Years ago there was a game warden show on TV and the coffee fields tried chemical fertilizer and it destroyed their farms with erosion and a lock of natural life. I still remember this today, its suppressed in the US due to big business.
None of those were measured in this because the focus was nitrogen dynamics. I expect there could more measurements taken that just aren’t published yet.
It would increase biodiversity though I have some concerns about disease buildup. Soil structure wasn’t mentioned in this article. With all the work to create that rotation I’m sure other measurements were taken and we’ll see the results in time. This MSc student only focused on nitrogen dynamics.
I focus on production because the economic sustainability of a farmer is just as important. Knowing they don’t affect yield perhaps the next step is to try to lower fertilizer application to see if yield can be maintained. The lower cost of fertilizer could be put towards the cost of cover crops.
Years ago there was a game warden show on TV and the coffee fields tried chemical fertilizer and it destroyed their farms with erosion and a lock of natural life. I still remember this today, its suppressed in the US due to big business.
What was the solution the game warden implemented?
@@scottcgillespie Natural processes such as mulch, compost, manures etc as was used before the trial of chemical products. This was like 30 years ago.
Yes I can imagine that would have worked a lot better in coffee production, though I don’t have any experience in it.
Soils structure and biome improvement, soil erosion prevension, evaporation reduction...
None of those were measured in this because the focus was nitrogen dynamics. I expect there could more measurements taken that just aren’t published yet.
What about biodiversity and soil structure benefits rather than a focus on production alone
It would increase biodiversity though I have some concerns about disease buildup. Soil structure wasn’t mentioned in this article. With all the work to create that rotation I’m sure other measurements were taken and we’ll see the results in time. This MSc student only focused on nitrogen dynamics.
I focus on production because the economic sustainability of a farmer is just as important. Knowing they don’t affect yield perhaps the next step is to try to lower fertilizer application to see if yield can be maintained. The lower cost of fertilizer could be put towards the cost of cover crops.