It is argued that agrochemicals have polluted the environment and damaged the local ecology: this is highly debatable because far less land is needed for staple food production under modern intensive systems than organic systems, which are labor intensive and give low yields.
Organically grown foods produced with little or no synthetic fertilizers or pesticides and no antibiotics or hormones.
The greatest challenge in producing organic cereal grains for human food and animal feed is satisfying the crop’s basic requirement for nitrogen. Nitrogen has been the critical resource limiting crop yields throughout history.
Farmers following “organic” farming practices replace chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other agrochemicals with organic material such as composted vegetarian and manure from farm animals.
Crop rotation with the use of nitrogen-fixing plants such as clover increase the nitrogen levels in soil.
Plant must accumulate nitrate from soil to form the protein and nucleic acids that are essential for all life. Weeds are discouraged by hoeing, mulching (covering with manure, straw, or sacking, burning) or removing by hand, which is expensive. Weeds are considered the greatest constraint in organic grain production.
With the focus in organic production on prevention of weed problems, establishment and growth of weed seeds can be reduced through crop rotations, allelopathic cover crops and pre-plant tillage.
Pests are controlled by a variety of methods. Organic farmers may also design shelters that physically protect their crops from weeds.
Organic grain farming
