Agro-Ecosystem Analysis (AESA) PDF

AGRO-ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS (AESA)  AGROECOSYSTEM Defined as communities of plants and animals interacting with their physical and chemical environments that have been modified by people to produce food, fiber, fuel and other products for human consumption and processing (Maes, 2018). ...

AGRO-ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS (AESA)  AGROECOSYSTEM Defined as communities of plants and animals interacting with their physical and chemical environments that have been modified by people to produce food, fiber, fuel and other products for human consumption and processing (Maes, 2018). COMPONENTS OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEM PRIMARY PRODUCERS - Crops and weeds of the field are the primary producer of agro ecosystem. CONSUMER - Among consumer grasshoppers, aphids, bugs, ants, rats, birds, man etc are macro consumer and frog, snake, hack are micro consumer.  PROPERTIES OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEM PRODUCTIVITY - It is net increment of values products per unit resources (land, labour, energy, capital) and is commonly measured as annual yield /hectare. STABILITY - It is the degree to which, productivity remain constant, in spite of normal small- scale fluctuation in environmental variables such as climate or in the economic condition in market.  PROPERTIES OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEM SUSTAINABILITY - It is defined as the ability of the system to maintain its productivity when subject to stress or perturbation. A stress is defined as regular, sometimes continues, relatively small and predictable disturbance. e.g. Effect of growing soil salinity. A perturbation by contrast is an irregular, in frequent relatively long and unpredictable disturbance such as drought or flood or a new pest.  PROPERTIES OF AGRO-ECOSYSTEM EQUITABILITY - It is a measure of how evenly the produce of Agro-ecosystem is distributed among its human beneficial. The more equitable the system, the more evenly are the products to fed shared among the population of the farm, village, regions or nation.  AGRO-ECOSYSTEM ANALYSIS (AESA) It is establishment by observation of the interaction between crop/livestock and other biotic and abiotic factors co-existing in the field. This involves regular observations of the crop/livestock.  AESA METHODOLOGY The following methodology was used in IPM training where the participants were learning to do an AESA in rice. For other crops, the approach could be slightly different, but the basics are the same.  Go to the field in groups (about 5 farmers per group). Walk across the field and choose 10 plants randomly. Observe keenly each of these plants and record your observations: PLANT: observe the plant height, number of tillers, crop stage, deficiency symptoms, etc. PESTS: observe and count pests at different places on the plant.  DEFENDERS (NATURAL ENEMIES): observe and count parasitoids and predators. DISEASES: observe leaves and stems and identify any visible disease symptoms. RATS: count numbers of plants affected by rats.  WEEDS: observe weeds in the field and their intensity. WATER: observe the water situation of the field. WEATHER: observe the weather condition.  While walking in the field, manually collect insects in plastic bags. Use a sweep net to collect additional insects. Collect plant parts with disease symptoms. The group talks about the crop situation. The facilitator will ask questions to initiate the discussion and to stimulate critical thinking.  Find a shady place to sit as a group in a small circle for drawing and discussion. If needed, kill the insects with some chloroform on a piece of cotton. Each group will first identify the pests, defenders and diseases collected.  Each group will then analyze the field situation in detail and present their observations and analysis in a drawing (the AESA drawing).  Each drawing will show a plant/hill representing the field situation. The weather condition, water level, disease symptoms, etc. will be shown in the drawing. Pest insects will be drawn on the left. Defenders (beneficial insects) will be drawn on the right. Write the number next to each insect. Indicate the plant part where the pests and defenders were found. Try to show the interaction between pests and defenders.  Each group will discuss the situation and make a crop management recommendation. The small groups then join each other and a member of each group will now present their analysis in front of all participants. A different person will present each week. The facilitator will facilitate the discussion by asking guiding questions and makes sure that all participants (also shy or illiterate persons) are actively involved in this process.  Formulate a common conclusion. The whole group should support the decision on what field management is required in the IPM plot. Make sure that the required activities (based on the decision) will be carried out. Keep the drawing for comparison in the following weeks.  Thank You!!! Approaches and Practices of Pest Management CROP SCIENCE 2A CROP SCIENCE 2B HORTICULTURE 2B ANIMAL SCIENCE 2G  REFERENCE https://ipm-info.org/components-of-ipm/agro-ecosystem-analysis-aesa/ https://vikaspedia.in/agriculture/crop-production/integrated-pest- managment/aesa-based-ipm https://prezi.com/go_0ow_w-3n6/agroecosystem-analysis-aesa/ https://ppqs.gov.in/sites/default/files/ber.pdf http://aesagroup.eu/sites/default/files/userfiles/aesa_presentation_website.pdf https://biodiversity.europa.eu/ecosystems/agroecosystems#:~:text=Agroecosyste ms%2C%20are%20defined%20as%20communities,processing%20(Maes%2C%202 018) https://agriculturistmusa.com/agro-ecosystems/