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The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that up to 40% of global crop yields are lost due to pests and diseases. That’s just one of the challenges that modern farmers face.
There are also issues related to soil health, irrigation, and others. In attempting to maximize crop yields, it’s pivotal to use modern farming techniques. These range from seed selection to the right harvesting methods.
That’s exactly what this article focuses on. So, keep reading to learn more.
Seed Selection and Preparation
Seed selection is the starting point for any modern farming efforts. However, it requires careful planning and analysis to ensure optimal yields. Let’s explore what this process involves in more detail below.
- Choosing the right seeds: Farmers need to carefully select the right seeds because this will form the foundation for the resulting crops. As such, they should choose seeds that are high-quality and disease-resistant. Using a fertilizer for starting seeds is essential for fostering healthy seedling growth, root development, and nutrient availability. It ensures seedlings receive the vital nutrients needed to thrive and establish a strong foundation for future growth.
- Seed-coating technology: Another modern method to consider is using seed-coating technology, which involves a combination of polymers, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and others. Ultimately, these additives are applied to the seed surface and can boost their performance and protection, while also helping with germination. This practice can also help protect seeds from pests.
- Pre-sowing treatments: To avoid seed dormancy and to maximize seed productivity, it’s essential to employ cover techniques such as soaking and priming to ensure healthy germination. Examples of some of the treatment types prior to sowing the seeds include mechanical, water, dry heat, chemical, and electrical.
Soil Health and Management
An often overlooked aspect of farming is soil health. Due to various farming practices and certain environmental conditions, it’s possible for soil to lose nutrients and experience a less robust soil structure, affecting crop yields, and arable soil for food sovereignty.
To counteract this, it’s advisable to continuously monitor soil health through agricultural technologies (AgriTech) that indicate nutrient deficiency in soil and overall soil health.
Advanced Planting Techniques
One advanced planting technique for optimal crop yields includes intercropping, or the practice of growing two or more crops on the same field. A second option is to rotate crops by mixing up the crop type on the same field each year.
Alternatively, you could also try growing cover crops. These are crops that are grown between main crops. The ultimate aim of this strategy is to improve soil health and fertility while reducing erosion.
Irrigation and Water Management
Over-reliance on natural rainfall for irrigating crops can sometimes be fatal for both rural and urban farmers. That’s why irrigation and water management practices are a must. New technologies are constantly emerging to help with this, including precision and drip irrigation as part of broader smart water management.
Using smart technology, it’s possible to gain real-time insights into which parts of your field require more or less water. With cloud-based mobile apps, farmers are empowered to take remote actions and control their soil moisture levels through real-time weather forecasts while taking into account the crop’s growth stages.
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Pests such as insects, rodents, and even weeds, are a common problem in agriculture. They can harm the quality of crop yields and spread diseases. With IPM, it’s possible to bring pest populations under control so that they do not cause economic and other types of damage.
One solution that’s commonly advocated for is the use of biological pesticides or biopesticides. These use naturally-occurring substances to control the development and spread of harmful microorganisms and pests. Apart from pesticides, there is natural pest control in addition to other ways to manage pests, ranging from crop rotation, the use of screens, barriers, or traps, introducing beneficial insects, etc.
Harvesting Techniques
Harvesting is often divided into stages including reaping, threshing, cleaning, stacking and bagging, storage, and transporting. Considered the most labor-intensive part of farming, it’s essential to follow modern best practices in harvesting.
For best results, and depending on the crop, consider removing leaves from top to bottom (the youngest ones first). When it comes to equipment, be sure to sanitize it to avoid the spread of diseases.
Clean, stack, and bag the fruits of the harvest in clean and cool premises. And ensure you organize crop yield transportation in advance to prevent food from getting spoiled.
Conclusion
From choosing the best seeds to the harvesting of crop yields, following modern techniques for maximizing crop yields will go a long way to helping you farm more effectively, sustainably, and cost-effectively.
Minimizing crop-related risks takes effort, but with the right knowledge and strong preparation, you can enjoy bountiful harvests for years to come.
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