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All Organic: Riforma della Politica Agricola Comunitaria di prossima applicazione, le strategie di diversificazione colturale, la filiera corta dei mezzi tecnici per la fertilizzazione e la difesa delle colture.

Even though the ethos of organic agriculture concerns animal welfare and environmentally friendly production, certain undesirable inputs are permitted in organic farming by the European Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008. The EU Horizon 2020 project Organic-PLUS (https://organic-plus.net) has investigated the possibility to phase out a range of contentious inputs: Plant inputs: Copper, sulphur, and mineral oils; Soil inputs: Conventional manure, plastic, and peat; Livestock inputs: conventional straw, antibiotic medicine, and anthelmintic medicine (against parasites). Organic-PLUS has performed a feasibility study to investigate advantages and disadvantages of both the current production methods with the contentious inputs and proposed alternative methods where the- inputs have been phased out or substituted. The feasibility, sustainability and environmental impact have been evaluated involving stakeholders and decision-makers (e.g., farmers, advisers, developers). In this multi-actor approach seven case farms in Denmark (Northern Europe), Germany (Central Europe) and Spain (Southern Europe) were selected, including the following organic production branches: Pig, poultry, vegetables, cereals, potato, apple, and wine. Results of the case farm studies include: · It is feasible to replace plastic folio for weed control with alternative products (bioplastic or paper mulching) · It is feasible to replace conventional animal manure with alternative fertilizers, such as digestates from biogas production, green waste compost or organic bio fertilizer, combined with crop rotation with legumes · It is not feasible to phase out antibiotics and anthelmintics completely since sick animals must be treated. However, it is feasible to reduce the consumption significantly without reducing production quantity and quality · It is feasible to replace sulphur for apple production with organic approved fungicides · It is not feasible to phase out copper completely for the wine varieties grown today without a very large decrease in quality and yield.

For environmental conservation, peat-based growing media are being phased-out in many countries. Peat-free alternatives need to be developed, preferably from local biomass ingredients. This paper describes the performance of peat-free substrates containing olive branch pruning materials in comparison with commercial growing media controls for olive saplings grown during April-October 2020 at the Olive Research Institute (ORI) in Turkey. The trial was conducted using a randomized plot design with 4 replications and 4 treatments: 1) (COMP) compost made of locally available plant materials with 70% olive prunings (100%, v v-1; 2) (FIBER) mixture of chipped and extruded olive prunings (50% chipped + 50% extruded, v v-1); 3) (SAND) a commercial mixture(sand 90% + vermiculite 10%, v v-1) (control); and 4) (PEAT+) a commercial mixture (peat 40% + coco coir 40% + perlite20%, v v-1) (control). The vegetative growth parameters and weed status (density and coverage) were recorded and root fungal diseases commonly found in Turkey were analyzed. After the first six months of growth, there were statistically significant differences between the treatments (p≤0.05); COMP and PEAT+ were comparable and produced the largest plants with 100% survival rate. 98% of plants survived in SAND, and 81% in FIBER.FIBER, which was the only treatment with no weed growth, had about 30% reduced growth as compared to SAND, which had 90 and 78% growth compared with PEAT+ and COMP. Still, it was remarkable that it was possible to grow olive saplings in treated olive prunings. It is very promising that a peat-free growing media like COMP performed as well as the commercial growing media with 40% peat. During the extrusion of olive material, the temperature rose to ca. 120°C and during composting the COMP reached 65-70°C; temperatures at which the materials are expected to be effectively sanatised from any fungal diseases.

