By Varun Sudarshan Humble Earth Biosphere, The Nilgiris You can follow us on: Humble Earth Farms (@humbleearthfarms) • Instagram photos and videos

You can also find various guides, drafts, compilations and other work by me here: Resources - The Gordian Knot (the-gordianknot.com)

Introduction

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Generalized Cycles, Pest Control & Related Inputs

Note:

• The solvent for all medicines here is water unless specified otherwise. "per liter" refers to a liter of clear, uncontaminated water. Liquids or powders should be mixed very well with this water and used with an efficient spraying machine with the correct spray head attachment suggested by the manufacturer.
• Everything here except the most potent pesticides in the last section work best as preventive or at early stages, rather than as a cure during a full-fledged infection or epidemic.
• Surfactants, emulsifiers and adjuvants (silicone-based) are extremely useful for oil-based formulations. There are some organic ones, though these are hard to find and verify. These products make things coat more evenly and prevent being washed away by rain. Soap is an inferior emulsifier, but will suffice as long as the agent being used is not live microbiota, as soap kills them.

Interventions

Step Zero

*This step may not be viable for commercialized farming or all climate types, though most of these basic principles will apply to most farms to a certain extent. Together, these principles decrease the chance of diseases and pests in the first place as well as reducing the need to apply fertilizers from external sources, and delay, stall or significantly counter soil health degradation.

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• Water Harvesting and Holding
• Manuring and Soil Health