Effect of homeopathy on quality of corncobs naturally exposed to sugarcane virus

Abstract

Background: The use of pesticides is damaging to the health of farmers and consumers as their use is associated with numerous diseases. Homeopathy is one of the techniques for organic agriculture currently authorized by the MAPA. Aims: To assess the effect of homeopathic compounds on corncob quality in pesticide-free cultures. Methodology: The experiment was performed in, MS-Brazil. Two culture fields were used, each 30m2in size. The homeopathic group treatment consisted of 1ml of30% hydroalcoholic solution with homeopathic ingredients. This solution was diluted into 30ml of water and then sprayed onto 100 seeds. The control group was submitted to the same protocol excluding the homeopathic ingredients. The homeopathic ingredients used were Sulph9C, Mag-c 12C, and Calc-p9C, prescribed according to Materia Medica instructions. The evaluation was performed at harvest by comparing the average weight of 1000 kernels per group, obtained from a weighing of 3000 kernels per group. In addition, a number of corncobs from both groups were qualitatively evaluated as “good” or “bad.” Statistics analysis used the T-test to compare the kernel weight averages and Fisher’s exact test to analyze the corncob quality frequency. Both groups were naturally infected by a virus from a neighboring sugarcane field, causing qualitative and quantitative losses on both groups. Results and discussion: The average weight of 1000 kernels from the treated group (329 g) was not significantly greater (p=0.06) than the average weight of 1000 kernels from the non-treated group (308 g). It was observed that 71out of 158 (44.9%) corncobs from the homeopathic treatment group were classified as “good” while zero out of 50 (0%) corncobs from the non-treated group were classified as “good”, resulting in a significant difference (p<0.01). Conclusion: Homeopathic compounds can be used as a feasible treatment for health and productivity in the corn crop.