Date palm (Phoenix dactylifera L.) is an important crop in arid zones and plays significant ecological and socio-economic roles. During the last decades, date palm groves were subjected to degradation due to extensive soil exploitation and low soil fertility. The use of biological techniques is essential to improve date palm development. The present work aims at assessing the effect of two different doses of compost (5% and 20%) and inoculation with the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus (AMF) Rhizoglomus irregulare on growth and development of date palm seedlings. The treatments comprised control and application of 5 and 20% of compost with R. irregulare individually or in combination. Growth, physiological, histological, and mycorrhization traits were assessed. Obtained results showed that compost applied at a low dose (5%) alone or in combination with the AMF stimulated root length, leaf area, root dry weight, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium contents, stomatal conductance and chlorophyll fluorescence and increased the number of sclerenchyma fibers, the number of vascular bundles, root diameter, and lignification of the endodermis of date palm seedlings compared to control. Compost at low doses combined or not with AMF can successfully be applied as biofertilizers for improving the growth and development of date palm.

It is the Final report of the DOMINO project, reporting activities carried out and achieved results at the end of the action.

This sustainability report is based on the sustainability evaluation of 10 case farms, using the RISE (Response Inducing Sustainability Evaluation) methodology, designed by the School of Agricultural, Forest and Food Sciences, HAFL. The case farms represent a wide range of organic farms in Europe, experimenting with alternatives to contentious inputs. Results of the case farm reports were discussed in two additional expert workshops, who have been working with the topical work packages (WP) of Organic-PLUS, WP SOIL, WP PLANT and WP LIVESTOCK. Work in progress and results from these WPs have given rise to discussions, which are reflected in this report. Specifically, alternatives for conventional manure, copper and antibiotics were identified. Regardless of case farm, biodiversity scored in a lower range, but this was not specifically linked to any of the contentious inputs. The lack of some nutrients on some of the case farms was more a conscious choice, than supply problem. If this resulted in lower yields this was not always seen as a problem, particularly if there were community shares (e.g. in vegetable boxes which required all year round supply) or when mitigated by premium prices (e.g. high quality wine or olive oils). Some farms were in the process of replacement, by using composted biogas digestate. Replacement of copper by substitution with alternative treatments was not seen to be a simple solution. A set of preventive measures was recorded, including more resistant varieties, management, combinations of natural repellents, but also the acceptance of lower yields to guarantee alignment to organic principles and not create non-disputable products towards the specific consumers (e.g. vegan consumers). Antibiotic use in organic livestock was identified as being reduced, but not completely gone. Organic livestock farmers increase vaccination, preventive measures and alternative treatments, using farmer schools to gain and exchange of experiences. Ultimately, avoidance of animal cruelty by treating sick animals, is thought to be more ethical than culling or selling to conventional farms, where animals would potentially live in poorer or even industrial conditions.

Versuchsresultate aus dem Bio-Beerenanbau und der Bio-Beerenjungpflanzenproduktion

Zielsetzung dieser langjährigen experimentellen Untersuchungen war eine komplexe Prüfung folgender ökologischer landwirtschaftlicher Anbauformen mit unterschiedlich hohem Tierbesatz unter den klimatischen Bedingungen von Ostdeutschland: Standorte Spröda (Sandboden, Ackerzahl 30), Methau (Lößboden, Ackerzahl 63); Anbausysteme und Betriebsformen: Marktfruchtbau (Leguminosenaufwüchse werden gemulcht, Koppelprodukte verbleiben auf dem Acker), Futterbau (Leguminosenaufwüchse und Koppelprodukte werden vom Feld abgefahren); Düngemittelarten und -höhe: Stalldung, Grüngut (Mulch) aus Leguminosengras, Rindergülle; organische Düngung mit 0 – 2 DE/ha u. Jahr, mineralische N-Dünger (kleiner Umfang zum Vergleich). In dem vorliegenden Forschungsbericht wurde eine Gesamtauswertung der Dauerver-suche über die langfristigen Wirkungen von über 80 Merkmalen zur Entwicklung der Erträge, Qualität und Vitalität der Fruchtarten und Fruchtfolgen, Merkmalen der Bodenfruchtbarkeit der Ackerkrume und im Tiefenprofil sowie bestimmten Umweltwirkungen vorgenommen. Die Versuche haben eine Darstellung der Ergebnisse über ein weites Spektrum an Anbauverfahren ermöglicht, die bewusst auch über das übliche Maß des Ökolandbaus hinausgehen. Das Intensitätsniveau reichte von einer niedrigen Nährstoffversorgung in den viehlosen Marktfruchtvarianten ohne Düngung bis zu einer sehr hohen Versorgung in den intensiven Futterbauvarianten. In einer umfangreichen Diskussion wurden die Grenzen und die Möglichkeiten zur Weiterentwicklung des Ökolandbaus in Folge einer gesteigerten Intensivierung durch Leguminosenanbau (Körner- u. Futterleguminosen) sowie flüssigen und festen organischen Düngern für eine optimale Gestaltung und Ertragsbildung der Fruchtfolgen und der Umweltverträglichkeit detailliert aufgeführt.

