Back J. M. Phillips
Nature Farming Research and Development Foundation, Lompoc, California, USA
Full Paper (PDF File: 241KB)
Abstract
The Naturfarm, located near Lompoc, California comprises about 75 tillable
acres of cropland and is certified as an organic vegetable farm by the
California Certified Organic Farmers Association (CCOF). The mission of
the Naturfarm is to promote the art and science of Kyusei Nature Farming
for a sustainable agriculture and environment through organic and biological
(i.e., non-chemical) methods. One such method that was evaluated for the
biological control of insect pests at the Naturfarm is pest break strips.
A five-year (1989-1994) study of this technology was funded by the California
Energy Commission (CEC) known as the "Naturfarm Conversion Project".
Pest break strips are actually a version of strip-cropping in which the
break strips, consisting of an alfalfa-clover mixture are strip-intercropped
with organically-grown vegetables. The CEC/Naturfarm study focused on reducing
the risk of transition from chemical-based, conventional farming to biological-based,
organic or nature farming systems. Whole farm economic and ecological performance
was monitored during the study and the energy requirements for tillage,
soil fertility and pest control for conventional and nature farming systems
were compared. The results of this study have shown that pest break strips
provide a highly effective and practical means for controlling insect pests
in nature farming. This technology has now become an essential integrated
pest management (IPM) strategy at the Naturfarm.