Agriculture

Don cautions farmers against excessive fertiliser application

From left, Vice-Chancellor, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Professor Simeon Bamire; former Deputy Director, Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Moor Plantation, Ibadan and presenter of Inaugural Lecture, Professor Lateef Taiwo; his wife, Mrs Taiwo and Registrar, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Mrs Omosule, during the Inaugural Lecture Series 365, held on the school premises recently.

A Professor of Soil Microbiology and Biochemistry, Lateef Taiwo, has warned farmers against the application of excessive fertilisers and pesticides on soil.

Taiwo, of the Institute of Agricultural Research and Training (IAR&T), Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, gave the warning while delivering the university’s Inaugural Lecture Series 365 in Ile-Ife, Osun State recently.

Delivering a lecture titled, ”Anthropogenic Disruption of Microbial Ecosystem in Soil: The Crisis Beneath Our Feet,” Taiwo drew the attention of farmers and stakeholders to the poisonous effect of excessive fertiliser use.

He noted that in the past, the foods that people consumed were products of minimum tillage, saying that the use of organic fertilizers was the norm as agro-chemicals such as herbicides and pesticides were not available.

“With the increase in the use of herbicides in modern agriculture, the problem of the negative effects of these agro-chemicals on soil microbes have generated more attention.

“Applied herbicides have been reported to be harmful to allochthonous organisms, disrupt the soil ecosystem and ultimately affect human health by gaining access into human food chain.

“Their persistence in soil has also been reported to affect soil fertility.

“Pesticide residues can be found in soils a long time after application.

This confirms that a shift in our practices is needed urgently,” he said.

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