ORGANIC VEGETABLE

PRODUCTION
Importance of Vegetables
Vegetables are essentials to our daily diet.
A cheap source of vitamins, minerals and
proteins. These plants contribute enormously
to the nutrient requirements of human body.
Many Filipinos do not eat enough fresh
vegetables everyday. Average per capita
consumption of 12.4 kg of vegetables is far
short of the recommended allowance of 32.4
kg per year (G.T. Medrena, Science
Research Specialist of PCARRD).
 Filipinos just do not grow enough
vegetables and rely mostly in buying
vegetables sold in markets that might be
polluted by exposure to dust, chemical
fertilizers and insecticides putting human
health at risk.
 Common Types of Vegetables:
Brassicas – pechay, cabbage, lettuce,
brocolli
Solanaceous – eggplant, pepper, tomatoes
Cucubits – squash, upo, paliya, sikwa
Legumes – beans, mungo
Others – kangkong, okra, alugbate,
malunggay, SP tops
Vegetables can be commonly
grown in:
Open Field or Plots - large scale
gardening that are expose to variable
weather conditions.
Container – when space is limited e.g.
coastal areas, slum and crowded cities.
Under Protected Structures – whole year
production where organic inputs are well
maintained.
Vegetables grow well in:

A well-drained soil
Sandy loam soil, rich in organic
matter
Proper soil moisture, sunlight and
balance environment temperature.
Weeds Management:

- practice mulching to prevent weed

growth, conserve moisture, organic
fertilizer when decomposed and helps
in the better survival of earwigs and a
habitat of beneficial microorganism.
Mulching using rice straw
 Production of soil bio-
enhancers

Mulching Vermicomposting Concoctions

Wastes Basket composting Communal composting

Organic vegetable under
protective structure

VSU Eco-Farm
SINIGANG A
SINIGANG B
PINAKBET MIX
 Some Notes on Seeding and Planting
Distances
Please follow the planting layout (crop sequence)
as illustrated. The vegetables are planted
continuously within the 10 m² plot, no space in
between different vegetable types
Kangkong, directly seeded with 4 seeds per hill at
15 cm distance between hills & 5 rows in a plot
Pechay, sown in seed box, pricked and planted in
seedling trays after 7 to 10 days and transplanted
after another 7 days. Distance between hills is 15
cm & between rows is 15 cm, 5 rows in the plot
 Eggplant is direclty seeded in a seedling tray
(2 seeds per hole). But transplanted at 1
plant per hill. Distance between hills is 50 cm

 Okra & Ampalaya are directly seeded on the

plot

 Total number of seeds is rounded of to the

nearest whole number
 ORGANIC FRUIT TREES
PRODUCTION

JUANITO F. POLIQUIT
Ag Technologist
Eco-FARMI, VSU, Baybay City Leyte
 Growing Condition for
Fruit Trees

Most productive when grown in deep soil with

loam, clay loam textures.
Flat or undulating terrains.
Requires high soil organic matter content
Grows best in a well-drained soil condition
COMMON PHILIPPINE
FRUITS
MANGGO JACKFRUIT
RAMBUTAN SANTOL
LANSONES TAMBIS
SAGING LABANAS
 PLANTS PROPAGATING
MATERIALS:

 Seeds
 Asexual propagation
- Marcotting
- Budding
- Grafting
 FIELD PROPAGATION &
LAY-OUTING
Clearing the area.
Lay-out by using markers for proper
distance.
Hole digging 18” x 18” is ideal
Replace the excavated soil with
mixture of compost, CRH & top soil.
Plant 1 seedling/planting materials in
each hole.
 Care and Maintenance
 Provide tree guard to young transplanted
trees.
 Maintain adequate and balance nutrition.
 Periodic application of organic inputs an
bio pesticides.
 Provide adequate water supply during long
dry periods
 Mulching around the base of trees.
 pruning
Fruit Care Operation:

Fruit bagging
Periodic spraying of bio-
pesticides & plant extracts.
Principles of Organic Farming
Systems and Natural Resource
Conservation
 Common Goals: early 20th Century
Organic Farming Conservation

