When we talk about soil health, we mean a healthy soil. “As the saying goes, a healthy soil is a productive soil.” The health status of the soil determines its ability to support agricultural productivity. Soil, just like the human body, needs to be healthy in order to support the growth and development of plants and animals.
Soil health refers to the absents of toxic chemicals in the soil (such as residue effects of pesticides, inorganic fertilizers, and herbicides), heavy metals (like lead, mercury, and cadmium), as well as other effects of human activities like deforestation and improper waste disposal.
Therefore, a healthy soil, is a soil that is in a complete state of wholeness. I.e., it houses different types of soil organisms, high levels of organic matter, circulates nutrients for plant uptake, poses good soil structure, and aids the exchange of gases in the atmosphere.
Similarly, soil health is the ability of the soil to provide all the necessary requirements or ingredients needed to support the growth and productivity of crops, animals, and sustain other agricultural activities.
Man activities such as deforestation, use of heavy farm machines, improper waste disposal, and industrial waste, and natural hazards such as desert encroachment, and climate have a serious impact on the soil. The release of the chemical into the soil increases soil acidity, leads to soil compactments, destruction of microorganisms, erosion of important soil nutrient, and obstruct the aeration of gases in the soil. Whenever the soil is unhealthy, the farmers can carry out a holistic approach to revitalize the soil to increase the soil’s biological components, such as microorganisms, along with its physical and chemical properties therefore, the Soil health is aimed at creating a friendly soil environment for the survival of plants and animals.
In agriculture, various approaches such as cover cropping, crop rotation, afforestation, and application of organic matter help to create a conducive Agricultural environment that increase agricultural productivity.
Why is Soil health Importance in agriculture
A healthy soil provides the following benefits for the growth and development of agricultural activities. Some of these benefit are itemized below.
Sustaining Activities of Living Organisms
One of the key indicators to determine a healthy soil is the ability to sustain the activities of living organisms. A soil that is healthy and well improved can help increase the activities of living organisms. A well Conserve soil is a healthy soil, and conserve soil increases the activities of living organisms by serving as a natural home for soil living organisms.
Increased activities of living organisms in the soil help to increase water percolation and aeration, thereby support the growth of arable crop productivity.
The cast of earthworm and the decomposition of organic materials by decomposers help reduce pollination and increase soil fertilities. The root of plants and grass supported by healthy soil help to improve soil structure. Healthy soil increases biodiversity activities, thereby attracting agricultural insects that aid by the reason of the decayed plants and animal materials in the soil.
Improve Soil Fertility
This is another benefit of a healthy soil in sustainable farming. A healthy soil or a soil improved with agricultural practices such as crop rotation, shifting cultivation, Mulching, cover cropping, mixed farming, and more has the capacity and capability to improve soil fertility and crop productivity.
A soil that is well managed not only improves soil fertility and productivity, but also helps to maintain the structure of the soil, nutrient contents, and microbial activities in the soil.
Since healthy soil increase biodiversity, and the leaves of plants, as well as the decaying of animals’ material, can help increase the presence of essential nutrients for plant growth and productivity.
Free from Soil-Borne Pathogens
The well managed soil should be free from diseae causing organisms. Soil-borne pathogens such as fungi (fursarium spp, Rhizoctonia spp, phytophthoria spp), bacterial (Ralstonia solanacearum, Agrobacterium tumefaciens, ann nematodes such as root knot and cyst nematodes are cable of causing root rot, formation of crown gall in plant. A healthy soil is free from the negative impacts of pathogens and provides a natural method of controlling the presence of harmful soil-borne pests and diseases. Additionally, a good soil provides beneficial agricultural microorganisms that help control the presence of pests and diseases on the farm, thereby increasing crop yields.
Reduce the Cost of Production.
Since a healthy soil is free from Soil soil-borne pathogens, increase the activity of importance agricultural organisms, boost soil fertility, increase soil structure, is free from the accumulation of harmful chemicals, and improves soil aeration and capillarity helps to reduce the cost of production. In poor soil, farmers have to spend resource purchasing fertilizers, liming materials for the control of acidity, insecticides, employed labour, and more, which indeed increase the cost of productions. The accumulation of pesticides, inorganic fertilizers residue, and industrial waste and improper waste management poses a serious danger to agricultural soil. To bring such soil to the state of complete wholeness, farmers have to spend resources and time improving and reclaiming the soil, which increases the overall cost of production.
Efficient Water and Air Movement
The ability of water and air to circulate effectively in the soil is vital to crop productivity. A healthy soil ensures adequate gaseous exchange in the soil. The presence of soil-borne organisms and the uses of conservation practices help to improve the structure, which enhances the aeration and percolation in the soil.