Pflanzen und ihre Inhaltsstoffe sind in vielerlei Hinsicht von großer Bedeutung. Als Quelle von Makro- und Mikronährstoffen sind sie ein essenzieller Teil von Lebens- und Futtermitteln. Das Potenzial pflanzlicher Inhaltsstoffe geht allerdings weit darüber hinaus und Inhaltsstoffe sowie deren Einsatzmöglichkeiten sind längst nicht vollständig erforscht. Im Rahmen von zwei Forschungsprojekten wurden Rohstoffe und Nebenströme der Bierherstellung sowie Mikroalgen und Cyanobakterien auf Inhaltsstoffe mit antioxidativer Wirkung hin untersucht. Für einen Einsatz in Kosmetika sind Antioxidantien von großer Bedeutung. Sie sind in der Lage Sauerstoffradikale abzufangen und somit oxidativen Stress in der Haut – ausgelöst z.B. durch intensive UV-Licht Einstrahlung – zu reduzieren. Wässrige und ethanolische Malz- und Biertreberextrakte erreichten z.B. bis zu 14,8 mg Gallussäure-Äquivalenz/g bei der Folin-Ciocalteu-Methode und eine antioxidative Kapazität von bis zu 0,2 μM Trolox-Äquivalenz/g, bezogen auf die Feststoffeinwaage. Es erfolgten darüber hinaus in vitro Wirksamkeitstests (antioxidative Kapazität, Tyrosinase-Hemmung), welche durch Zellkulturanalysen ergänzt wurden. Die Extrakte konnten in einer Keratinozyten-Zellkultur bis zu 85% der induzierten reaktiven Sauerstoffspezies abfangen. Als weitere Quelle antioxidativ wirkender Substanzen konnten Mikroalgen und Cyanobakterien genutzt werden. Als Anpassung an Umweltstress produzieren diese Organismen u.a. Pigmente und phenolische Substanzen mit antioxidativer Wirkung. In untersuchten Grünalgenstämmen konnten die höchsten Gehalte an Chlorophyll und Carotinoiden (60 mg bzw. 12 mg pro g Biomasse im Fall von Neochloris oleobundans) festgestellt werden. Darüber hinaus konnte gezeigt werden, dass die wässrige Extraktion geeignet ist, um antioxidativ wirksame Verbindungen aus den untersuchten Stämmen zu extrahieren. Werte von über 20 mg Gallussäure-Äquivalenz/g Feststoffeinwaage bei der Folin-Ciocalteu-Methode wurden für Neochloris oleobundans, Phormidium sp., and Wilmottia murravi gemessen. Die antioxidativen Kapazitäten wurden außerdem für wasserlösliche und fettlösliche Substanzen anhand der photometrisch ermittelbaren Radikalabschwächung bestimmt. Phormidium ambiquum und Phormidium sp. waren die Stämme mit den höchsten Gehalten an wasserlöslichen Verbindungen (12-14 μmol Ascorbinsäure-Äquivalenz/g), während N. oleobundans und A. obliquus die Stämme mit den höchsten Gehalten an lipidlöslichen Verbindungen (60-80 μmol Trolox-Äquivalenz/g) waren. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass sich hochwertige Verbindungen mit antioxidativen Eigenschaften aus Malzen und Biertrebern, sowie aus kultivierbaren Mikroalgen und Cyanobakterien extrahieren lassen und das Potenzial haben, in der Kosmetikindustrie, aber auch im Lebensmittel- und pharmazeutischen Bereich zum Einsatz zu kommen.

