CROPSCI 22 LABORATORY EXERCISES

CROP SCIENCE 22
Laboratory Exercise No. 6
BIO-INTENSIVEAPPROACH TO FOOD PRODUCTION

Name: Hanie Marie P. Edillo Sched & Offering No. : F(7-10) C162
Instructor: Aiza Mae Tajor Date Submitted :

INTRODUCTION
Land for agriculture has greatly diminished due to increasing population, degradation of
natural resources, land use conservation changes and discontinuity of the development programs
in agriculture among other reasons that threaten food security and sufficiency. Under such
difficult circumstances, farmers need approaches that will sustain yield of their farms. These
approaches should use the materials that are readily available in their farms and will not imperil
the present condition of agricultural lands. Sustainability, to some is a matter of perception,
however, certain actual approaches is Bio-intensive gardening (BIG).
Bio-intensive gardening is a form of farming in which a small land area is intensively
cultivated using available farm resources particularly those derived from plants and animals to
enhance and maintain the soil’s productivity. As such BIG can ensure the availability of different
vegetables throughout the year partly to address the food and nutritional needs of the family.
Objectives
At the end of the exercise, the student should be able to:
1. List down and discuss the importance of BIG in relation to sustainable agriculture;
2. Construct their own potted BIG, and maintain their own crops;
3. Compare the horticultural characteristics of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) applied with
different treatments using BIG system.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

For Pots and organic fertilizer treatment preparation, the following will be needed:
 Farm tools such as: bolo, sieve etc.
 Polyethylene bags (7x7x8cm)
 Sprinkler
 Egg shell
 Vermi-compost
 Kakawate/ipil-ipil leaves
 CROPSCI 22 LABORATORY EXERCISES

A. For planting

1. Seeds of Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) will be used by the students in this activity and
will be provided by the DOH.

2. The students should have read the exercise prior to the laboratory class in order to have
knowledge on bio-intensive approach and to formulate some questions that can focus and
elaborate some of the principles and practices in BIG during the class discussion. The
instructor will discuss the principles and steps in the BIG establishment.
3. The class will be divided into 3 groups as three (3) replications and will be assigned to
each of the replication following the organic fertilizer treatments of each pot.
4. The students will prepare potted mediums. Four (4) treatments with five (5) sample pots
for each treatment. The Okra seeds will be direct seeded. Put at least two to three seeds in
each container, and then do the thinning if they already germinated.
5. Different organic fertilizer treatment will be prepared to each pot:
 T0- Garden soil + Rice Hull (Five pots)
 T1- Garden soil + Rice Hull + 200 grams egg shell each pot (Five pots)
 T2- Garden soil + Rice Hull + 200 grams kakawate (Gliricidia sepium) leaves
each pot (Five pots)
 T3- Garden soil + Rice Hull + 200 grams vermicompost each pot (Five pots)
 And mix into its respective pots prior to seed sowing.
6. The horticultural characteristics of okra (Abelmoschus esculentus) will be monitored by
the students given the care and maintenance for the whole semester.
7. At the end of the semester, the students should prepare a report and compare to their
classmates the horticultural characteristics results and differences of their assigned
treatments, their experiences and observations based on the BIG garden system.
8. Questions below should also be answered.

REQUIRED OUTPUT:

CRITERIA OBSERVATIONS
BIG
Root Depth
Soil tilth
Pest present
Beneficial insect present
Weeds present
Crop performance
Others

A write-up discussion on the differences in observations between treatments

applied to the BIG systems with technical analysis should be submitted.
 CROPSCI 22 LABORATORY EXERCISES

Discussion

Conclusion

Answer the following questions:

1. Explain the basic principles involved in BIG

The goals of biointensive farming are to recycle all nutrients, cultivate compost crops to
create and maintain healthy soil, provide nutritional food for people, and integrate fiber crops
and trees into the farm without relying too heavily on fossil fuels, machinery, or significant
capital inputs.
2. What is the performance of crop rotation in nutrient cycling and pest management?
Give 5 practices by farmers to actualize the principle.
Crop rotation helps replenish nutrients to the soil that were lost owing to the last crops
that benefited it. Additionally, the method aims to disrupt pest and disease cycles, enhance soil
health by increasing biomass from varied crop root structures, and increase farm biodiversity.
Examples. Companion planting, carbon farming, composting, deep soil preparation,
whole system approach.
3. Enumerate the benefits of BIG as per your experience and that of others. What can be
the cases of BIG’s non-adaptability in an area.

1. Maintain soil fertility

2. Saves the limited amount of seeds
3. Doesn’t require big areas
4. Affordable

4. Relate how BIG may fall under the framework of sustainable agriculture.
Sustainable agriculture is a farming method that protects the environment while making
the best use of nonrenewable resources. And bio-intensive gardening achieves maximum yield in
the smallest amount of space. This means that only a little area may be required in this type of
gardening, reducing the space or resources that may be destroyed.

5. Given the biophysical characteristics of Visca and the soil where the plots were
constructed, design a three-season cropping plan.
Planting Rice – growing of Mungbean – and planting corn
 CROPSCI 22 LABORATORY EXERCISES

References
IIRR, 1993. The bio-intensive Approach to small scale Household Food Production.
International Institute of Rural Reconstructions. Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
IIRR. Low-external Input Rice Production (LIRP): A Technology Kit International
Institute of Rural Reconstruction. Silang, Cavite, Philippines.
Laquihon, W. A. and H. R. Watson. 1983. A manual on food always in Home (FAITH)
Garden. Mindanao Baptist Rural Life Center (MBRLC) Bansalan, Davao del Sur.
Talukder, A.N.I. Slam, R. Klemn and M. Bloem, 1993. Home Gardening in South Asia.
The Complete Handbook. Helen Keller International Incorporated. People’s
Republic of Bangladesh.