B4 - Farming
- Created by: Naomi
- Created on: 20-01-13 20:50
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- Farming
- The use of pesticides such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides has disadvantages
- They can enter and accumulate in food chains, causing a lethal dose to predators (bioaccumlation)
- They can harm other organisms living nearby which are not pests
- Some are persistent (take a very long time to break down and become harmless)
- Organic farming
- Does not use artificial fertilisers or pesticides, instead it uses
- Animal manure and compost
- Crop rotation (to avoid a build up of crop pests)
- Nitrogen fixing crops as part of the rotation
- Varied seed planting times to get a longer crop time and avoid certain times of the life cycle of insect pests
- Does not use artificial fertilisers or pesticides, instead it uses
- Biological control uses living organisms to contol pests
- Avoids the disadvantages of artificial insecticides and as they are using living organisms, once they are introduced they do not need replacing
- Introducing a species into a habitat to kill another species can affect the food source of other organisms in a food web, causing unexpected results
- Hydroponics and intensive farming
- Intensive farming, which makes use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers is very efficient in producing large crop yields cheaply
- However intensive farming raises concerns about animal cruelty and the effects of extensive use of chemicals on soil structure and other organisms
- However intensive farming raises concerns about animal cruelty and the effects of extensive use of chemicals on soil structure and other organisms
- Plants can be grown without soil using hydroponics
- This system uses a regulated recycling flow of aerated water containing minerals and is usually done in glasshouses and polytunnels
- It is especially useful in areas of barren soil or low rainfall
- Being a soil-free system, hydroponics has better control over mineral levels and disease
- Many plants can be grown in a small space
- As there is no anchorge for plants when using water, artificial fertilisers are used
- Intensive farming improves the efficiency of energy transfer in food chains involving humans by reducing or removing competing organisms such as pests and weeds
- By keeping the animals warm in sheds or barns, they use less energy to keep warm and kore on growth and reproduction
- Intensive farming, which makes use of artificial pesticides and fertilisers is very efficient in producing large crop yields cheaply
- The use of pesticides such as insecticides, fungicides and herbicides has disadvantages
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