Agricultural pioneers Soil Conservation

developed organic farming Service was founded to
systems to restore soil help farmers stop the
productivity, seed quality, devastating soil and crop
crop vigor, and livestock losses in the 1930s Dust
health. Bowl.
 National Organic  Natural Resources
Program Conservation Service
 Our Common Goal
Change this: … to this:

Years of poor soil management

can lead to severe erosion (left).
Rotation of annual and perennial
crops in contour strips, and
sufficient organic inputs keep
sloping fields healthy (above).
Definition of Organic Production

A production system that is managed … to

respond to site-specific conditions by
integrating cultural, biological and
mechanical practices that foster cycling of
resources, promote ecological balance, and
conserve biodiversity.

NOP Final Rule, part 205.2

 Site-specific: understand each farm as a
unique individual, considering:

• Soil – texture, type, condition

• Climate – temperature, rainfall, frost dates
• Crops, livestock, production system
• Wildilfe, beneficials, pests
• Farmer objectives and market needs
 Integrated practices:
multiple tactics for each goal
Weeds are managed
by:
• Crop rotation
• Cover cropping
• Optimum crop and
nutrient management Plastic mulch with in-row drip
• Timely cultivation irrigation, and timely cultivation
• Mulching followed by hay mulch in alleys
controlled weeds in this
vigorous pepper crop.
 Integrated practices:
multifunctional components

Cover Crops:
• Prevent erosion.
• Add organic matter.
• Fix N (legumes).
• Take up surplus N
(grasses). A cover crop of sorghum-
sudangrass and sunnhemp in
• Suppress weeds. a field trial at Virginia Tech’s
Kentland Agricultural Research
Farm.
 Cycling of Resources
Recycle fertility resources
on the farm:
• Cover crops and green
manures
• Animal manures
• Other on-farm residues
• Deep-rooted crops This cover crop of crimson
• Prevent nutrient loss clover and winter barley fixes
via runoff and erosion N, retrieves subsoil nutrients,
and prevents soil erosion.
 Ecological Balance

• Maintain a healthy, living soil.

• Provide enough NPK – but not too much.

• Use cultural and biological pest controls.

• Utilize least-toxic pest sprays when needed.
• Evaluate off-farm impacts of all practices.
 Biodiversity

• Crops
• Livestock
• Insect life
• Native
vegetation This “farmscape” planting of mixed
• Wildlife habitat flowering plants attracted a diversity
of beneficial insects that controlled
• Soil life pests in nearby organic vegetable
plots at Virginia Tech’s research farm.
 Livestock in Integrated Systems
• Manure provides crop
nutrients.
• Rotation to perennial
forage rests soil after
intensive annual crop
production.
• Grazing reduces weeds
and crop diseases.
• Crop residues and culls Sound rotational grazing can
improve pasture and restore
provide livestock fodder.
soil quality and fertility for
future crop production.
 Some Key Conservation Practices
for Organic Farmers

• Nutrient Management – code 590

budget N and P, prevent water pollution
• Pest Management – code 595
minimize negative impacts on soil, water,
air
• Conservation Crop Rotation – code 328
minimize erosion, improve soil, manage
pests
• Cover Crop – code 340
 NOP Rule: Soil fertility and crop
nutrient management practice standard

Maintain or improve the physical, chemical and

biological condition of soil and minimize erosion.

Manage crop nutrients and soil fertility through

rotations, cover crops, and the application of
plant and animal materials.
from Section 205.203
 NOP Rule: Crop pest, weed, and
disease management practice standard

Use management practices to prevent crop pests,

weeds, and diseases, including:
• Crop rotation and nutrient management
• Sanitation
• Cultural practices that enhance crop health
• Habitat for natural enemies of pests
• Augmentation or introduction of predators or
parasites of pests
from Section 205.206
 Nutrient Management:
the Organic Approach

• Based on soil life:

“feed the soil, and the
soil will feed the crop.”
• Legumes for N
• Slow-release organic
fertilizers as
supplements Sweetclover feeds the soil
• Less emphasis on life, adds N, makes P
soluble fertilizers more available, recovers
leached nutrients.
Nutrient Management: Organic Horticulture
Challenges

