Don cautions farmers against excessive fertilizer application on soil

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A Professor of Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, Lateef Taiwo, has warned farmers against the application of excessive fertilizers and pesticides on soil.

Taiwo, of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training(IAR&T), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), gave the warning during the university’s Inaugural Lecture Series 365 on Tuesday in Ile-Ife, Osun.
Delivering a lecture titled, ”Anthropogenic Disruption of Microbial Ecosystem in Soil:The Crisis Beneath Our Feet,” Taiwo drew the attention of farmers and stakeholders to the poisonous effect of excessive fertilizer use.

He noted that in the past, the foods that people consumed were products of minimum tillage, saying that the use of organic fertilizers was the norm as agro-chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides were not available.

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“With the increase in the use of herbicides in modern agriculture, the problem of the negative effects of these agro-chemicals on soil microbes have generated more attention.

“Applied herbicides have been reported to be harmful to allochthonous organisms, disrupt the soil ecosystem and ultimately affect human health by gaining access into human food chain.

“Their persistence in soil has also been reported to affect soil fertility”
Pesticide residues can be found in soils a long time after application.

This confirms that a shift in our practices is needed urgently,” he said

Taiwo maintained that soil needs to function well but some modern practices effectively prevented it, particularly the use of pesticides.

He stressed that pesticides do not just attack plant pests but also attack soil beneficial organisms, thus weakening the soil’s ability to deliver its full contribution to plant protection.

“Everyone needs to take a deeper look at the long-lasting damages that pesticides cause to soils and what policy makers should do about it.

“There is a lot of activity being carried out in the soil and once the activities are disrupted, they will not be able to carry out the responsibility which God has bestowed on them and that would have adverse effect on food production.

“Especially when the soil that we all depend on is poisoned and the life of the soil which is the micro would be adversely affected,” the don stressed.

He decried the lackadaisical attitude of youths towards farming, noting that they are not interested in farming because they see farming as tedious, time-consuming, unattractive and has low return on investment.

“There is, therefore, more intensification of the agricultural practices by the few people who now cultivate the land.

“Intensive agriculture which comprises farming practices such as maximum tillage and the use of agro-chemicals is now the norm,” he said.

Taiwo, who advised farmers to stop excessive fertilizer and bush burning on their field, also charged them to regulate the amount of pesticides which they apply to their soil.

“All these activities distrupt the soil’s microbial ecosystem, adversely affecting soil fertility and end food production in the country,” Taiwo added.

Credit: NAN

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