Method Used to Improve the Quality and Quantity of Food

Production in the Country

Name : Ahmad Solihin b. Dzulkifli

Form: 4 Irsyad
Date:
Dateline:
Theme: Investigating The Physiology Of Living Things
Learning Area: Nutrition
Learning Objective: Understanding The Technology Used In Food
Production
Learning Outcome: A Student Is Able To Explain Ways To Improve The
Quality And Quantity Of Food
Production In The Country.
Assalamualaikum W.B.T..

Alhamdulillah, praise to Allah, at last, I am able to complete this biology folio in time. The
folio is on “How to improve the quantity and quality of food production in the country” which
relates with Form 4 learning in chapter 6, Nutrition.

First and foremost I am honoured to thank my teachers, especially Teacher Farah Najah for
giving me hint and clues to finish this task. She really helped a lot. Special thanks too to my
lovable friends as we work together as a team searching and finding answers also sources to
finish this task by hook or by crook. We faced numerous problems and shortcomings but we
managed to overcome them together. I was really touched.

Next, zillions of thanks to my beloved parents who always give me support and guide for
this task. At first, I was quite stressed out with this folio. It was so complicated but my parents
told me that, Never say never. Think positive and You’ll never know what is really going on if
you haven’t tried. So, I think, it was challenging but, I actually finished this task!

Finally, thanks to everyone involved in this successful endeavour.

THANK YOU,

.......................

Ahmad Solihin b.Dzulkifli

 Efforts to increase and diversify food production in our country is
an ongoing process undertaken by various agencies such as the
Institute of Agricultural Research and Development of Malaysia
(MARDI), Fishery Department and Veterinary Department.
Example of methods which are carried out include direct seeding for
rice, hydrophonics and aeroponics, breeding, tissue culture, genetic
engineering, soil management, and biological control.

However, I prefer Fertigation method. Fertigation :

The application of nutrients through  irrigation systems is called
"fertigation," a contraction of fertilization and irrigation. The most
common nutrient applied by fertigation is nitrogen. Elements
applied less often include phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc and
iron.
 
This technique can reduce fertilizer application costs by eliminating
high operational requirement.  It may also improve nutrient
efficiency by applying them closer to when the plant needs them.
Also, it could conceivably reduce leaching or denitrification
(gaseous) losses of nitrogen and lower the luxury uptake of nutrients
by plants.

Furthermore, fertigation is the latest method that is used by the

country to improve the quality and quantity of food production. It is
more or less more beneficial and help to save energy besides
producing such quality food.
A student is able to:

~ Understanding the technology fertigation used in

food production.
~ Evaluating the technological development in food
processing.
How to improve the quality and
quantity of food production in the
country using fertigation method??
 Coloured papers
Plain papers
- Internet
- Ink

@ Finding informations from internet

@ Finding informations from reference books
@ Finding informations from text books
@ Went to Agriculture Department, Dungun to
search for informations
DATE/DAY EVENTS
2 Sept-10 Discussing with teachers and
friends
6 Sept-10 Went to Department of
Agriculture with 3 of my
friends
9 Sept-10 Searching informations from
reference book and text book
10 Sept-10 Collect and start making folio
23 Sept-10 Task complete
INTERNET
@http://www.fertigasi.com/Mycrops/Fertigasi
%20tech/tech.htm
@ http://www.fertigationsystems.com/
@http://pertanianmodenprecisionfarming.blogspot.com
/2008/04/4-fertigation-in-malaysia.html
@http://www.fshs.org/Proceedings/Password%20Protect
ed/1984%20Vol.%2097/8-10%20(KOO).pdf

REFERENCE BOOK
@ Focus Ace Spm Biology, Pelangi
@ Biology Form 4 Text Book
Explanation:

Efforts to increase and diversify food production in our country is

an ongoing process undertaken by various agencies such as the
Institute of Agricultural Research and Development of Malaysia
(MARDI), Fishery Department and Veterinary Department.
Example of methods which are carried out include direct seeding for
rice, hydrophonics and aeroponics, breeding, tissue culture, genetic
engineering, soil management, and biological control.

However, I prefer Fertigation method. Fertigation :

The application of nutrients through  irrigation systems is called
"fertigation," a contraction of fertilization and irrigation. The most
common nutrient applied by fertigation is nitrogen. Elements
applied less often include phosphorus, potassium, sulfur, zinc and
iron.
 
This technique can reduce fertilizer application costs by eliminating
high operational requirement.  It may also improve nutrient
efficiency by applying them closer to when the plant needs them.
Also, it could conceivably reduce leaching or denitrification
(gaseous) losses of nitrogen and lower the luxury uptake of nutrients
by plants.