• Difficult to do
precise nutrient
budgeting
• N requirements of
vegetable crops
• N and P balance Spring broccoli requires
150 lb N/ac within 60-70 days
after planting.
 Pest Management:
the Organic Approach
• Preventive practices (e.g.,
sanitation, crop rotation)
• Biologically based – uses
natural enemies of pests.
• Non-use of synthetic
pesticides protects water
and wildlife. Mixed flowers provide
• NOP-allowed pest control habitat for beneficial
materials only if needed. insects at this farm
in southwest Virginia.
 Pest Management – Organic
Horticulture Challenges
• Diseases and some
insect pests difficult to
control organically

• Tillage and cultivation

for weed control –
impact on soil quality
 Crop Rotation: Organic Options
• No herbicide
residues to limit
rotation sequences.
• Organic farming
systems are often
highly diverse.
• Crop–livestock An eight-year rotation of
integration widens eight vegetable and seven
rotation options. cover crops at an organic
farm in Vermont.
 Conservation Crop Rotation :
Organic Horticulture Challenges

• Most vegetable crops

leave little residue.
• Conservation rotation
may entail income
foregone.
• Complex crop mix
requires flexibility.
• Sandy soils and warm
climates burn up
organic matter.
 Cover Crops: an Organic Advantage

Because herbicides
are not used for
weed control, cover
crop options are not
restricted by
herbicide carryover.
Alsike clover overseeded into
wheat and allowed to grow after
grain harvest at the Rodale
Farming Systems Trial.
 Cover Crops:
Organic Horticulture Challenges
• NOP requires organic
seed if available.
• Tight rotations limit
cover crop niches.
• Cover cropping may
entail foregone income.
• Sandy soils and warm
climates burn up cover
crop residues quickly.
 Organic Certification and the
USDA National Organic Program

An Overview
 Purpose of Organic Certification
To maintain the integrity of “organic” and
assures the buyer that products were grown and
handled using organic practices that:
•Protect soil, water, and other resources.
•Exclude synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
•Protect products from prohibited materials.
•Provide humane conditions for livestock.
USDA National Organic Program (NOP)

• First implemented in 2002

• Uniform Organic Practice Standards
• National List of allowed & prohibited materials
• Accreditation of state and private certifiers
• National Organic Standards Board (NOSB):
– Reviews new products
– Recommends amendments to Standards
 What makes a farm “Organic”?
• Production and handling standards outlined in
NOP Final Rule
• Organic System Plan
• Use of only allowed substances
o No prohibited substances for past 3 years
• Verification through:
o Certification by USDA accredited body
o Annual on-site inspection
o Record keeping
 How a Farmer becomes Certified Organic

• Farmer chooses a Certifying Agent.

• Farmer submits completed application to Certifier.
o Includes Organic System Plan.
• Inspector reviews application, inspects farm.
• Inspector conducts exit interview.
• Certifier makes decision.
 Organic System Plan
• Crops & livestock to be certified organic
• Seeds and seedlings
• Soil fertility management and inputs
• Crop rotation
• Weed, pest and disease management, materials
to be used, and justification
• Adjoining land use, buffers
 “Can I use this product
on my organic farm?”
• National List at
http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/nop
• Organic Materials Review Institute listing at
http://www.omri.org
o Generic product and Brand name listings
o Allowed, Restricted or Prohibited
• If still unclear, farmer should consult Certifier.
 Materials Allowed for Use in Certified
Organic Production

Substances are classified as:

• Allowed – most naturally occurring materials
• Restricted – allowed under certain conditions
• Prohibited – most synthetic materials

This is a general guideline only!

