Plant therapy

Homeopathic treatment of plants: a promising journeyby Christiane Maute
Classical homeopathy can cure or at least alleviate both chronic and acute illness in humans and animals. Even for experienced homeopaths, the rapid and deep-acting effect of a correctly chosen homeopathic remedy is gratifying and astonishing.
This inspired healing art now has a further string to its bow: homeopathy for plants. Since plants are living organisms, it is logical that homeopathic treatment can be used to treat plant disease and pest infestation.
Humankind has been using mainly chemical herbicides, pesticides and fertilisers for several generations now. The development of agrochemicals around 75 years ago was a great breakthrough at the time, enabling us humans to secure our food supply. It seemed as if plant disease and pests were a thing of the past – an era of bumper harvests and spotless fruit and vegetable beckoned.
Only in recent years have large numbers of people began to change their view of these developments. Critical voices began to spring up from consumer and environmental protection groups, as well as from the newly fashionable enthusiasts of  organic food. There has been a widespread sense of dismay that humans and animals – especially beneficial insects – as well as soil, water and air have all evidently suffered from the new approach to agriculture.
Critical media reports showed how “mistreated” soils all over the world were being severely depleted by the barrage of herbicides, pesticides and insecticides. It became clear that we could not expect such soils to yield healthy or bountiful crops.
Consumers rightfully demanded healthy, natural foods and pesticide-free ornamental plants. Farmers, professional gardeners and wine growers desperately began searching for alternative methods of treatment to produce vigorous and healthy plants from rich soils.
Since 2011, there has been a new non-toxic, environmentally friendly and cost-effective method to achieve these goals: homeopathic treatment of plant disease and pests in ornamental plants and crops.
There have since been successful attempts to treat plants with homeopathy in the cultivation of fruits, vegetables and ornamental plants, as well as in viticulture but obviously our soils cannot be restored to their natural state overnight.
Homeopathic remedies have proved invaluable for problems such as root damage, the effects of tree surgery, pruning or severe weather, such as frost, cold, rain, heat, and drought. Here, it is possible to greatly minimize the damage.
Preventative treatment of plants is also possible – for example, when there is impending severe frost, prolonged sub-zero temperatures or torrential rain. This is a ground-breaking development since there are to my knowledge no conventional means of protecting plants in such situations.
The application of classical homeopathy is straightforward: the plant is watered with a solution of granules that has been vigorously stirred. Exactly as with humans or animals, single remedies are mostly used. Synergistic combinations of remedies are also currently being tested.
Of course, there are failures since plants are “silent patients” and so it is not always easy to determine their needs. In addition, it is not straightforward to transfer the symptoms of remedies – which have, after all, been tested and proved on humans – to plants.
It is, however, already evident that plants are strengthened and made more robust with homeopathic treatment; in addition, the homeopathic remedy can have a prolonged beneficial effect, as we were able to see last year for the first time.
Homeopathic treatment can help us achieve a healthier environment and it conserves resources. Much research is needed but one thing is already clear: we are at the start of a promising and unbelievably fascinating journey.Keywords: homeopathy, plants.