Agro Homeopathy

The Plant Doctor – December 2019

agrohomeopathy
Written by Radko Tichavsky

Holohomeopath Radko Tichavksy answers questions about gardens and crops. This month he discusses carrots with Erwinaia carotovora, Avocados with Verticillium wilt, Beet Armyworms on lettuce and problems with growing lavender. Send questions by the 6th of the month to [email protected]

Radko Tichavsky is a Czech born Mexican Agrohomeopath. He is a co-founder and director of Instituto Comenius in Mexico and author of Handbook of Agrohomeopathy, 2007 (Spanish) and Homeopathy for Plants, 2009 (Spanish), Organon de la Holohomeopatía and creator and teacher of Holohomeopathy.

He is now offering a one semester virtual course in Holohomeopathy (in English). You can learn how to define and analyze holons and how to repertorize the specific homeopathic treatment beyond just disease or pest names. You can find out more here:  www.icomenius.edu.mx

NEW BOOK:

Organon de la Holohomeopatía

Six years in the making, it is the latest book by Radko Tichavsky, researcher on the application of homeopathy in agriculture. This Spanish language book covers homeopathic interventions in agriculture from the holistic view, allowing greater certainty in repertorizations. It addresses a novel concept of metabolic similarity, not only among plants, but also among different species of the animal and plant kingdom. It studies the formation and dynamics of attractors, areas of greater vitality within the holons and coexistence units of different living organisms  Holohomeopathy is a fascinating contribution to the application of homeopathy to plants.  It allows one to discover a universe of surprising relations in vital dynamism. It puts into the hands of the agricultural producer a valuable tool for the successful handling of pests and diseases in crops of any size.  For ordering or information: [email protected]

Dear Dr. Tichavsky,

This last summer we planted carrots and the crop developed bacterial soft rot (Erwinaia carotovora).  The leaves were yellowish and there was a bad odor. When we cut open the carrots, we found they had rotted from the inside.

We live in Vermilion, Ohio in the U.S. Zipcode 44089.  Vermilion gets 38 inches of rain, on average, per year, 165 sunny days per year. In summer it goes to 82 degrees F. Can you suggest what we might do to avoid having this problem again?

Thank you

Laura Herzfeld

Radko Tichavsky:

Dear Laura,

Erwinia carotovora is proteobacteria and considered a weak pathogen because it requires wounds to penetrate in the plant. In field conditions it is commonly associated with rotting caused by Fusarium oxysporum and Phytophthora app., nematodes or insects. Its entry is also facilitated through mechanical damage, caused in the roots by tilling the soil.

For its development, it requires more than 25 degrees and very humid soils. It develops easily in soils with impoverished microbial biodiversity, and soils with frequent inversion of soil strata.

In addition to providing good soil drainage, and avoid moving the soil around the carrots, you can apply “live bionosode” Beta vulgaris radix 1 CH, made from beet roots well mixed in a blender with a little mineral water.

Then we remove the solid particles from the liquid by means of a paper filter. We consider this mixture as mother tincture, then we dilute the liquid in the proportion of 1:100 in water and make 100 vigorous turns to the right and 100 vigorous turns to the left in the container.

We spray on the soil once a month. One of the endophytes of Beta vulgaris is Lactobacillus plantarum, a strong antagonist of Erwinia carotovora. In this way you can successfully control Erwinia carotovora.


Dear Mr. Tichavsky,

I grew Avocados for the first time this year and unfortunately, they developed a fungus that I later learned was Verticillium wilt.  I had to buy my guacamole this year!

I’m assuming that this fungus stays in the soil and not sure how to prevent it from infecting future crops. Can you instruct me in this?  Our farm is in San Luis Obispo, California. Mailing code: 93405.  Annual rainfall is 19 inches. In August the temperature goes to 80F.

Thank you

Jason

Radko Tichavsky:

Dear Jason,

The causative fungus is Verticillium albo atrum. Prevention is very important and also to do not plant near avocado trees or any of the plants of the family Solanaceae (tomatoes, peppers, eggplants or potatoes) as they are very susceptible to this fungus. Abies alba is also the host of this fungus and its proximity to avocado trees should be avoided.

Once the attack occurs, the solution for many producers is usually the elimination of the tree, as several avocado trees seem to recover from the attack, however they can have the fungus in latency, and eventually will cause death of the tree later. So, it is necessary to be constant in the applications for at least one year.