Producer should verify status of each material
before first use.
 Examples of NOP Allowed Materials

• Compost – precisely defined

• Plant-based soil amendments
• Limestone
• Low-solubility natural mineral amendments
• Biological pest controls

Need or rationale for inputs must be

documented in Organic System Plan.
 Examples of Restricted Materials
• Uncomposted manure (raw or aged at <131°F)
Minimum 90 or 120 days before harvest.
• Chilean nitrate (mined sodium nitrate)
Maximum 20% of crop’s total N need.
• Botanical pesticides
Only when preventive and biological controls
do not suffice.
Use and justification must be documented in farm
records.
 Examples of prohibited materials
• Synthetic fertilizers, e.g. 10-10-10, muriate of
potash, diammonium phosphate
• Synthetic pesticides, e.g., carbaryl, malathion
• Synthetic herbicides, e.g., glyphosate, alachlor
• Fence posts treated with CCA or PCP
• Sewage sludge or biosolids
• GMO seeds, or seeds treated with synthetics
– Must use organic seeds if commercially available.
 National List:
synthetic substances allowed with
restrictions specified
Examples:
• Plastic mulches – remove at end of use
• Micronutrient compounds – document need
• Sulfur dioxide – underground rodent control
only
 National List:
nonsynthetic substances prohibited

Examples:
• Ash from burning manure

• Arsenic
• Tobacco dust (nicotine sulfate)
 Does it pay to become
Certified Organic?

• Certification and inspection fees

• Market needs
• Premiums for Certified Organic
• Organic product differentiation
USDA Certification is required in order to label,
represent or market products as “organic.”
 Plant Nutrition
16 Essential Nutrients for
Normal Plant Growth
 3 ways to increase yields
1. Select good genetic potential crop

2. Select the best management

practices

3. Good environment conditions

 Plant Nutrition
 Plant nutrition –
the availability and types of basic
chemical elements required by the
plant – to grow & reproduce

 Plant Fertilizer –
the process of adding nutrients to the
soil or leaves so these chemicals are
added to growing environment.
 How do plants uptake
nutrients?

 Soil-water solution

 98% obtained in soil-water solution

 2% directly from soil

 What if there is too much water?

Primary Nutrients in Agriculture
 Macronutrients –
are needed/used in large amounts

 N,P,K C, H, O, Ca, Mg, S

 If a plant receives to much nutrients

What is it called
 Plant Toxicity
 Primary Nutrients
Nitrogen (N) –
is needed for vegetative
growth and dark green
color. (easily leached out)

Nitrogen is the most important

nutrient.
Deficiency signs –
reduced growth & yellowing of
lower leaves.

Yellowing is called Chlorosis

 Primary Nutrients in Agriculture
 2. Phosphorus (P) –
important for seedling
and young plant growth
and develop good root
system. (not easily leached
out)
 AKA – Potash
 Deficiency signs-
reduced growth, poor
root systems, reduced
flowering. Also thin
stems and browning or
purpling of foliage.
 Primary Nutrients in Agriculture
 3. Potassium (K) –
mined as a rock and made

into a fertilizer – can be

leached.

 Deficiency signs –
reduced growth, shortened
internodes and some burn,
scorched marks (brown
leaves).
 Too Much (K ) – can cause
nitrogen deficiency.
 Secondary Nutrients
1. Calcium (Ca)
2. Carbon (C)
3. Hydrogen (H)
4. Magnesium (Mg)
5. Oxygen(O)
6. Sulfur (S)
 Where does the plant get C,H,O?
From the Air & Water
 Micronutrients in Agriculture
 They are used in small quantities – and obtained from
the soil. (excess amounts are toxic)
 Boron, (B)
 Chlorine (Cl)
 Copper (Cu)
 Iron (Fe)
 Manganese (Mn)
 Molybenum (Mo)
 Zinc (Zn)
 16 Essential Nutrients for
Normal Plant Growth
 The absence of any one essential plant
nutrient will cause the plant to grow
poorly or show signs of poor health

 C HOPKNS Cafe Mg (10)

 B, Cu, Cl, Mn. Mo, Zn (6)
 Ways to apply Nutrients
Application Methods
1. Premergence – applied before germination
2. Top Dress – done early in plants life
3. Side Dress – done later in plants life
Types of fertilizer
1. Organic > liquid or dry
2. Inorganic > liquid or dry

If there is too much fertilizer what could happen?

Leaching
Plants Burn
 ORGANIC
VEGETABLE
PRODUCTION
 WHAT IS ORGANIC
VEGETABLE PRODUCTION ?

