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Assignment ON IPM-FFS

This document describes a simulation game to demonstrate nutrient mining from soil over multiple growing seasons. Players place different sized seeds representing nutrients in boxes to simulate fields and plants. During each harvest, all nutrients are removed from the plant boxes and placed in harvest boxes. Only NPK nutrients are replaced each season from fertilizer boxes. Eventually, one nutrient box will empty, showing depletion. The game aims to understand limiting nutrients and discuss replenishing micronutrients by returning straw and organic matter to fields.

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Cherry Mae Claire Villanueva-Gomez
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77 views4 pages

Assignment ON IPM-FFS

This document describes a simulation game to demonstrate nutrient mining from soil over multiple growing seasons. Players place different sized seeds representing nutrients in boxes to simulate fields and plants. During each harvest, all nutrients are removed from the plant boxes and placed in harvest boxes. Only NPK nutrients are replaced each season from fertilizer boxes. Eventually, one nutrient box will empty, showing depletion. The game aims to understand limiting nutrients and discuss replenishing micronutrients by returning straw and organic matter to fields.

Uploaded by

Cherry Mae Claire Villanueva-Gomez
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOC, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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SOIL SYSTEM: NUTRIENT MINING

Introduction

If you believed that soil is a “living one” that means it “breathes”, feed and grow.
Plants are very dependent from the soil for macro and micronutrients. Every harvest
these macro and micro nutrients are removed from the soil for plant growth. However
this is replenished by application of N, P and K which are available from the market,
neglecting to replenish the micro nutrient that are also vital to plants’ growth. At the
end, this will result to depletion of micronutrients from the soil.

Goal

To understand the concept of limiting nutrient through playing and simulation game.

Timeframe

45 minutes

Materials

Newsprint
Pens
100 grams seeds of 6 different types
Paper cut outs

Methodology

1. Draw a set of squares, similar to the diagram below on a large piece of


newsprint.
2. Cut out a dozen or small pieces of paper in different sizes and colors
depending on the materials available. These will represent several kinds
of nutrients. A better alternative is to use seeds of different size and
colors.
3. Begin “season 1” by placing a good number of nutrients in each of the
squares in the said “boxes”. Then transfer a couple from each said
nutrient box into the plant boxes. Distribute these between panicle and
straw if you are familiar with the distribution.
4. “harvest” the crops by removing all the nutrient from the plant boxes
into the harvest boxes.
5. Begin the next season by adding “fertilizer” from the NPK “fertilizer”
boxes into the NPK boxes in the field.
6. Repeat the process of growing the plant and harvesting. Allow the
“harvest” boxes to grow each season to show the cumulative or total
amount of nutrient “mined” from the soil over the years.
7. Continue until one of the boxes in the soil compartments is empty. Ask
the participants what might be happening to yield at this time.
8. Now, look at the large accumulation of nutrients in the harvested straw
box. Change the scenario and ask what the soil would look like if the
nutrients from the straw had been put back in the soil each year.

NUTRIENT MINING SIMULATION

FERTILIZERS
N
Cumulative Harvest
(Many Season)

K Panicle
Grain ?
S

Ca Straw
O ?
Straw
I

Mg L PLANTS

Mn
Current Season

Fe

and etc.
Questions and points to emphasize:

1. Ask the farmers what their fathers did with the straw from the rice field? What other
practices have change from the time of their fathers?
2. If farmers point out that they have higher yield than did their fathers, try to steer the
discussion towards the reason for these higher yield. Presumably the biggest reasons
are the use of modern HYV Varieties, along with additional boost from synthetic
fertilizers. Ask whether it is possible that soil health during their fathers’ time, even if
yield for the varieties was less at that time.
3. What scope exists for farmers to put straw back into the soil? Could they begin with an
experimental in just a small part of their soil (maybe 20 or 25%)?
4. Similarly with the ,soil, the best strategy is to make sure the soil has a “balanced diet” by
replenishing the extracted nutrient through the application of organic matter.
5. Recall that this exercise is only about nutrients. Ask the participants to quickly review
the many other reasons they have learned for why organic matter is beneficial for soil
health.
THE SOIL SYSTEM

Air

Soil Structure OM Nutrient and


water Holding

Soil Texture Water Holding Microorganism


Capacity

Insects and Worms

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