavy soil is soil which contains large amounts of silt and clay. The name refers to the difficulty ofworking and not to the actual weight of the soil.15Eggplant Ecological Guide