Challenges of organic agriculture for the production of composts and vermicompost for the production of medicinal plants – A socioeconomic demand

Abstract

Although the demand for organic fertilizers in agriculture is growing, it remains incipient in some production sectors, such as medicinal plant production, which does not possess specific technology for its development. Solid residues are highly contaminant to water sources, soil, populations and biodiversity but can potentially be used to produce organic composts and vermicompost, such production not only enables nutrient recycling but also acts on soil conditioning, increasing soil organic matter and improving its physical, chemical and biological characteristics, as well as strengthening organic production with an emphasis on medicinal plant production. In this context, recommendations for and applications of organic fertilizers available in the market were reviewed; in addition, the imminent socioeconomic demand for organic compost and vermicompost production was contextualized based on residues from coffee and sugarcane production and cattle farming for application to the medicinal plant production chain. It is concluded that although these sectors produce a considerable amount of residues, they are not being reused in formulation of organic composts and vermicompost, and commercial organic fertilizers recommended for medicinal plant production were not found. Thus, the formulation of vermicomposting and composting from the reuse of agricultural residues, are potential social, economic technologies and tools to be valued and disseminated to traditional and family farmers.

A contribuição das tecnologias sociais e os fatores determinantes para o cultivo de plantas medicinais: uma revisão sistemática

“…Tomando como exemplo os resíduos sólidos, eles são altamente contaminantes para fontes de água, solo, populações e biodiversidade, mas podem A contribuição das tecnologias sociais e os fatores determinantes para o cultivo de plantas medicinais: uma revisão sistemática ser potencialmente utilizados para a produção de compostos orgânicos e vermicompostos. Tal produção não só possibilita a reciclagem de nutrientes, mas também atua no condicionamento do solo, aumentando a matéria orgânica do solo e melhorando seu aspecto físico, químico e características biológicas, além de fortalecer a produção orgânica com ênfase na produção de plantas medicinais (PEREIRA et al 2020).…”

“…Contemplam-se consideravelmente pouco as aferições, de forma que se intercalam com as tecnologias sociais de maneira econômica ou gerencial, mesmo numa análise internacional. Autores como Pereira et al (2020), Wiersum et al (2006), Emotiuk, Semotiuk e Ezcurra (2015, Ashby et al (2009), Cramb et al (2009), Gotor et al (2013), Oestreicher et al (2014), Bakkegaard, Nielsen e Thorsen (2017) e Kamwi et al (2018) Renan Silva FERREIRA; Leonardo BALCEWICZ JUNIOR; Geysler BERTOLINI destacam o alívio da pobreza e a garantia da biodiversidade, reforçam o debate sobre políticas governamentais, investimentos, técnicas de processamento, colheita, manejo e o envolvimento ativo da população local, sendo esse essencial para diminuir o êxodo rural e consolidar a sucessão familiar no campo.…”

Cultivating Biodiversity to Harvest Sustainability: Vermicomposting and Inoculation of Microorganisms for Soil Preservation and Resilience

“…Therefore, it is a consensus among many researchers that vermicomposting provides the appearance of beneficial microorganisms for plant growth, by contributing not only to mineral nutrition through mineral phosphate solubilization and nitrogen fixation, but also by increasing microbial activity in the soil, phytohormone secretion, enzyme and siderophore production, influencing systemic resistance to pathogens, abiotic and biotic stress [5].…”

“…Of all organic waste, 37 million tons reach the processing units, but only 1% of this is directed to composting units in the country. Vermicomposting and biodigestion as recycling tools are not widely used, wasting residues that can be reinserted into agricultural systems in the form of organic fertilizers enriched with efficient microorganisms [5].…”

“…The available literature reports that the inoculation of efficient microorganisms combined with vermicomposting can reduce decomposition time, provide an increase in nutrients such as total nitrogen and phosphorus, increase the content of humic substances and stabilization of the fraction organic, in addition increases the carbon content, which helps in the microbial structuring of the soil [7,8]. It can also increase soil biodiversity, act in the production and release of phytohormones that impact on plant metabolism [9], in the suppression of pathogens in organic residues and soil phytopathogens [2][3][4][5][6][7][8][9]. Furthermore, vermicomposting is considered a low-cost technology, where the transformation of the residue into fertilizer and its subsequent application to the soil can reduce and/or replace the dependence on conventional fertilizers, provide nutrients, and improve the soil structure [10][11][12].…”