Es ist allgemein anerkannt, dass der großflächige Einsatz von persistenten synthetischen Pestiziden in der Landwirtschaft ein großes Risiko für die biologische Vielfalt und die Um-welt darstellt. Darüber hinaus betrachtet die Öffentlichkeit Pestizide als problematisch und strebt pestizidfreie Produkte an. Die Auseinandersetzung mit diesen Bedenken und das Fin-den eines nachhaltigen Gleichgewichts zwischen "umweltfreundlicher" und "profitabler" Pflanzenproduktion stellen Herausforderungen für Landwirt*innen dar. Um den Anliegen der Landwirt*innen und Verbraucher*innen gerecht zu werden, müssen innovative Lösungen zur Sicherung der Ernteerträge, zur Minimierung von Nahrungs- und Ernteabfällen sowie zur Erzeugung von Gemüse und Früchten mit gesundheitsfördernden Eigenschaften geschaffen werden. Das Projekt Bio4Food befasst sich mit diesen drei Aspekten und verfolgt dabei eine Strategie der Verwertung von Ernteabfällen. Im Vorhaben werden Pflanzenabfälle für die Herstellung von Extrakten mit biostimulierenden Eigenschaften genutzt, um den Ertrag und die Qualität der Pflanzen zu fördern und deren Gehalt an den gesundheitsfördernden Mineralien: Eisen, Magnesium und Zink zu erhöhen. Die Marktchancen des Ansatzes wer-den untersucht, um einen Fahrplan für die Umsetzung in der Pflanzenproduktion und im Pflanzenschutz zu entwickeln. Die Möglichkeit der Wiederverwertung von Abfällen wird auf der Ebene der landwirtschaftlichen Betriebe bis hin zur Nahrungsmittelindustrie bewertet, wobei die Rentabilität des Ansatzes berücksichtigt wird.

Third report (deliverable). The partners, the French technical Inter-professional Centre for Fruits and Vegetable (CTIFL, France), coordinator of the work package (WP3); University of Hohenheim (UHOH, Germany); Institute of Horticulture (INHORT, Poland); Research Centre Laimburg (LAIM, Italy); Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FBL, Switzerland); and Università Politecnica delle Marche (UPM, Italy) continued continued their work in WP3. Each partner tested various combinations of cover crops in-row and between the rows on several fruit tree crops.

Das Ziel der Untersuchungen bestand darin, unter den Bedingungen des Ökolandbaus erstmals sowohl die kurzfristige vergleichende Wirkung verschiedener organischer Düngemittel (Rindergülle, Stalldung, Kompost, Gründüngung) und einem mineralischen Kalium-Dünger zu verschiedenen Terminen in der Vegetationsperiode, sowie im Rahmen der Fruchtfolge den langfristigen Einfluss des Humusumsatzes auf die Nährstoffbereitstellung an Stickstoff, Phosphor, Kalium und Magnesium im Boden zu erfassen. Es wurden Ergebnisse zu folgenden Teilaspekten des Kartoffelanbaus erhalten: - Quantifizierung der Mineralisation und der Nährstoffgehalte im Boden - Nährstoffaufnahme und Qualität der Kartoffelknollen - Wachstum und Ertragsbildung der Kartoffeln und - Verfahren zur Düngebedarfsermittlung bei Kartoffeln.

The report analyses the relations between project's results and the Sustainable Development Goals and the EU Green Deal. Policy recommendations are given about proper use of recycled fertilizers; living mulches and partly closed cover systems.

