Perspectives for organic crop production in the tropics (Número de registro

Abstract

Because of the more favourable environment for crop pests and diseases, higher decomposition rates and loss of nutrients through leaching, tropical environments would not, at first, seem to be very productive for crop production without the use of agrochemicals. However, when agrochemical use was suspended on an experiment which had been in maize and bean production for twelve years and which received frequent applications of insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and mineral fertilizers, crop yields increased when nutrients were supplied from chichen manure, weed was controlled manually and by green cover with Canavalia ensiformis (L.), and insects and diseases were controlled by spraying with a liquified mixture of garlic, capsicum pepper and soap. The use of the variety of biological systems seems to provide a promising environment for the development of diverse sustainable organic production systems which will sustain human nutrition of current and future generations.