Natural-Farmed Soybeans Bloomed and Ripened Sooner
Yoo Nam-gyu, Konkuk University · South Korea
A short photo report from a 2016 soybean plot at Konkuk, grown side by side with natural farming and conventional farming. Conventional weeds were killed with herbicide at 50 days; the natural farming weeds were pulled by hand. The natural farming plot bloomed three days earlier (July 19 vs July 22) and was yellowing toward harvest at 90 days while the conventional plot was still green. No yield or other numbers were shown.
What they found
How does soybean grown with natural farming compare with conventionally grown soybean through the season?
Konkuk University, 2016 (field site not named; the uploader and other Konkuk talks point to the Paju test farm, but this talk does not say). Sown June 1, 2016; spacing 60 × 15–20 cm, 2 seeds per hill (hill seeding). One natural farming plot and one conventional plot, compared by photos at 45, 50 and 90 days after sowing. Variety, plot size, replication, the natural farming solutions used (if any) and the conventional fertilizer program are not stated. No measurements or yield were reported; harvest was still about two weeks away.
- Natural farming — Weeds removed by hand at about 50 days after sowing. No solutions or fertilizer named in the talk.
- Conventional farming — Herbicide sprayed at about 50 days after sowing. Fertilizer program not stated.
- Both plots — Topping (cutting the growing tip, by hand or machine) at about 45 days, said to raise yield and reduce lodging. The slide calls this 'removing sucker'.
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Natural farming plot bloomed July 19, conventional July 22
Three days earlier with natural farming, about 48 vs 51 days after the June 1 sowing.
▶ 2:00 Said and shown on the slides
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Natural farming plot ripened faster
At 90 days after sowing the natural farming plants were turning yellow while the conventional plants were still green (slide photos 'Maturing (90DAS)'). Speaker expected harvest about two weeks later.
▶ 3:44 Said and shown on the slides
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Herbicide plot looked clean; hand weeding took a long time
The 50-day photos show bare red soil between conventional rows and more ground cover in the natural farming rows. The speaker's case for hand weeding is that it does not harm soil microorganisms; nothing was measured.
▶ 2:43 Said and shown on the slides
- One season, one plot per treatment, no replication shown.
- No yield, plant or soil measurements were presented; results are dates and photos only.
- Harvest had not happened yet at the time of the talk.
- The natural farming treatment is described only as hand weeding; whether any solutions were applied is not said, so the comparison is mainly herbicide vs no herbicide.
- Faster ripening is not shown to be better or worse; it could reflect weed competition, nutrition or stress.
- Soybeans in this plot came through the season without herbicide, with weeds pulled by hand at about 50 days.
- Topping soybean at about 45 days (5–6 leaves, by the speaker's account) is a practice the speaker used to raise yield and reduce lodging.
- Expect hand weeding to take much more labor than spraying.
Next to Master Cho's teaching
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Agrees
No herbicide Cho's Natural Farming does not use herbicides; he proposes no-till, mulch and controlling weeds before they seed instead.
Cho, Janong Natural Farming (2003), p. 73
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Goes further
Hand weeding vs living with weeds Cho goes further than hand weeding: cover the soil with straw or leaves, or sow rye or clover, and let the farmer act as referee among the weeds.
Cho, Cho Han-Kyu's Natural Farming (Theory), p. 38
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Agrees
Topping soybeans for yield Cho lists top pinching of soybeans as a 'secret technique for higher yields': nutrients that would go to the growing point go to the roots.
Cho, IMO and Vital Power of Crops and Livestock, p. 46
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Agrees
Soybeans and fertilizer Cho says soybean fields need no fertilizer because root-nodule bacteria fix nitrogen; the speaker argued against chemical fertilizer.
2018/Cho - advanced hawaii/tour-he @ 1:34:10 (translated)
“It took a long time to remove the weeds, but I didn't destroy microorganisms and ecosystem.”
▶ 3:13
“If I use my natural farming, I can save my crops, my land, my soil and my money.”
▶ 5:09
In this talk
Transcript
Transcribed and checked by hand against the recording. Click any time to play from there.
0:00 Hi everyone. I am Yoo Nam-gyu from Konkuk University. First of all, I am honored to announce my presentation in here. The title of my presentation is Soybean Production by Natural and Conventional Farming. Let me explain my presentation now. I grew soybeans to compare natural farming with conventional farming.
0:49 I sowed on June 1st. I used hill seeding, two seeds per hill. As you can see in my picture, I cut the growing point at the top of the plant. I mean, it's called topping. When the plant has five or six [leaves], I have to do topping by hand or by machine. To increase soybean yield and reduce lodging,
1:40 I need topping. This is the blooming time. This is the time of rapid growth. Soybean flowering begins [dates unclear]. Natural farming starts blossoming on July 19th, and conventional farming begins blossoming on July 22. After I sow it, at 50 days, I have to remove my weeds. Otherwise, the soybean cannot grow no more,
2:32 because the weeds compete with soybean for nutrients, moisture and sunlight. So I spread the herbicide on the conventional farming, and it looks clean. But the chemical causes soil pollution and destroys the soil microorganisms. And then I removed the weeds by my hand on the natural farming field. It took a long time to remove the weeds, but I didn't destroy microorganisms and ecosystem.
3:23 In the maturing time, the weather is getting cold. The color of leaves is changing yellow. During this growth stage, it demands large amounts of water and nutrients. Natural farming is ripening faster than conventional farming. The pods, or ripening pods, will be brown or tan, natural color. Eventually, the seeds and pods appear yellow and all green color is lost.
4:10 In fact, the color of natural farming is changing yellow, but conventional farming is still green. After two weeks, I can harvest the soybeans, I expect. Many people use a lot of fertilizer and chemical products. It's a bad idea for the environment, soil and ecosystem. I think it's a bad idea to use chemical fertilizer to cultivate the crop.
5:08 So if I use my natural farming, I can save my crops, my land, my soil and my money. Thank you.