Fortschritte im Bio-Beerenanbau und der Jungpflanzenproduktion

Arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) have been frequently reported as effective tools for alleviating environmental stresses and promoting plant growth and yield. In this study, we aimed to isolate, culture, and identify molecular and morphological AMF species associated with date palms and spontaneous plants present at eight sites in the arid agroecosystem of the Drˆaa-Tafilalet oasis of Morocco. We tested the capacity of AMF to colonize micropropagated date palm seedlings at their first acclimatization stage. Soil and root samples were collected to propagate indigenous AMF strains using trap culture techniques under greenhouse conditions and, at the same time, their root colonization potential was evaluated. We used freshly propagated spores to establish a collection of single spore-derived cultures. Morphological, microscopic, and molecular approaches were adopted to quantify AMF communities in the roots and rhizosphere and identify the recovered AMF species present at the eight sites. In an inoculation experiment, a micropropagated date palm was inoculated with a consortium of four cultured AMF strains, alone or in combination with synthetic fertilizer or compost. Our results showed that after two cycles of trap culturing, the frequency and intensity of AMF colonizing host plant roots significantly increased, exceeding 91% and 50%, respectively. Using three trap plant species and favorable growing conditions helped increase root colonization rates and AMF proliferation. AMF propagation resulted in the cultivation of 13 AMF strains. Molecular and morphological analyses revealed six different AMF species within our cultures: Pervetustus simplex, Claroideoglomus etunicatum, Albahypha drummondii, Septoglomus xanthium, Funneliformis mosseae, and Rhizoglomus irregulare. Results of the inoculation experiment revealed that root colonization was higher in treatments augmented with synthetic fertilizers than those supplemented with compost with 84.4% as against 46.7% and 26.1% as against 12.3%, respectively, for colonization frequency and intensity. In contrast, shoot length and stem diameter of date palms were significantly higher in treatments augmented with compost and AMF than that with synthetic fertilizers. Synthetic fertilizers might have been partially immobilized directly after application, limiting availability and resulting in lower growth performance of date palms. These findings indicated that date palm groves are a niche for efficient indigenous AMF strains that can colonize and enhance date palm growth at the early stages.

Vigorous seedlings are an important base for vegetable production. Beside the availability of appropriate amounts of nutrients, the health of seedlings is decisive. Soil-borne diseases are a challenging problem in organic seedling production. Here, we present results on the development of disease-suppressive growing media. Three aspects were examined: (i) use of different components of growing media (peat, coconut fiber, wood fiber, compost), (ii) influence of selected organic nitrogen fertilizers and (iii) use of different microorganisms (including commercial biocontrol agents (BCA)). Three plant-pathogen systems were used in this study: cucumber-Pythium ultimum, cress-Pythium ultimum and basil-Rhizoctonia solani. Green waste compost showed a good capability to protect cress against P. ultimum. This effect was improved by using a chitin-containing N-fertilizer. However, an inappropriate storage of the compost diminished its efficacy. In contrast to coconut fibers, wood fibers showed a suppressive activity against P. ultimum when used as partial substitutes of peat. None of five tested commercial BCAs could improve the suppressiveness of the substrates against P. ultimum. However, one of newly tested strains of Trichoderma sp. was very suppressive against P. ultimum. The tested growing media showed only small differences in suppressiveness against R. solani on basil. In contrast, two of the new strains of Trichoderma sp., which were intermediately active against P. ultimum, could efficiently protect basil against R. solani. At the moment, we test combinations of different Trichoderma strains, compost, different types of peat and peat substitutes. The aim is to determine whether it is feasible to manufacture growing media which allow the production of healthy and robust seedlings also in the presence of high levels of pathogens.