Furthermore, fertigation is the latest method that is used by the

country to improve the quality and quantity of food production. It is
more or less more beneficial and help to save energy besides
producing such quality food.
  Diversity food production

Although the term agricultural biodiversity is relatively new - it has

come into wide use in recent years as evidenced by bibliographic
references - the concept itself is quite old. It is the result of the
careful selection and inventive developments of farmers, herders
and fishers over millennia. Agricultural biodiversity is a vital sub-
set of biodiversity. It is a use of life, i.e. ancillary biotechnologies, by
Mankind whose food and livelihood security depend on the
sustained management of those diverse biological resources that are
important for food and agriculture.[1]. As for everything,
agricultural biodiversity can be used, not used, misused and even
abused. Agricultural biodiversity includes:

 Domesticated crop and 'wild' plants (called: crop wild

relatives), including woodland and aquatic plants (used for
food and other natural resources based products), domestic
and wild animals (used for food, fibre, milk, hides, furs, power,
organic fertilizer), fish and other aquatic animals, within field,
forest, rangeland and aquatic ecosystems

 Non-harvested species within production agroecosystems that

support food provision, including soil micro-biota, pollinators
and so on

 Non-harvested species in the wider environment that support

food production agroecosystems (agricultural, pastoral, forest
and aquatic ecosystems)
However, agricultural biodiversity, sometimes called
Agrobiodiversity, "encompasses the variety and variability of
animals, plants and micro-organisms which are necessary to sustain
key functions of the agroecosystem, its structure and processes for,
and in support of, food production and food security". It further
"comprises genetic, population, species, community, ecosystem, and
landscape components and human interactions with all these."

Aquatic diversity is also an important component of agricultural

biodiversity. The conservation and sustainable use of local aquatic
ecosystems, ponds, rivers, coastal commons by artisanal fisherfolk
and smallholder farmers is important to the survival of both
humans and the environment. Since aquatic organisms, including
fish, provide much of our food supply as well as underpinning the
income of coastal peoples, it is critical that fisherfolk and
smallholder farmers have genetic reserves and sustainable
ecosystems to draw upon as aquaculture and marine fisheries
management continue to evolve.

Genetic erosion in Agricultural and livestock biodiversity is the loss

of genetic diversity, including the loss of individual genes, and the
loss of particular combinants of genes (or gene complexes) such as
those manifested in locally adapted landraces. The term genetic
erosion is sometimes used in a narrow sense, such as for the loss of
alleles or genes, as well as more broadly, referring to the loss of
varieties or even species. The major driving forces behind genetic
erosion in crops are: variety replacement, land clearing,
overexploitation of species, population pressure, environmental
degradation, overgrazing, policy and changing agricultural systems.

The main factor, however, is the replacement of local varieties by

high yielding or exotic varieties or species. A large number of
varieties can also often be dramatically reduced when commercial
varieties are introduced into traditional farming systems. Many
researchers believe that the main problem related to agro-ecosystem
management is the general tendency towards genetic and ecological
uniformity imposed by the development of modern agriculture.
Pressures for that ecological uniformity on farmers and breeders is
caused by the food industry demand for more and more raw
materials consistency.

 Improve the quality and quantity of food production

Organic fertilizer
 Organic fertilizers include naturally occurring organic materials,
(e.g. manure, worm castings, compost, seaweed, guano), or naturally
occurring mineral deposits (e.g. saltpeter).

Benefits of organic fertilizer

Organic fertilizers have been known improve the biodiversity (soil
life) and long-term productivity of soil, and may prove a large
depository for excess carbon dioxide.

Organic nutrients increase the abundance of soil organisms by

providing organic matter and micronutrients for organisms such as
fungal mycorrhiza, (which aid plants in absorbing nutrients), and
can drastically reduce external inputs of pesticides, energy and
fertilizer, at the cost of decreased yield.

Comparison with inorganic fertilizer

Organic fertilizer nutrient content, solubility, and nutrient release
rates are typically all lower than inorganic fertilizers. One study
found that over a 140-day period, after 7 leachings:

 Organic fertilizers had released between 25% and 60% of their

nitrogen content
 Controlled release fertilizers (CRFs) had a relatively constant
rate of release
 Soluble fertilizer released most of its nitrogen content at the
first leaching

In general, the nutrients in organic fertilizer are both more dilute

and also much less readily available to plants. According to UC
IPM, all organic fertilizers are classified as 'slow-release' fertilizers,
and therefore cannot cause nitrogen burn.
Organic fertilizers from composts and other sources can be quite
variable from one batch to the next. Without batch testing, amounts
of applied nutrient cannot be precisely known. Nevertheless they are
at least as effective as chemical fertilizers over longer periods of use.

Chicken litter, which consists of chicken manure and sawdust, is one

example of an organic fertilizer that has been shown to better
condition soil for harvest than synthesized fertilizer. Researchers at
the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) studied the effects of using
chicken litter, an organic fertilizer, versus synthetic fertilizers on
cotton fields. They found that fields that were fertilized with chicken
litter had cotton yields 12% higher than those fields fertilized with
synthetic fertilizers. While the yields for chicken litter were higher,
researchers predict that commercially sold chicken litter would cost
about $17 more per ton than synthetic fertilizer. Other ARS studies
have found that algae used to capture nitrogen and phosphorus
runoff from agricultural fields can not only prevent water
contamination of these nutrients, but also can be used as an organic
fertilizer. Originally, scientists developed the algal turf scrubber to
reduce nutrient runoff and increase the quality of the water flowing
into streams, rivers, and lakes. However, they found that this
nutrient-rich algae, once dried, can be applied to cucumber and
corn seedlings and result in growth comparable to that seen using
synthetic fertilizers.