Nutrient Quantity or Nutrient Access? A New Understanding of How to Maintain Soil Fertility in the Tropics
‘Uberlandia’ Carrot
Articles
‘Uberlandia’ Carrot
Dawn Berkelaar
Several years ago (in EDN Issue 43, December 1993), we wrote that seed was available for a carrot that will set seed in the tropics (normally carrots only produce seed in temperate climates with a cold winter). Dr. Warwick Kerr sent us the original ‘Uberlandia’ carrot seed from Brazil nearly ten years ago. In our 1993 article, we mentioned that someone familiar with plant breeding could do a great service to the peasant farmer by selecting seed from plants producing better quality carrots.
Nutrient Quantity or Nutrient Access? A New Understanding of How to Maintain Soil Fertility in the Tropics
Roland Bunch
The conventional view of the relationship between soil nutrients and crop productivity in the tropics is leading to both damaging agricultural policies and inefficient and damaging farm-level practices. There is no need to use the huge quantities of chemical fertilizers that are so often recommended. In fact, often times the use of such fertilizers is unnecessary, expensive and harmful to the environment, especially because farmers often stop using organic matter when they use chemical fertilizers.