Soil-borne diseases such as damping-off caused by Pythium sp. are responsible for high yield losses in organic vegetable production and are difficult to control. Compost amendments have been shown to improve in many cases survival and growth of plants in soils infested with soil-borne diseases. Yet, not all composts are disease suppressive and suppressiveness of composts can be pathogen-specific. Cress (Lepidium sativum L.) was grown in a standard peat substrate amended either with coco fiber (conducive control) or with composts differing in their suppressiveness towards Pythium ultimum. Bacteria were isolated from the rhizoplane and the most abundant species identified by MALDI-TOF MS. The bacterial composition in the rhizoplane of plants grown in non-suppressive substrates and in the suppressive compost was essentially different. Aeromonas media was the main species isolated from the rhizoplane of plants grown in a suppressive compost, whereas Enterobacter cloacae was the dominating species in the less suppressive compost and in the conducive control. A. media was then added to all substrates to evaluate its role in disease suppression. Addition of A. media improved suppressiveness against P. ultimum in all substrates. The effect was most pronounced in the substrate amended with the compost with low suppressiveness, resulting in levels of suppressiveness comparable to the highly suppressive compost. We conclude that presence of A. media in composts can contribute to disease suppression and might provide a useful marker for qualitative analysis of composts.

It is the Mid-term report of the Project titled: "Dynamic Sod Mulching and Use of Recycled Amendments to Increase Biodiversity, Resilience And Sustainability of Intensive Organic Fruit Orchards and Vineyards" - DOMINO

Newletters published by project's partners of DOMINO from 2018 and 2020

Contentious inputs in organic agriculture and horticulture are undesirable inputs within the organic ethos, but permitted by the European Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008. The contentious inputs investigated by Organic-PLUS are the plant inputs, copper, sulphur and mineral oils; the soil inputs, conventional manure, plastic and peat, and the livestock inputs, conventional straw, antibiotic medicine and anthelminthic medicine. In order to select the most suitable alternatives, the consequences of substitution must be evaluated in terms of feasibility, sustainability and environmental impact. Specifically, it is important to consider whether the adoption of certain alternatives is feasible from not only a technological viewpoint but also from an operational, economic, and conceptual perspective. The overall objective of a feasibility study is to support different stakeholders and decision-makers (e.g. farmers, advisers, developers) in determining whether to implement a specific alternative production method as part of their business. A feasibility study comprises research, testing and experimentation, designed to determine if a strategy, design, product or process is possible and practical. This feasibility study design is partly based on the basic production data collected for the sustainability and LCA assessments, and partly on supplemental data concerning specific operations. Data collection will take place on selected case study farms, encompassing the contentious inputs Organic-PLUS focusses on. The feasibility study will examine advantages and disadvantages of both the current production methods and the proposed alternative methods.

Posteren præsenterer projektet SUREVEG.

Phosphorus (P) is a limiting element for plant growth. Several root microbes, including arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), have the capacity to improve plant nutrition and their abundance is known to depend on P fertility. However, how complex root-associated bacterial and fungal communities respond to various levels of P supplementation remains ill-defined. Here we investigated the responses of the root-associated bacteria and fungi to varying levels of P supply using 16S rRNA gene and internal transcribed spacer amplicon sequencing. We grew Petunia, which forms symbiosis with AMF, and the nonmycorrhizal model species Arabidopsis as a control in a soil that is limiting in plant-available P and we then supplemented the plants with complete fertilizer solutions that varied only in their phosphate concentrations. We searched for microbes, whose abundances varied by P fertilization, tested whether a core microbiota responding to the P treatments could be identified and asked whether bacterial and fungal co-occurrence patterns change in response to the varying P levels. Root microbiota composition varied substantially in response to the varying P application. A core microbiota was not identified as different bacterial and fungal groups responded to low-P conditions in Arabidopsis and Petunia. Microbes with P-dependent abundance patterns included Mortierellomycotina in Arabidopsis, while in Petunia, they included AMF and their symbiotic endobacteria. Of note, the P-dependent root colonization by AMF was reliably quantified by sequencing. The fact that the root microbiotas of the two plant species responded differently to low-P conditions suggests that plant species specificity would need to be considered for the eventual development of microbial products that improve plant P nutrition., Phytobiomes Journal, 3 (2)

