Preface This book has been written to fill the needs of a general text material for conducting courses in Organic Farming for students studying in agricultural colleges and universities. The chapters systematically cover the principles and practices of organic farming. This book is divided into 7 chapters. Chapters cover basic concepts and relevance of organic farming; organic production requirement; biological intensive nutrient management; integrated pests, disease and weed management; quality control standards and certification; and organic market opportunities. It will also be a standing guidance to the teachers for teaching organic farming in the new concept of agriculture education and development. I hope this book should provide good foundation in organic farming to students and academician of agriculture science and inspire them to take up further studies in the subject.

Farming is the intervention of man in the growth cycle of plants, animals or birds to get utility products of choice at maximum levels and of highest quality. The growing and caring of plants is called Crop Husbandry, and that of animals is called Animal Husbandry. Farming is our most basic activity. It is considered as the backbone of Indian economy. Farming not only nourishes the whole population, but also provides a means of livelihood to more than 60 per cent of our population. Our history, culture and community values are embedded in farming. Today when we think of farming, what comes to our mind are long stretches of farm land, farmer tilling the field, pumping water into fields, applying fertilizers or pesticides, plants with so many fruits, tractors with loads of farm produce, cross bred cows, a farm chicken, aquaculture, fish and so on. A more advanced image on this subject will be of the small plantlets in conical flasks or test tubes, what we call Tissue culture, High Yielding Varieties (HYV), Genetically Modified (GM) crops, Green House farming and other techniques that increase the crop yields. So all these activities are considered as the products of science that our scientists were able to develop over a period of time and helped the growing population to meet their food requirements.

The need for organic farming in India arises from the unsustainability of agriculture production and the damage caused to ecology through the conventional farming practices. The present system of agriculture which we call ‘conventional+’ and practiced the world over evolved in the western nations as a product of their socio-economic environment which promoted an over riding quest for accumulation of wealth. This method of farming adopted by other countries is inherently self destructive and unsustainable.

Organic food production is as much a state of mind as it is a production system. The organic farmer must understand how everything is interrelated and how one set of circumstances will influence other factors in how the plant grows. A strong, healthy plant is much more important in an organic system then a conventional system. A two to three year leaning curve must be accepted by anyone intending to switch from conventional to organic farming. What works one year may fail the next.

Plant nutrients are drawn up from soil for growth and development. There are more than 90 elements present in the soil. According to the criteria of Essentiality of Nutrients for plant growth, proposed by Arnon and Stout in 1952, only 16 are considered to be essential for plant growth. Out of these, C (Carbon), H (Hydrogen), O (Oxgen), N (Nitrogen), P (Phosphorus), K (Potassium), Ca (Calcium), Mg (Magnesium) and S (Sulfur) are called Macronutrients (required in large quantities) and the remaining 7 elements - Fe (Iron), Mn (Manganese), Cu (Copper), Zn (Zinc), B (Boran), Mo and Cl are called Micronutrients or trace elements (required only in very small quantities). Among the macro elements - N, P and K are called Fertiliser elements or primary nutrients as they are most often applied in the form of synthetic or mineral fertilisers, and Ca, Mg and S are called secondary elements which are applied in smaller quantities than primary nutrients and required subsequent to primary nutrients.

The problem of insect-pest, disease and weed is acute in case of all the crops and especially so in case of commercial crops. Pesticides, fungicides or chemicals are meant to control harmful pests such as insects, nematodes, diseases, weeds etc. However, excessive use of pesticides, fungicides and herbicides not only leave residues in soil, water and air but also have adverse effects on the non-target organisms such as pollinators, parasitoids, predators and wild animals. This has adversely affected the ecological balance resulting in pest resurgence, development of resistance in the pest species, diseases and environmental pollution.

The organic quality is based on standards, inspection, certification and accreditation. All organic food is produced and handled according to strict rules called ‘Organic Standards’. Organic standards do not define a quality status which can be measured in the final products (e.g. quantity of pesticides residues, heavy metals, etc). They define the way of production (e.g. that no chemical pesticides and fertiliser are used).

The market of organic products is growing globally every year. This organic market expansion makes it possible for farmers to reap the benefits of a trade with relatively high price premiums. Organic farming is carried on in almost all countries of the world. The share of organic farms in overall farmland and in terms of numbers of holdings is growing continuously. The market for organic products is also growing very rapidly, not only in Europe, North America and Japan, where the largest markets are to be found, but also in many emerging economies in transition. In India, an organic movement is now emerging on different levels i.e. producer groups, trainers and advisors, certification bodies and processors and traders.

References Abrol, I.P. and Palaniappan, S.P. (1987). Green manure crops in irrigated and rainfed lowland rice based cropping systems in South Asia. In: Green Manure in Rice Farming. Proc. of a symposium on “Sustainable Agriculture”, IRRI, Los Banos, Philippines. Acharya, C.N. (1939). Comparision of different method of composting waste materials. Indian Journal of Agriculture Soil, 9:565-572. Alvares, Claude (1996). Genes and the Environment, in Anon, The Organic Source Book, The Other India Press, Mapusa, Goa. Bisoyi, B.N.; Majumdar, P.; Srivastava, R.S.M. and Creep, S. (2003). Prospects of Organic Input Production in India, Presented at National Seminar on Organic Farming with Special Reference to Organic Inputs, 21- 22, August, Bangalore. Deb, D.L. and Joshi, H.C. (1994). Environment Pollution and Agriculture. In Natural Resource Management for Sustainable Agriculture and Environment, Angkor Publications (P) Ltd., New Delhi Gaur, A.C.; Neelkamal, S. and Dargan, K.S. (1995). Organic manures, ICAR Publication, New Delhi. Hegde, B.R.; Krishnegowda, K.T. and Parvathappa, H.C. (1995). Organic Residue Management in Red Soils under Dryland Conditions. In Shivashankaar, K. (ed.). Alternatives to Fertilizers in Sustainable Agriculture, University of Agricultural Sciences, Bangalore. Kathpal, T.S. and Kumari, Beena (1997). Pesticidal Contamination of Environment, Its Implications and Management, in Ecological Agriculture and Sustainable Development, Indian Ecological Society and Centre for Research in Rural Development, Chandigarh. Naraynan, S. (2005). Organic Farming in India: Relevance, Problems and Constraints, NABARD. Prakash, T.N. (2003). A Theoretical Framework to Promote Organic Produce Marketing in India, Indian Journal of Agriculture Marketing, Conference Number Special. Singh, A.K. (2007). Conversion to Organic Agriculture. International Book Distributing Co. Lucknow. Singh, A.K. (2008). Production Technology on Bio-Organic Farm Inputs. International Book Distributing Co. Lucknow. Thakur, D.S.; Sharma K.D.; Thakur, D.R. and Saini, A.S. (2003). Economics of Production and Marketing of Organic Produce and the Burgeoning Niche Market for Organic Food Products, Indian Journal of Agriculture Marketing, Conference Number Special. Veeresh, G.K. (1999). Organic Farming Ecologically Sound and Economically Sustainable, Plant Horti. Tech, 1(3), Nov-Dec.