Natural farming negatively influences the growth of Sangyod Muang Phatthalung rice (<i>Oryza sativa</i> L.) but not its grain production or quality in preliminary comparison to conventional farming

Abstract

Sangyod Muang Phatthalung (SMP) rice is a great source of various nutritional ingredients, but it is only grown in chemical-dependent systems with synthetic fertilizers and insecticides. Farming practices for food security and environmental conservation in the paddy field are highly controversial, but most practices have focused on either chemical-dependent or organic farming. In this study, we compared the growth, yield, quality, phytochemical profiles, and data on grain elements (EDX associated with SEM analysis) of SMP rice along with its production costs when using natural farming (NF) [<i>Azolla</i> and leaf compost applied] with those when using conventional farming (CF) [chemical fertilizer use (18-8-8 and 46-0-0) and high dose fertilizer (HF) as recommended by the supplier (18-4-5, 20-8-20, and 15-15-15)]. Our data show negative results in terms of plant growth and positive results in terms of yield, physical grain qualities, chemical grain qualities, and chemical composition for SMP rice grown under a natural farming system. A total of six important inorganic elements were present in the kernel (C and O) and the aleurone layer (P, K, Mg, and S) of rice grain. This study claims a high performance for natural farming, based on rice yield and quality with decreased production costs and a possible increase in the market price of high-value rice. These findings have significant implications for applying natural farming practices in the context of food security and environmental conservation, without risk to farmers’ finances and health or the agroecosystem.