Burying her underpants for the good cause: farmers of the Marne launched the operation "In the ground your pants" at the end of May to test the biological activity of the soil. The principle is simple: the participants must bury a white cotton brief and for several weeks, earthworms, mushrooms and bacteria will do their work.
The more these species are present in the fields, the better the quality of the soil and the more the slip will be exhumed at the end of the experience in poor condition. "The greater the biological activity of the soil, the more the slip that will be dug up will be degraded and in small pieces, it will be a good indicator" of soil fertility, summarizes Tuesday on Europe 1 Léa Thomas, project developer for the FDSEA Marne, at the initiative of this operation.
Reclaim agronomy
This initiative reflects a new concern of the agricultural world, which is soil life, as farmers question and review agricultural techniques, restrict chemicals to better preserve biodiversity. "The practices evolve, farmers change their practices, think a lot, especially with organic farming and soil conservation, where the idea is to reappropriate a little more agronomy and make its soil more fertile," says Léa Thomas, at the microphone of Matthieu Belliard.
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Cotton briefs buried between May 27 and June 4 by the participating farmers will be unearthed between August 12 and 18, then scrutinized by two juries, one of professionals and the other composed of Internet users on Facebook. "The briefs will be weighed to see the difference in weight, but also the smell, the color ... This will allow to make a first skimming between the participating pants," details Léa Thomas. The three winners, who will have the most deteriorated underpants by their life in the ground, will be designated and will receive a gold slip, embroidered in their name.