Good Practice Guide: What is green manure?

As planting forage legumes can contribute to soil conservation and cost reduction
by Viviane Taguchi

(The planting forage legumes can conserve soil and still generate a reduction in the cost of production)

Green manuring is an agricultural practice focused on planting various species recycle nutrients to make the soil more fertile. These species are able to associate soil bacteria and transform nitrogen from the air into nitrogen compounds.

The plants form a cover still on the ground, increasing the concentrations of organic matter and contributing to the conservation, improved water retention and reducing erosion.

According to research by Embrapa Agrobiology of Seropédica (RJ), green manure can reduce or even eliminate the use of nitrogenous fertilizers, cheapening production costs.

These products vary from oil price according to the dollar, which means instability of market value. A pound of nitrogen costs, on average, $ 1.

By planting nitrogen-fixing legumes, the producer pays only for the first batch of seeds, since then he can play the seeds on the property.

Source: Globo Rural magazine