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<pre>I maintain that the trick to any farm management is to put yourself (your
mind, at least) in the place of the plant being grown or the animal being
nurtured. When one begins to think like the root of a plant or realises the
exact physical conditions that animals are made to tolerate in adverse
weather conditions, only then can we begin to properly manage our farms.

In this light, has anyone included soil microbiology in their thinking? This
is why it is so important to look at the natural condition (not the
traditional one!) of the plant being grown and the condition of the
resources, such as soils. Organic matter on the soil is obviously required
to physically protect it but at the same time it is necessary for the soil
organisms (bacteria and fungi and protozoa and micro/macro arthropods) to
thrive to maintain good soil structure and to keep disease under control.
Not surprisingly there is a strong correlation between soil health and plant
health, including issues such as fungal diseases (and this also covers the
black sooty mould recently discussed).

Brian, in your book on olive growing will you include soil and plant
microbiology? This is an area where research and writing has been rather
lacking and could do with much support.

Best regards,

Gerhard Grasser

(Hon) Secretary, Organic Federation of Australia
Chair, Traders & Intermedaries Advisory Board, OFA www.ofa.org.au

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agriculture & food, visit www.ifoam2005.info for more details about the
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Phone 03 5627 8663
Fax 03 5627 8663 (by arrangement)
Mobile 0402 213 736
Email seagrow@...

***Natural farming advisory service
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were to die tomorrow."


-----Original Message-----
From: OliveOil@yahoogroups.com [mailto:OliveOil@yahoogroups.com] On Behalf
Of Brian Chatterton
Sent: Sunday, 21 August 2005 5:35 PM
To: Olive Olive List
Subject: [OliveOil] More on soil management

Of course Guido is right about the fire risk from mulch compared to a
clean cultivated grove. I think his experience of Spain and Italy is
different from mine. My lasting memory of Spanish groves was trees
perched on mounds about 1 metre high. All the soil around had washed
away. Only the soil held by the olive tree roots remained. The photo in
my olive book of a grove near here as Castello della Sala shows the
deep gutters formed from the run off from an intensively cultivated
grove.

The point is not to be closer to nature or some other romantic view of
farming but practical good sense. The scientific literature is sparse.
Olive research seems to be concentrated on other aspects of olive
growing not landcare so I have had to look elsewhere for the hard
scientific facts to support my ideas. One example I found recently was
research conducted by the Western Australian Department of Agriculture
(quoted in Farming Ahead No 163 page 16) where they found that "when
measured in April, the soil under standing or cut (cereal) stubble
retained up to 85% more moisture after 50 mm of rainfall in February
than in paddocks where the stubble had been burnt after harvest." For
northern reader February is equivalent of August and of course
additional moisture in March, April and may is vital for the production
of oil in the olive (Sept, Oct and Nov in the north). The burning of
the stubble would produce a bare ground effect similar to a cultivated
grove. Whether the rainfall ran off or evaporated is not clear from the
report but is immaterial.

I am researching other work on cultivation and fallows to support this
in my new olive book.

Cheers Brian Chatterton.







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