Soil Fertility and Organic Farming:

What does the Science show us?

Professor Raymond Auerbach

African Organic Farming Systems Research
Outline of presentation:

▪ The Global Carbon Cycle and climate change; get the carbon
into the soil! Use water better! Soil Water & Soil Organic
Matter.
▪ Effects of manure in the long term.
▪ Effects of tillage on soil organic matter.
▪ A few examples from Uganda and South Africa.
▪ So how does organic farming compare?
▪ Mandela Organic Farming Systems Comparative Research
Trials & 15 years of organic research (link to book or Google:
CABI Auerbach).
The Global Carbon Cycle (Brady & Weil, 2008)

Units are Petagrams; 1 Pg = 1 billion tons Carbon

FIGURE 1.22: Soils higher in organic matter are darker in color and have greater water-holding
capacities than soils low in organic matter.

The soil in each container has the same texture, but the one on the right has been depleted of
much of its organic matter. The same amount of water was applied to each container.
As the photo shows, the depth of water penetration was less in the high organic matter soil (left)
because of its greater water-holding capacity. It required a greater volume of the low organic
matter soil to hold the same amount of water
(Brady & Weil, Ch 1).
FIGURE 12.26: Soil organic carbon contents of selected treatments of (a) the Morrow plots at the
University of Illinois and (b) of the classical experiments at Rothamstead Experiment Station in
England. The Morrow plots were begun on virgin grassland soil in 1876 and so suffered rapid loss
of organic carbon in the early years of the experiment. The
Rothamstead plots were established on soils with a long history of previous cultivation.
As a result, the soil at Rothamstead had reached an equilibrium level of organic carbon
characteristic of the unfertilized small-grains (barley and wheat) cropping system traditionally
practiced in the area.
[Data recalculated from Darmody and Peck (1997) and Jenkinson and Johnson (1977);
used with permission of the Rothamstead Experiment Station, Harpenden, England]
FIGURE 12.25 Less tillage means more soil organic carbon. In each case, the no-till
system had been used on the experimental plots for 8 to 10 years when the data were
collected. In the plowed plots, the soil was disturbed annually by tillage to about 20 cm deep.
The soils in Maryland (a) and Brazil (b) were well drained Ultisols and the climate was
temperate (Maryland) to subtropical (Brazil). In Maryland, corn was grown every year with a
rye cover crop. In Brazil, oats were rotated with corn using legume cover crops in between.
In both cases, no-till encouraged the accumulation of organic C, but only in the upper 5 to 10
cm of the soil.
[Data from Weil et al. (1988) and Bayer et al. (2000)]
Example 1
Mulched banana
Example 2
Soil bunds with stabilizer grass
Example 3 Pineapples planted with jack beans
(Canavalia ensiformis) as a cover crop
Soil structure – What does it mean?

Good soil structure: Poor soil structure:

• Stable crumbs • Compacted layers
• A lot of pores: good • Few pores: low aeration and
aeration and drainage drainage
• Easy penetration of root • Low penetration of root tips
tips
 Soil structure

The earthworm – an invaluable

helper

Eating dead
Excreting
plant
soil rich
material
in organic
matter
and
nutrients

Image: Rainman Landcare Foundation

The Soil Microcosm

Larger soil organisms:

• Pull dead biomass into the soil
• Feed on organic materials and
mix them with the soil
• Dig tunnels and facilitate aeration
and drainage

earthworm

spring tail
Soil Micro-organisms:
slater • Decompose organic matter
• Improve the soil structure
• Make nutrients available for plants

mite • Protect the plants from disease

milipedes attack

slug
 Mycorrhiza – a beneficial fungus

Mycorrhizae...
• Live in symbiosis with plant roots.
• Enlarge the surface of the roots and
penetrate small soil pores.
• Support the plants in taking up
nutrients and water.
• Improve the soil structure and
preserve moisture.
• Are sensitive to chemical fertilizers
and pesticides.

Image: Rainman Landcare Foundation

Mandela Long-term Comparative Farming Systems
Trials: organic & conventional
 Comparison of Alliance for a Green Revolution in Agriculture Millennium Villages
Project (AGRA-MVP) with the Export Programme for Organic Products from Africa
(EPOPA).

Auerbach, Rundgren & Scialabba, 2013 (FAO)

N’wa-Jama Mashele
harvesting the first cow-pea crop
at the Mandela Organic Farming
Systems Research Trials on the
George Campus of Nelson
Mandela Univ.
Agronomy, soil micro, water use
efficiency study and biological
pest control in book

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