| Agro-Homeopathy is one of the sciences based on vitalism and
on agro-ecological principles, dedicated to understanding nature,
it’s biodiversity, biological cycles and interactions, and
principally it’s vital energy (Fig. 1). Vitalistic agriculture
is the application of agro-ecological basics and the vital force
or principle which rules nature. It is employed in the organization
of the agro-ecosystem, and is used in the production of healthy
food within a dynamic equilibrium. This agricultural perspective
comprehends the principle of life and death (vital energy) and thereby
knows that both states of the material concept are essential for
a productive system with low energetic costs. (ROSSI, 2005).

Fig. 1 – Conception of nature for the practice
of vitalistic agriculture.
The vital force is defined as the unity of action which rules physical
life, conferring it with its own sensations and responses. This
principle is dynamic, immaterial, differs from body and soul, and
integrates the totality of the organism, organizing all its physiological
phenomena. In this manner, the imbalanced vital force produces manifestations
such as physical, emotional and mental symptoms, which we call disease.
In the state of health the parts of the organism are maintained
in harmony or balance. Agro-homeopathy is a tool to re-establish
homeostasis of the systems of the plant, that is to say, of an agro-ecosystem
in dynamic equilibrium.
The application of homeopathy by agricultural engineers was legalized
in Brazil by means of organic agriculture. On the 17th May 1999,
the Rule no. 007 was published in the Official Diary of the Union
by the Agriculture Secretary, embracing products denominated as
organic, ecological, biodynamic, natural, sustainable, regenerative,
biological, agro-ecological as well as permaculture. It includes
measures about environmental and human health, and was intended
to secure clarity in all steps of production and transformation
(BRAZIL, 1999). The rules recommend homeopathy for the control of
plagues and diseases. In Brazil, research on homeopathy for plants
centers on verifying its influence on the morphology and physiology
of plants and determining which compounds of the primary and secondary
metabolism are altered with the application of medicines. Also,
the productive characteristics were evaluated and the response or
resistance towards adverse environmental conditions, like climate,
the attack of insect plagues and pathogens, and moreover the effects
on the soil.
Homeopathic experiments with plants began in 2002 in the Regional
Pole of Technological Development of Agro-Business Centro-Sur, of
the Agency Paulista of Agro-business Technology (APTA). They were
able to verify in experiments with lettuce that the homeopathic
preparation of Carbo vegetabilis 30CH, applied every 48
hours, increased the dry weight of lettuce by 22% in relation to
the control group (ROSSI et al., 2003). In the experiment with tomato
plants the biopreparations of Xanthomonas campestris efficiently
reduced the severity of the disease; the medicine in dynamizations
of 24CH and 6CH was applied through irrigation (ROSSI et al., 2004c).
The application of the homeopathic remedy Phosphorus 100CH
raised the proportions of zinc and boron in the soil when organic
manure was applied (ROSSI et al., 2004b). In strawberry plants the
homeopathic preparation of Carbo vegetabilis 30CH increased the
reproduction of plantlets in relation to the control group treated
with 70% alcohol.

This remedy was responsible for the lower commercial production
of strawberry fruits, proof that this substance acts in favor of
the vegetative development of the plant (production of plantlets)
(ROSSI, 2005). The homeopathic remedy Carbo vegetabilis was probed
in lettuce using the Hahnemannian Centesimal potencies (CH) 6, 12,
30, 100 and 200, with two control groups, one of 70% alcohol (vehicle
for the preparation of medicines), and an absolute control group
(without the application of substances) (ROSSI, 2005). There was
the tendency towards a wave-like response (polynomial regression
of 3rd order) in plantlets produced in normal environment, in which
some dynamizations increased the values of measured variables, whereas
others demonstrated a suppressive effect (image 2).
Fig. 2 – Dry weight of the aerial parts of plantlets of lettuce
28 DAP produced in the shade house and in a greenhouse, treated
with varying dynamizations (CH) of the homeopathic remedy Carbo
vegetabilis.
The point of inflection in the curve demonstrates the dynamization
at which point the equilibrium is accomplished, and which also corresponds
to the maximum value of analyzed variables from plantlets produced
in a stressful environment. In a shady environment, the dry weight
of the aerial parts, as well as the growth of the root system, demonstrate
that the potency 100CH was responsible for equilibrating the plantlets
produced in the stressful environment. This was also evident on
account of the increased quantity of plants growing on the land
15 days after transplantation (Table 1).
