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RE: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal added to soil is critter food?



I use it and like it alot, but my wife is afraid of it for the same reason -- she is afraid it is contaminated with pesticides.  But neither of us has any hard info on this.  Here's what Dr. Randall (here in Houston, TX area) says in his book "Year Round Vegetables, Fruits and Flowers for Metro Houston" about cotton seed meal:
 
"Cottonseed meal is one of the best sources of nitrogen unless you have the ability to acquire and compost large amounts of animal manure.  Cotton seed meal is 3-7 per cent nitrogen, about 2 % phosporous, and 1-2 per cent potash, and these nutrients are gradually available as the meal rots.  It lasts 3-4 months or more and is a mild acidifier, which is good in Houston.
 
"The only major complaint with cottonseed meal is that pesticides and herbicides are used in cotton production, and they are worse in fiber crops like cotton than those used in food crops.  Cotton is, unfortunately, the worst signle user of pesticides in Texas, and is a main polluter, so many people prefer to boycott industries that damage the environment. 
 
---> "However, the seed is from inside a hull so has less contact with sprays, it is sold as animal feed so probably does not contain significant heavy metals, and most likely, any residues would not be in high enough percentages to affect soil life or what grows in it.  Arsenic has been banned from cotton fields since 1993.
 
"On the other hand, we wear a lot of cotton sprayed in the same fields, and it is a local product.  Most importantly, other nitrogen products such as bat guano, fish and manure could also be contaminated because insects are sprayed, seas are polluted, and food animals are sprayed.  Thus, there are few if any "purely organic" commercial fertilizers.  Organic cotton is developing rapidly in Texas, so organic cottonseed meal should be available in a few years.  So if you can, buy organic.
 
"You can use 2 to 10 pounds cottonseed meal per 100 sq. ft. every 3 - 4 months.  There are about 3.5 measuring cups per pound, 175 cups per 50 # sack. 2 Tbs. per square foot is usually enough."
 
 
Here in Houston area you can buy 50 pound sacks for $8 or $9.  What's disheartening is to see the bi-planes dive-bombing over the cotton fields here in Texas giving them a little spray of something.  What a waste of fuel and use of pesticides.  They dive-bomb because they fly over telephone lines, other people's property, other crops.  They come in low to drop their load.  I'll bet they get down to 8 to 15 feet off the ground, so that their gaseous discharge doesn't drift too far off mark.  Then they zoom up at the end of each row several hundred feet high into the sky and then fly back and dive bomb again onto a low run.  At one time they used people to mark where the plane would spray next.  I don't think that is done any more.  I'm sure someone like the EPA banned this stupid idea. 
 
Texas is the leading producer of cotton. However, you'll see farms along the road that grow crops along with cotton, such as sorghum, corn, rice... in our area.  Texas is the largest grower of cotton in the U.S. and it is the largest agricultural field crop by dollar value (not counting animal related) in the state totalling $1 to $1.6 billion of cotton sales, being 3 times that of corn and hay and 4 times that of wheat, sorghum, and peanuts.
 
Here's a run down on organic cotton production in Texas by the Ausin Business Journal: "With 6,872 acres planted in 2002, the Lone Star State is by far the top state for production of organic cotton, according to a new survey. New Mexico was next with 589 acres, followed by California, 584; Arizona, 578; and Missouri, 421, according to the survey, conducted by the Organic Trade Association and financed by a grant from Cotton Inc. "
 
While the newspaper points out that organic cotton is about 7,000 acres, total cotton production in Texas is on 5,000,000 acres.
 
Texas A&M ( http://soilcrop.tamu.edu/publications/pubs/cottonweed.pdf ) out that (hold on to your hat):

Five organophosphates (OP) make up 66% of all insecticide use and carbamates consist of 11% of the insecticides in Texas cotton.

