The One-Straw Revolution - Multiworld India

Using straw, green manure, and a little poultry manure, one can gethigh yields without adding compost or commercial fertilizer at all. Forseveral decades nom; I have been sitting back, observing nature's methodof cultivation and fertilization. And while watching, I have been reapingbumper crops of vegetables, citrus, rice, and winter grain as a gift, so tospeak, from the natural fertility of the earth.Coping with WeedsHere are some key points to remember in dealing with weeds:As soon as cultivation is discontinued, the number of weedsdecreases sharply. Also, the varieties of weeds in a given field willchange.If seeds are sown while the preceding crop is still ripening in thefield, those seeds will germinate ahead of the weeds. Winter weedssprout only after the rice has been harvested, but by that time the wintergrain already has a head start. Summer weeds sprout right after theharvest of barley and rye, but the rice is already growing strongly.Timing the seeding in such a way that there is no interval betweensucceeding crops gives the grain a great advantage over the weeds.Directly after the harvest, if the whole field is covered with straw,the germination of weeds is stopped short. White clover sowed with thegrain as a ground cover also helps to keep weeds under control.The usual way to deal with weeds is to cultivate the soil. But whenyou cultivate, seeds lying deep in the soil, which would never havegerminated otherwise, are stirred up and given a chance to sprout.Furthermore, the quick sprouting, fast-glowing varieties are given theadvantage under these conditions. So you might say that the farmer whotries to control weeds by cultivating the soil is, quite literally, sowing theseeds of his own misfortune.38