Table 1 – Quantity of plants growing on the land 15 days
after transplantation, from plantlets produced in the shade house.
* Difference from the control group (70% alcohol) as evaluated
by the Dunnett’s test (p<0,05).
The special nature of homeopathic remedies testifies that the living
organism possesses subtle unities difficult to explain by modern
scientific knowledge. The veracity of effects of homeopathic medicines
is confirmed daily in clinical practice, denoting that the living
organism is currently the one and only thing capable of confirming
the said dynamic action. The ability of homeopathic remedies to
cause changes in animals, plants and the soil, confirms that these
effects are not due to psychological effects (placebo). The results
obtained are undeniable, therefore, we can expect over the next
century, a further comprehension of the therapeutic mechanisms of
homeopathy (CORREA et al., 1997). The investigations with plants
will contribute to the expansion and consolidation/implementation
of homeopathy (ROSSI, 2004a).
References
BRASIL. Instrução normativa no7, de 17 de maio de
1999. Dispõe sobre as normas para a produção
de produtos orgânicos vegetais e animais. Diário Oficial
da República Federal do Brasil, Brasília, v.99, n.94,
p.11-14, 19 de maio de 1999. (Seção 1).
CORREA, A.D.; SIQUEIRA-BATISTA, R; QUINTAS, L.E.M. Similia Similibus
Curentur: notação histórica da medicina homeopática.
Revista da Associação Médica do Brasil, São
Paulo, v.43, n.4, p.347-351, 1997.
ROSSI, F. Aplicação de preparados homeopáticos
em morango e alface visando o cultivo com base agroecológica.
Dissertação (Mestrado em Fitotecnia) Escola Superior
de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz, Piracicaba-SP, 2005. 79p.
ROSSI, F.; AMBROSANO, E.J.; MELO, P.C.T.; GUIRADO, N.; MENDES,
P.C.D. Experiências básicas de homeopatia em vegetais.
Revista Cultura Homeopática, São Paulo, n.7, v.3,
p.12-13, 2004a.
ROSSI, F.; AMBROSANO, E. J.; GUIRADO, N.; AMBROSANO, G. M. B.;
MENDES, P. C. D.; MELO, P.C.T.; BELTRAME, K. G. Alterações
nas características químicas de dois solos submetidos
a adubação mineral e orgânica, aplicados juntos
ou separadamente, e a associação orgânica e
homeopatia (Phosphorus CH100). In: FERTBIO, 2004, Lages, Anais…
Lages:
Sociedade Brasileira de Ciência do Solo. 2004b. 1CD-ROM.
ROSSI, F.; MELO, P.C.T.; PASCHOLATI, S.F.; CASALI, V.W.D.; AMBROSANO,
E.J.; GUIRADO, N.; MENDES, P.C.D.; AMBROSANO, G.M.B.; SCHAMMASS,
E.A.; TOFFANO,
L.; DI PIERO, R.M. Aplicação de bioterápico
visando induzir resistência em tomateiro contra mancha bacteriana.
In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO DE AGROECOLOGIA, 2. 2004, Anais... Porto
alegre: EMATER-RS, 2004c. 1 CD-ROM
ROSSI, F; AMBROSANO, E.J.; GUIRADO, N.; AMBROSANO, G.M.B.; CASALI,
V.W. D.; TESSARIOLI NETO, J.; MELO, P. C. T.; ARENALES, M. C.; SCHAMMASS,
E. Aplicação de solução homeopática
Carbo vegetabilis e produtividade da alface. In: CONGRESSO BRASILEIRO
DE OLERICULTURA, 43, 2003, Recife. 2003. Horticultura Brasileira,
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Fabrício Rossi1,2; Edmilson José Ambrosano1; Nivaldo
Guirado1; Paulo César Tavares de Melo2
1 - APTA, Pólo Centro-Sul, Piracicaba- SP, CEP: 13400-970,
Cx Postal 28.;
2 - ESALQ, Departamento de Fitotecnia, Piracicaba-SP, CEP: 13418-970,
Cx. Postal 09
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