Adequate water and soil movement in the soil is necessary to improve the activities of micro-organisms, circulation of soil nutrient, prevent waterlogging, and enhance crop growth and development.
Irrigations is difficult to practice in a poorly drain soil as this may lead to the accumulation of salinity in the soil which can poses serious challenges to the potential threat to aquatic organisms.
Carbon Sequestration
A healthy soil is a well conserve soil, and a well conserve soil contributes to carbon sequestration and the reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The high level of organic matter presence in a healthy soil help to mitigate the effect of climate change by reducing the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the rate of carbon storage in the soil. The decayed plant and animal material in the soils will help separate carbon bonds in the soil. The activities that increase biodiversity of the bio diversified global ecosystem is the first step toward better soil usage.
Prevent Nutrient Losses
A well manage soil particles are tightly held together, thereby preventing soil nutrients from leaching beyond the reach of plant root. Since a healthy soil has a good proportion of clay, sand, and loamy in the right amount, this help to bind the soil together, preventing loses of soil nutrient. Moreover, the uses of cover cropping like leguminous crops (such as centrocema pubescence, tropical kudzu, calapogonium mucunoides), and the conservative practices to improve soil condition can also help to prevent soil erosion.
Increase the Economic Standards of the Farmers
A healthy soil helps increase the economic standard of the farmers. A well-improved soil helps increase the soil nutrient, prevent loss of nutrient loss, and aid nutrient cycling in the soil. This helps to boost food production and give the farmers maximum income return for investment. Additionally, since a healthy soil is cost effective as the farmers have to spend less in managing the farm, this will help to save, and can reinvest into another source of livelihoods to improve the farmers’ standard of living.
Reduction in the use of Agrochemicals
In good soil, the uses of synthetic agrochemicals such as herbicides, insecticides, inorganic fertilizers, and other toxic agrochemicals on the farm reduce to the bearest level. Since the soil is in a stable form, the uses of to toxic agrochemicals on farmers are reduced, which makes the soil environmentally friendly promoting the growth of macro and microorganisms in the farm.
Promote the use of sustainable Farming Practices
A healthy soil promotes the use of sustainable farm systems or traditional farming practices, which reduce soil disturbance.
Since the soil is in a stable form, the uses of modern farming practices like inorganic fertilizers, maximum tillage, pesticides and other toxic chemical that have a residual effect on the soil are reduced. The farmers are free to adopt traditional farming systems like zero tillage and organic farming, which promote which to keep soil stability.
How to Restore Degraded Soil in Agriculture
To make the soil healthy for the survival of plants and animals is of a major concern to farmers and agriculturists at large. Ensuring that a soil is in a complete state of wholeness, farmers are often counsel to adopt sustainable farming systems that are environmentally friendly and can increase agricultural productivity.
There are different farm practices that are available in agriculture that farmers can adopt to improve the soil structure and create a healthy environment for plants and animals. Examples of these approaches that can be used to improve or restore degraded soil in agriculture are cover cropping, crop rotation, agroforestry, minimum tillage, integrated nutrient management, integrated pest management, and more.
These conservative practices have the ability to increase soil microbial activity, improve soil structure and texture, increase the mineral content of the soil, help balance the cation exchange capacity of the soil (CEC), and help correct soil acidity.
Cover Cropping
One of the Strategies for improving or managing soil health is the use of cover cropping. The use of soil creeping legumes (such as Puraria phaseoloides, Mucuna pruriens, M. utilis, Calapogunium mucunoides, and Centrosema pubescens) and the use of arable crops such as potatoes, melons, and cowpea serve as good ground cover crops that protect the soil from the adverse effects of erosion, such as water, wind and direct effect of sunlight.
These ground cover crops creep on the soil surface, ensure adequate ground cover, and make the soil cool, thereby serving as a good habitat for soil organisms.
soil organisms act on the falling leaves of these crops, incorporate them into the soil, improve the soil structure and soil fertility.
Root nodules bacteria such as Rhizobium and nitrobacteria, help to attract atmospheric nitrogen into the soil, which is used by plants for growth and productivity.
Uses of Terracing, Contour, and Strip Cropping
Conservative practices such as terracing, contour farming, and strip cropping have great influence on soil health. These practices help to protect the soil against soil erosion. Terracing, contour farming, and strip cropping involving breaking the slope in manageable forms to it reduce the rate of water runoff.
