Step 19: About the pest management

Some farmers asked me what sort of organic insecticides we use to control the rice pests in the natural farming protocol.

First we have to remember that even if it is organic, an insecticide can kill all the insects and can break cycles exactly like a chemical insecticide. So we have to choose at least selective organic insecticide and reject any kind of product which kills useful insects as bees and predators of other insects like dragon flies. When we decide to use a new product, test must be done to check the specificity of the product.

Better than insecticide, repellent can help to control pests without killing any form of life. Always remember any animal has his place in the cycle of life even if he likes to eat the same thing as the farmer! We must accept and give a part of our crop to the members of the crop system because, all in all, we have more advantage to let the nature organize the number and the type of animals in a place than to destroy one and break the fragile balance. It is when our place in unbalanced that one species can overgrow and become a danger for the farmer. In that case, he must be very prudent and try to control, if possible, the situation.

The second remark is to anticipate, especially with repellant, and not wait to be invaded by a pest. That is why a planning of treatment starting at the good period can help to control the extension of some pest.

Last remark: we have been lucky this time with this protocol in that place. It doesn’t mean it will work for the next crop or in another place. Only a frequent, regular and attentive inspection of the crop allows to react enough early to avoid an invasion. Imagination and adaptation of the farmer is also requested.

Our protocol includes the classical attractant made with 1 gallon of coconut vinegar boiled with ½ kg of molasses. When it is cold we add 1/3 of liter of FPG. We hang at 1.50 m plastic bottles with 2 windows and containing the attractant. We replace the solution every 2 weeks. This attractant is particularly efficient against rice borers because it catch the moths.

The second action is a weekly spraying of mixing of plant extracts from 2 to 3 weeks after sowing to 1 week before harvest. The recipe is very well described in the website of OISAT, http://www.oisat.org

The pictures here under show the different steps. Depending of the extraction, the quantity is good for 1 ha of rice (6 L extracts, 6 sprayers 20L).

10 kg Kakawate (Madre de Cacao, Gliricidia sepium). I take only the leaves and cut them with scissors and stock in a plastic trash bin with a large mosquito net.

2 kg of Makabuhay (Tinospora)

The makabuhay is pound and cut.

Four cups of hot pepper are blendered.

The 3 ingredients are mixed with a total of 8 liters of water and pressed to the bottom of the trash bin

After 24h incubation, the extract is collected by pressing.

The extract is filtered.

The 3 other ingredients are alcohol (2 TBS or 30 ml), coconut milk (6 glasses or 1.5 liter) and grated soap “blue perla” (2 TBS) as sticker.

Addition of alcohol.

Addition of soap.

Addition of coconut milk.

Stir thoroughly.

Filling of the bottles.

Spray every week early morning or late evening. Wear a mask because chili is irritating and take care of the wind.

Step 18: Natural farming: It works!

We can now give the yield of our first trial of rice production using full natural farming protocol and drum seeder ofPhilrice: 106 cavans (40 kg) of palay after threshering.

This result has to be compared to the 35 cavans of the former conventional farmer one year ago. He was using a little chemical fertilizer because he could not afford the recommended quantities. Despite insecticide sprayings his rice beds were attacked by pests. We didn’t use one gram of any chemical and spend a very few money to prepare the concoctions. The main cost was the vermicompost because we cannot prepare it now in the farm and of course the labor because we are not in a family farming structure.

This good result can not only be attributed to the strict spraying program of natural farming with LCC control but also to other natural farming techniques including:
- Choice of good hybrid variety,
- Leveling of the bed with a tolerance of more or less 2 cm,
- Application of different management techniques:
# Direct wet seeding with drum seeder at rate 40 kg/ha,
# Manual and roto-weeding,
# Trap for rats,
# Lure for birds,
# Hand picking, small canals and bamboo sticks to get eggs for snails,
# Selective attractant for insects especially moths of rice borers,
# Weekly spraying of rice pest repellant (Kakawate/Makabuhay/chili).

Our quest of increasing of production is not finished. The points we have now to improve are:
- Better water management with alternate of drying and watering beds and respect of depth of water according to the age of the crop. This will be possible with a large source of water coming from the future wind mill.
- More quantity of organic matter,
- Use of rototiller to mix more rapidly remaining of last crop with the soil. We spend too much time and manpower in land preparation between two crops.
- Work on the use and quality of seaweed concoction to provide more vegetal hormones.
We must also keep in mind that it is also possible the season has been particularly favorable to the raising of rice. It is impossible to attribute to each parameter a percent of effect on the final result.