I saw that there were a few subjects where the BRF themes were addressed. Having worked on the subject during the last two 2 years I propose to animate this subject which will lead to numerous placements I hope.
Here is an article to be published in a magazine soon.
Good reading!
The BRF revolution: towards new agriculture
BRF this acronym for “Fragmented Twig Woods” is that of a technique from Canada that will transform our way of farming and our relationship with the land and nature. Forget everything about the life of the soil. Here the mushrooms are our friends. Thanks to them, no more watering, erosion, difficult tillage, fertilizers, pesticides, “weeds” !!!
There are sometimes simple things around us that we did not understand. Nature is organized, allows life and nourishes, according to simple cycles and almost without effort. The man who cultivates the land has become a slave to it. He plows, sows and harvests, in a riot of effort and energy. Today under its action, the soils are getting poorer, eroding and disappearing into dust, swept away by the winds, by the waters and are polluted. Because all agriculture destroys the soil, even in Organic. For the past 2 years, yields have been falling everywhere, because the organic matter in the soil has been consumed by 50 years of chemical fertilization and the situation will worsen. The soil is moving inexorably towards complete and irreversible sterilization. The end of so-called modern agriculture! Fatality? NO! Here again nature shows us the example. The forests, from which humans and cultivable lands come, are our only hope and the trees its ambassadors of life and abundance ... what?
Genesis of the BRFs: Our cousins from Quebec ...
In the 70s, the abundance of forest waste from the maintenance of high-voltage lines, at Edgar Guay, then attached to the Quebec Ministry of Forests, which after studying the Jean Pain method and surface composting, led to the idea of using them in agriculture. The attempts to raise the rate of organic matter, essential for the proper functioning of the soil, at Mr. Carrier, farmer's, are spectacular. It spreads fresh, the crushed branches of small diameters, which will become the "BRF", combined with slurry, then incorporated superficially into the original soil, an almost sterile gravel! Fertility indicators are skyrocketing; the treated plot withstands the drought of that year, the witness was devastated. The second year saw a grain harvest 170% higher than the control.
Gilles Lemieux professor at the University of Laval, Quebec, studies the processes, concludes that it is necessary to form forest soils for agricultural purposes in order to reconstitute the soils, increase yields, fight against erosion and drought. He publishes the results, communicates and a working group on the BRF is created, the "aggravating" revolution has started.
Definition:
The culture on BRF, it is the use of green branches of less than 7 cm, hitherto considered as waste and burned, crushed and spread in a layer of about 2cm on the ground, possibly sown with soil of undergrowth, all incorporated into the first 10 cm of the ground, by scratching. Then we sow or we transplant and we watch it grow.
Mechanisms: pedogenesis
The BRF is the richest part of the tree. It contains 75% of the minerals, amino acids, proteins and catalysts.
Firstly, it stimulates the life of the soil and helps to recreate the soil as in the forest, because it is quickly colonized by microorganisms and in particular the basidiomycete fungi (known as white rot), which feed on cellulose, before to attack the lignin and release the huge amounts of solar energy stored in the wood. These so-called fungus mushrooms are the only ones capable of depolymerizing lignin still young from the twigs. They then weave a veritable web of white filaments (50 to 60% of the soil's biomass excluding roots) and secrete sticky substances, improving the structure of the soil. Then the pedofauna, of which earthworms are the most active (4 tonnes / ha), graze the mushrooms, crush the soil and organic matter, increasing the porosity of the soil and water infiltration.
Second, the digestion of BRF by the life of the soil, leads to the significant formation of humus, an essential element of fertility, long-term stability, capacity for retaining water and nutrients. The figures speak for themselves: 1m3 of BRF produces 75kg of humus, or 7,5t / ha for 100m3 / ha provided within 2 years. This corresponds to 10 years of compost intake. The increase in the amount of earthworms is phenomenal and the soil structure changes almost seen from week to week.
The relationship with plants: the effects are spectacular!
The cultures on BRF are found in a living environment, in total symbiosis with pedofauna, which limits diseases and pests, through the game of the right balance. If they are hungry, the plants knock on the door of the mushrooms and exchange sugars for minerals and trace elements, essential for growth and development. Ditto in case of illness, with natural antibiotics synthesized by fungi. They are never in need of water, because the BRF stocks 350l / m3. So we limit or even completely eliminate watering. With a C / N ratio of 50, the nitrogen stored represents 300 Units / 100m3 of which 180U directly from the BRF, the rest is taken from the soil. Present in organic form and gradually released, it is available throughout the plant cycle while avoiding loss and pollution by nitrates. All for at least 4 years!
The species to use
Tests have shown that hardwood mixtures give the best results. Softwoods must be banned or less than 20% of the total volume.
How to use
Harvest the twigs, at best in November, at worst in January-February, crush them using a mechanical grinder, as thin as possible, between 2 and 3 cm long and spread them immediately on a ground clean, preferably, or recently working. For poor soils or for a long time working with chemistry, it will be necessary to seed the BRF in mychoris mushrooms, with forest soil, rich in white rot, at a rate of 10g / m3. Then it is possible to incorporate the BRF immediately on the ground, by a dogging at 5 or 10cm or to wait between 20 and 60 days to do it. In large crops a harrow or discs do the job very well. It takes between 150 to 300m3 of ground material / ha, which represents the normal spreading of 25 to 40 tonnes of manure / ha. Consider cleaning about 4 or 5 ha of wood per hectare of field established in BRF. Allow 4 to 5 working days to 4 to perform all operations. After 4 years repeat the operation with 25m3 / ha, this time without nitrogen hunger.
Special indications and remarks
In the first year the mushrooms take large quantities of nitrogen, necessary for their installation. It follows a more or less significant "hunger for nitrogen", especially if the installation took place at the end of winter. To remedy this, it is interesting to cultivate a legume, at the head of the rotation, the first year. For example, clover or alfalfa will store large quantities of organic nitrogen returned to crops as needed, for 3 to 4 years, avoiding the addition of manure or chemical fertilizers. to feed the cattle. The breeder avoids the leaching of nitrogen, feeds the cattle and can also use it in stable mulching before spreading it. The circle is complete. Note that there is no phytotoxicity noted in any culture.
This technique is applicable to all forms of agriculture: market gardening, field crops, forestry, arboriculture and vineyards, all types of soil and all climates with surprising results!
Mind
The resource is almost unlimited, especially since many forests are dying for lack of renewal and that the municipalities and the DDE do not know what to do with pruning residues. The re-establishment of fruit hedges, in field crops, would improve the biodiversity and health balance necessary for the proper functioning of an ecosystem, as shown by INRA studies on this subject. They would make it possible to have the BRF resource on hand, to recharge the water tables, to cut the harmful effects of the wind and the sun and finally to improve the incomes of farmers, doomed to find new sources of income, with the drying up. CAP aid in 2012.
Finally, one path may be to explore, that of the carbon market. Indeed why not to cash Carbon rights against are storage thanks to the BRF! We are talking here about a potential € 23 billion market!
Questions, feedback? do not hesitate write!