For the control of the fungus we use “live bionosode” Sansevieria trifasciata radix 1 CH, elaborated from the roots of this very common ornamental plant. Mix in a little mineral water and the roots of the plant without washing, and mix it well in a blender. We consider this liquid as a mother tincture; dilute it in a ratio of 1:100 and make 100 vigorous turns to the right and left (with a wooden stick)

We apply once a month on the soil in a circle that includes as limit the shade that the tree projects on the soil at noon. Sansevieria trifasciata hosts a microorganism strongly antagonistic to the fungus: the bacterium Bacillus amyloliquefasciens, which forms three-dimensional structures in the soil and prevents the development of the fungus Verticilium albo atrum.


Greetings Dr. Tichavsky,

Beet armyworms feasted on most of our lettuce crop. The neighboring farms used chemicals, but we refused to do that. This is the first time we had this problem.  Our land is in Gainesville Florida (U.S.) 32603.  Summer temperatures go to 90F and it never goes below 57 F in the winter. Rainfall is around 47 inches.  What is the best way to deal with this?

Beet armyworms

Thank you

Jimmy Garcia

Radko Tichavsky:

Dear Jimmy,

Spodoptera exigua is a polyphagous pest, that is, it attacks multiple crops. There are several ways to control this pest, through biological control (e.g. entomopathogenic fungus Bacillus thuringiensis, Berliner var. kurstaki or parasitoid insects such as Trichoramma spp., but the survival rate of larvae is still between 40-60%.

In holohomeopathy we use Azadirachta indica 6 CH with castor oil as an adjuvant (approximately 10 ml for every 10 liters of application). The remedy can be used preventively and also as a correction with the ongoing infestation and is alternated with Ginkgo biloba 6 CH for better effectiveness. Make one application per week.


Dear Professor Tichavsky,

I am writing to dispel the “urban legend” that it is easy to grow Lavender (Lavandula angustifolia). Too often, lavender plants die within a season, drying out from the base.

I believe that in Italy these plants are affected by the Septoria Fungus and it is not easy to identify them immediately. Do you recommend a holo-homeopathic method or remedies to successfully grow lavender in pots or in open soil?

Thank you

Roberto Migliorelli

Radko Tichavsky: 

Dear Roberto, the Lavandula aungustifolia is a plant quite resistant to fungal pathogens, but climatic changes change the response capacity of plants and at the same time present more favorable conditions to pathogens.

Such is the case of Septoria lavandulae, in Lavandula sp., a new host for this fungus, whose first attack was reported in Umbria in Italy in 1996. The incidence of this pathogen is most probably related to high ozone levels in the Mediterranean Sea area, but it is also caused by the reduction of the microbiota by establishing Lavandula sp. as a monoculture in large areas.

The pathogenic action of Septoria lavandulae is most often accompanied by another fungus Phomopsis lavandulae, both coordinating the attack and collaborating.

One of the strategies to follow is to inoculate the root system with mycorhizal fungi (for example Glomus intraradices) and thus occupy the area with the beneficial fungus and prevent the establishment of pathogenic fungi, in this case S. Lavandulae, and P. Lavandulae. It is also important to plant lavender in sections interspersed with other plants such as Rosmarinus officinalisand Salvia officinalis.

Centaurea achaia, C. thessala or C. attica at 6 CH potency work as a potent inhibitor as they contain sesquiterpene lactones with an important and useful antifungal effect for the control of Septoria lavandulae, but it must be borne in mind that this remedy cannot be applied simultaneously with mycorhizal fungi.

Apium graveolens se-men 6 CH (made from Celery seeds) and Zingiber officinalis radix 6 CH (made from Ginger rhizomes) can also be applied.

About the author

Radko Tichavsky

Radko Tichavsky was born in the Czech republic. He has lived in Mexico for more than 25 years and is one of the most important agrohomeopaths in Latin America. He is the author of the book "Manual de Agrohomeopatia", a homeopathy book on plants. Radko teaches agrohomeopathy in several countries and regularly publishes articles in special journals and internet portals. He works as a researcher and teacher at the university and has already taught agrohomeopathy to many students. He is the director of the Comenius Institute (comenius.edu.mx). More details can be found in the following interview: http://hpathy.com/homeopathic-interviews/radko-tichavsky/

5 Comments

  • Hi Radko,

    I find your work fascinating, is your book published/going to be published in English? I’m a Naturopath, homoeopath & am studying horticulture so would live to learn more about your work.

    Thanks

  • Dear Professor Tichavsky,

    We have all our chestnut tree dying with the ink disease.
    How do you consider the tree for repertorization ?
    Are the roots the alimentary system like mouth etc…,
    then the trunk at the base is it like the neck and would the top
    of the tree considered as the extremities ?
    When the bark is black and it is rotten orange color under the bark, how
    do you repertorize that ?

    Thank you for your help.

    Véronique

  • Adding for the ink disease of the chestnut tree :
    It came after a rainy winter and spring, flooding ( waterlogged ?)in June,
    followed by a dry summer ; under the soil, it is pure clay.

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