•Organic vegetable production is a part of

organic farming that involves using
techniques to achieve good crop yields
without harming the natural
environment or the people who live and
work in it.
 CONCEPT OF GROWING
GOOD QUALITY
VEGETABLE
• Safe and healthy to eat
• Free from synthetic and toxic chemicals
• Free from synthetic fertilizer. It uses compost as fertilizer
(vermicompost and bokashi, Uses Natural Farming Fermented
Products such as:
- Nitrogen sources: FAA, FPJ, Vermi tea
- Phosphorus sources: Calcium phosphate, Vermi Tea
- Potassium sources: FPJ and Vermi tea
• Certified by Third Party Certification Body (NICERT)
 BENEFITS OF PLANTING
ORGANIC VEGETABLES

• Can give a safe and good nourishment to the

family
• Can give augment family income
• Can give a healthful exercise
• Can give work for the family, neighborhood
and promote family bonding
 EFFECTS OF
CHEMICAL
FERTILIZATION
• Less produce
• Increase production cost
• Has a negative effect to the environment and
health hazard to the farmers, and has a negative
effect to water system and environment in general
• The produce is not safe to eat
 IMPORTANT
FACTORS TO
CONSIDER FOR
PLANTING
VEGETABLES
CROPS
 CROPS ARE AFFECTED
BY:
1.Soil Type
2.Climate
3.Type and amount of nutrients
4.Farm tools and equipment
5.Availability of Labor
 1. SOIL TYPE
•The kind of soil to be planted
Baras (Sandy soil)
Lagay (Clay soil)
Tabunok (loam soil
Humok og Tabunok (Sandy loam)
Lapok og Tabunok (Clay Loam)
 2. CLIMATE
• Weather condition can affect preparation of the land for
planting. There are There are four types of climate in the
Philippines, they are:

TYPE Description Regions / Provinces REMARKS

The controlling factor is

Two pronounced wet topography. These regions are
and dry seasons; wet shielded from the northeast
Western part of Luzon,
during the months of monsoon and even in good part
1 June to November and
Mindanao, Palawan,
from the trade winds by high
Panay and Negros
dry from December to mountain ranges. They are open
May only to the southwest monsoon
and the cyclonic storms.
 Catanduanes,
These regions are
Sorsogon,
No dry season along or very near
eastern part of
with a very the eastern coast
Albay,
pronounced and are not
Camarines
maximum rain sheltered either
2 Norte,
period in from the north
Camarines Sur,
December, eastern monsoon
eastern Quezon,
January and and tradewinds nor
Samar, Leyte
February. from the cyclonic
and Eastern
storms.
Mindanao.
 Intermediate Western parts of the
These localities are
type with no Cagayan valley, eastern
only partly sheltered
pronounced parts of the Mountain
from the northeastern
maximum rain region, southern
monsoon and trade
period and Quezon, Masbate,
3 winds and are open to
short dry Romblon, northeastern
the southwest
season lasting Panay, eastern Negros,
monsoon or at least to
from one to central and southern
frequent cyclonic
three months Cebu, eastern Palawan
storms.
only. and northern Mindanao.
 Batanes, northeastern
Luzon, south western
These regions are so
Camarines Norte,
situated that they receive
western Camarines Sur
the moderate effects of the
Uniformly and Albay, Bondoc
northeast monsoon and
4 distributed peninsula, eastern
tradewinds as well as the
rainfall Mindanao, Marinduque,
southeast monsoon and
Western Leyte, northern
cyclonic storms.
Cebu, Bohol and most
 
of central, western and
southern Mindanao.
3. The type and amount of nutrients required
and the amount of water needed.
4. Farm tools & equipment – In the absence of
tools can paralyze job & so with equipment,
wider area to be cultivated needs equipment.
5. Availability of labor – the absence of
Laborers or workers paralyzes land preparation
These factors affect how a crop grows and
yields. If a crop is grown in a climate to
which it is not suited, it is likely to produce
low yields and be more susceptible to pest
and diseases. This then creates the need to
use agrochemicals to fertilize the crop and
control pest and diseases.