Cultural Methods for Disease Management

Sanitation

killing pathogen to reduce or eliminate new infections

Fallowing

• Part of swidden systems

• involves not planting a crop on some plots and fields for years 

Raised beds Ireland

slow infections, from “water mold” like P. infestans, cause of potato late blight 

Biochar(“terra preta”)

Soils modified by peoples using charcoal

Pyrolysis

high temperature treatment of organic matter in the absence of or at reduced levels of oxygen 

Carbon Sequestration

Keeps carbon in the soil much longer

Cover Crops

• crops planted with the purpose of being plowed into soil

• left as an organic mulch, rather than harvested.

Conventional or Intensive tillage

• Tillage systems that leave <15% residue cover at planting.

• Moldboard plowing, secondary & tertiary tillage.

Reduced-till

• 15 to 30% residue cover at planting. 

• Involves 1 to 3 tillage passes. 

• Implements such as chisel plows, disks, field cultivators and combination tools are used.

Mulch-till

• > 30% residue cover at planting

• Similar process to reduced till

Ridge-till

• Builds 4- to 6-inch high ridges during row cultivation and scraping off 1 to 2 inches of the ridge during planting. 

• Special machinery, 1 pass.

No-till

• Soil only disturbed in area immediately around the seed planting zone. 

• Special no-till planters, 1 pass.

Crop Rotation

system of planting a sequence of different crops in a given field each year

Quarantine of Pathogens

• not allowing pathogens, or specific types of plants, into a country or large region

Exclusion of Pathogens

• pathogen is not allowed into smaller area

Crop Canopy

Aerial part of plant, leaves, stems, branches, fruit, flowers

Changing Canopy Density

changes mircoenviroment around plants 

Managing Amount of Time Leaf Surface

• wetness

• humidity

• temperature

Polyculture

• practice growing multiple crop species &/or animal species at same time in single location. 

• Imitates diversity of natural ecosystems

Permaculture

• agricultural systems incorporate diversity 

• Incorporate natural ecosystems to make production sustainable