Major insecticides include methyl parathion (OP), malathion (OP), azinphos-methyl, (Guthion-OP), profenofos (Curacron-OP), aldicarb (Temik-carbamate), dicrotophos (Bidrin-OP), oxamyl (Vydate-carbamate). Other insecticides include acephate (Orthene-OP), phorate (Thimet-OP), and carbofuran (Furadan-carbamate). All planting seeds are treated with a fungicide to reduce seedling diseases.

Trifluralin (Treflan) is applied to 48% or more of the crop.

Plant Growth Regulators (PGR) modify plant growth to improve production efficiency.

Ethephon (Prep and others) and mepiquat chloride (Pix) are applied on ?? % of the total acreage.

57% of the crop is treated with a harvest-aid chemical for earlier harvest and to reduce late season insects.

Defoliants tribufos (DEF/Folex - an OP) and thidiazuron (Dropp or Ginstar) are applied on 51% of the acreage in 24% of applications.

12% of Texas cotton acreage is planted with Bt cotton. Bt cotton is genetically altered to naturally control the bollworm as the insect feeds on the plant.

Genetically-enhanced seed, such as Roundup Ready and Bt traits help reduce the number and volume of pesticides in cotton.

For latest information regarding these issues and status of risk assessments contact  j-anciso@tamu.edu or visit http://ipmwww.ncsu.edu/opmppiap and http://www.epa.gov/pesticides

Here's two Texas organic cotton sites, you may want to send them emails with this question:
 
http://www.organicessentials.com
"The cotton used to make our products is grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, fungicides, herbicides, pesticides and defoliants."  "A crop that is grown on about 2.2% of the world’s currently cultivated land and used more than 10% of the world’s pesticides, including almost 25% of the insecticides – about 35 different chemicals! Beware of cotton products that claim to be "green" or "natural", they are still using cotton grown with chemicals! If it is organic, it will say "Certified Organic"
 
http://www.texasorganic.com/
This is a consortium of organic cotton growers.
 
Hope this helps.
 
John Dunbar
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: George and Paulette Mouchet [mailto:geomouchet@QNET.COM]
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2003 12:54 PM
To: 'compost_tea@yahoogroups.com'
Subject: RE: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal added to soil is critter food?

Yes, I keep hearing this, too, but I can't find any hard evidence to back it up. 

Paulette

-----Original Message-----
From:      Judi Stewart [SMTP:js@olympus.net]
Sent:      Friday, July 11, 2003 6:29 AM
To:      compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Subject:      RE: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal added to soil is critter food?

I heard that cotton is one of the most heavily
sprayed crops.  That's why I'd always refrained
from using cottonseed meal as a fertilizer.

Comments?

Judi

-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Bridges [mailto:kimas@texasgrown.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 9:58 PM
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal added to soil is critter
food?

There is an old farmer-type gentlemen that shops at our nursery and he
uses
nothing but cottonseed meal and his barn manure compost in his vegetable
garden. Nothing else. He brings some of his veggies by to show them off
occassionally. Beautiful produce!
Steve Bridges

----- Original Message -----
From: "George and Paulette Mouchet" <geomouchet@QNET.COM
To: <compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 8:37 AM
Subject: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal added to soil is critter food?


I wasn't clear with my first question.  Let me rephrase:
If I apply alfalfa hay or alfalfa meal to the top inch or so of the
soil
(as a fertilizer), is it going to be helpful to the soil organisms?  If
so, which organisms are most likely to be helped?

What about adding cottonseed meal to the top inch or so of soil?

Thanks,
Paulette

-----Original Message-----
From: soilfoodweb@aol.com [SMTP:soilfoodweb@aol.com]
Sent: Thursday, July 10, 2003 12:54 AM
To: compost_tea@yahoogroups.com
Subject: Re: [compost_tea] alfalfa hay/meal bacterial food?

It's all relative.  In some work we have done, the cottonseed meal
helps
out fungi more than the alfalfa hay, and meal.

In different conditions, the relative selection might be different.
You
learn as you go.

Elaine Ingham





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