In order to be highly effective in natural farming, you need to create a diverse and rich soil environment. Growing green manure plants has been the way that many people apply. To understand the benefits of green manure plants, please read this article.
What is green manure plants?
Green manure plants are those that can be cultivated together with the main trees and fed to cattle to get manure. The main purpose of this plant is soil improvement.
Green manure plants are easy to grow and they grow quickly. Green manure plants are usually planted alternately, intercropped with the main tree. When green manure is buried into the soil, it will increase the nutrition of the soil.
You shouldn’t bury the manure plants when they already have seed because then green manure plant seed germination will hinder the growth of the main trees. Besides being used as fertilizer for crops, green manure crops are also used to make cover crops, shade, soil improvement, prevent soil erosion and improve soil fertility. . The raw materials used as green manure are weed, herb plants, neem leaves, legumes, etc.
Legumes are a common plant for cover crop and also a green manure tree
Green manure can be an annual, two-year or long-term herb plant. In some countries around the world, people often use cruciferous vegetables such as mustard, canola and legumes such as lupinus, faba, vicia faba or trifolium repens, poales and some other like sunflower, … to make green manure.
In Vietnam, it is common to use green manure plants such as legumes, wild peanuts, azolla caroliniana, chromolaena odorata, leucaena leucocephala, crotalaria juncea, Sesbania sesban, water hyacinth, tithonia, pigeon pea, etc. There are also sorghum, panicum miliaceum, a few kinds of grasses like lemongrass, pennisetum purpurrerum, brachiaria ruziziensis,…
Benefits from green manure plants
Their roots are deeply rooted in the soil, making the soil loose and Agglutinate nutrients in soil to prevent it from being washed away.
They prevent weeds, prevent soil erosion and protect the soil from direct sunlight.
If used with legumes, it will help fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil
Some green manure plants are used as dry food for livestock and also provide food for humans (fruits, beans, lemongrass leaves)
Outstanding performance
Increasing the amount of organic matter and nitrogen for the soil. In fact, trunks and leaves of green manure trees provide about 15-30 tons of green matter per hectare. It means about 3 to 4 tons of dry matter, which creates humus for the soil, capable of improving physical and chemical properties. Helping soil and sand coalesce, so it can hold water and faeces without fear of water washout. Prevent soil erosion from heavy rainstorms.
Green manure plants improve the layer of cultivation, using green manure not only increases organic matter and nitrogen for the farm floor but also helps to enrich phosphorus, calcium, magnesium …
Enhance cation exchange (CEC) and reduce nutrient losses through soil layers, moisturizing and cooling the soil when temperatures are high. Overall, it helps maintain and improve the soil structure for tropical fine soils.
Green manure plants provide a lot of organic matter, thereby increasing the interaction of soil microorganisms. The increase in biological activity helps develop fertile soil.
How to use green manure effectively?
Cutting leaves into pieces then bury it directly into the soil. This way is simple, convenient, and low-cost way.
Cut branches and stems of green manure plants to cover the surface of the soil or the foot of the main tree.
Incubate the stem and leaves of the green manure plant before use it to fertilizing the main trees. This applies when the period of green manure plants harvest does not coincide with the period of time to preparing soil to plant trees.
Green manure plants can be trimmed and cover directly on the surface of the soil or composted.
Using green manure plants as animal feed to get manure out. This is a highly economical way. However, you have to choose the type of green manure plants appropriate to the palate of the cattle and rich in nutrients, you should note this point.
Green manure plants play an important role in overcoming agricultural risks. In order to maximize the benefits of green manure plants for farming, producers need to understand, choose the right type and grow properly to bring the highest efficiency.