This strategy use for restoring degraded soil in Agriculture help to enhancing or maintain soil fertility and prevent the washing of hazardous chemicals into water bodies or part of the soil.
Crop Rotation
Crop rotation is another method of maintaining soil health or restoring degraded Soil in agriculture. It is a system of cropping, where different types of crops are planted on the same pieces of land but in a sequence or definite order with the aim of increasing or maintaining soil fertility.
The system involves incorporating legumes with cereals and root crops in the field in different portion of this piece of land, which is rotatory in every years. The practice is done in such a way that nutrients are well utilized in the soil. Legume crops in the field can help increase the presence of nitrogen, sulphur, potassium, and minerals in the soil, which would be consumed by other non-legume crops in the soil.
The rotation of crops in the field serves as a natural way of controlling pests and diseases since certain pests and diseases are crop-specific, which helps to reduce the use of inorganic pesticides.
More so, the Incorporation of legumes such as groundnut, cowpea, and soybeans and the ability to strategically manage the soil can help to balance the soil nutrient requirement and reduce the need for inorganic fertilizers.
Agroforestry
Agroforestry is a conservative measure for maintaining or improving soil health. Tungya farming, alley farming, and lay farming are agroforestry systems that have proven beyond measure in restoring soil health. The system usually involves planting of arable crops along with forest trees.
The planting is done in such way that the economic trees are panted along with food crops in the early years of the trees when they do not have developed canopy covers. The strategy involved the planting of tree crops such as Hevea brasiliensis, Elasis guineensis, Theobroma cocao, Mangifera indica, and so on. In the field before the introduction of the arable crops
These practices help to improve the activities of biodiversity, serve as shade, control soil erosion, and soil enhance soil fertility.
The Practice of Zero Tillage or No-tillage
Maximum tillage lead to the destruction of the soil structure, soil disturbances, expose the soil to agents of the geological denudation, and kill importance organisms. This is where zero tillage comes in to conserve soil and discourage the use of heavy machine in the tilling of the soil. This Practice helps to reduce the disturbance of the soil and maintain soil health.
These practices are carried out by small-scale farmers and in area where major tillage has been done previously to give room for the soil organisms, improve soil structure, and ensure adequate gaseous exchange in the soil.
Research and experiment have shown that a zero or minimum tillage system is one of the best methods of restoring soil health.
Zero tillage helps to balance the soil environment by creating favorable conditions for soil organisms, helps to sequester carbon, and enhance the soil water retention capacity of the soil.
Uses of Organic Farming
Organic farming refers to the type of farming that involves the use of natural materials to increase the nutrient level of the soil.
Unlike inorganic farming, organic farming does not have a toxic effect on the soil; hence, it becomes a veritable tool for restoring or maintaining soil health in the environment.
These systems of the use of green, farm yard, and compost manure or biogas are strategies for enhancing agricultural soil. The practice serves as a buffer in the soil, which helps to increase bioactivities on the farm and reduces farmers’ dependence on the uses of inorganic fertilizers, which are toxic to man and the environment.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
This is another methods for restoring or managing soil health. It involves the uses of a combination of pest control measure that are synthetic, physical, and organic to control pest and minimize the effects of toxic chemicals on the soil.
These strategies help to promote eco-friendly practices, reduce costs, and promote the activities of soil organisms. The uses of organic matter measure in Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is to allow the organic compound to break the effect of the synthetic chemicals in the constituent. It system is considered one of the best because it is a holistic measure that is a combination of a simple farming system, uses of biological pest control measures, such as using a predator of that pest to control, and synthetic methods to control the activities of pest and diseases.
Sustainable Irrigation System
The use of sustainable water management practices in supporting the growth and productivity of crops is necessary for improving soil health. Excessive or unsustainable irrigation systems can increase the salinity of the soil and leach the soil nutrient beyond the reach of the plant.
Efficient irrigation system will help to release water efficiently and ensure adequate utilization of water throughout the year, and protect soil nutrients against water depletion.
Uses of Integrated Soil Fertility Management
The use of Integrated Soil Fertility Managementis another Strategy for maintaining or improving soil health. The combination of organic and inorganic fertilizer will help to increase the activities of biodiversity, ecofriendly, improve soil temperature, and increase soil nutrients.
Organic manure such as farm yard manure, green manure, and compost are used in combination with synthetic fertilizer to reduce the leaching or washing away of the soil nutrients or the toxic chemical present in the inorganic fertilizers.
In conclusion
The need to maintain soil health or improve degraded soil is essential in farming to enhance agricultural productivity and promote a sustainable environment.
Soil health cannot be maintain or sustain without the uses of a sustainable farming system.