Demand for organic vegetable products is rapidly growing in Europe and also in Latvia. The bottleneck of fulfilment of consumer’s demands is lacking innovative technologies for intensive vegetable production in organic cropping systems. The depleted soil of decreased productivity is one of the main constrains in organic vegetable production. Therefore seeking for new technologies is crucial for solution the problem. Intercropping, especially strip cropping is foreseen as one of the possible improvements in growing technologies. Scientific literature from different scientific journals all around the world has been used in review article to gather literature on the intercropping efficiency in vegetable production. Summarizing the findings it was stated that intercropping approach is considered to interaction of different factors influencing crop yield and its performance: insect attracting or repellent properties of particular plants caused by their aromatic volatiles; allelopathy effect for inhibiting or stimulating neighbouring organisms; symbiotic atmosphere nitrogen fixation; optimal physical using of belowground and aboveground space; increasing of plant available nutrients in the soil; increased soil microbiological activity. All abovementioned gainings from using of intercropped plants promote environmental sustainability and increases yield potential for particular cropping systems. Those indices can be calculated by precise formulas. One of the broadest used method for evaluation of intercropping efficiency is LER (land equivalent ratio), which is defined as the area of monocropped land, is required to provide the same productivity as the intercropped land. From the literature reviewed it was stated that there is missing scientific data on vegetable intercropping, and especially in northern Europe agroecological conditions.

Rakstā publicēta informācija par jauktajiem stādījumiem, to ietekmi uz augu veselību un augsnes auglību

Contentious inputs in organic farming are unwanted inputs, but allowed by the Commission Regulation (EC) No 889/2008. Such inputs include among others nonorganically fertilizers, soil conditioners, pesticides, feed stuff, and feed additives. In order to select suitable alternatives, and secondly, which alternatives are best, the consequences of substitution must be evaluated in terms of feasibility, sustainability, and environmental impact. As a first step, scenarios constructions aimed at these assessments have been carried out in Deliverable6.1. 22 scenarios were identified together with 37 case farms. These scenario alternatives were congruently specified at product level and examples were found in the relevant partner countries together with WP 2 task 2.1. where case farms are selected to elaborate on user centric aspects of implementing alternatives to the identified issues of concern. The list of scenarios will be used in cooperation with Task 2.1 to design the questions to be proposed for the case farms.

In dieser Studie werden Erträge und ausgewählte Parameter der Kornqualität für ökologisch angebauten Spelzweizen (Dinkel) unter unterschiedlichen Düngungssystemen verglichen. Die Ertrags- und Qualitäts-Kennwerte wurden im Rahmen eines Langzeit-Versuchs erhoben, der in fünf Versuchsstationen in der Tschechischen Republik läuft. Der Tukey-Kramer Mittelwertsvergleich wurde für die statistische Prüfung verwendet. Der Test zeigte im Kornertrag statistisch signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den unterschiedlichen Bewirtschaftungs-Strategien. Bei den Qualitätsparametern konnten hingegen keine statistisch signifikanten Unterschiede festgestellt werden.

Report of the workshop "Agroecology and Viticulture" at Bordeaux Science Agro, 14-15 November 2017.

Das Projekt untersuchte erfolgreich die Produktion und Verwendbarkeit von Sphagnum-Kultursubstraten für Baumschul- und Zierpflanzenkulturen. Als Mischung-spartner für die Sphagnum-Biomasse wurde Grünschnitt-Kompost aus Landschaftspflegemaßnahmen verwendet. Damit steht ein hochwertiges Kultursubstrat für die Ver-wendung im professionellen Gartenbau zur Verfügung. Es wurde erstmals ein Sphagnum-Kultursubstrat mit einem breiten Spektrum an Baumschulkulturen über einen längeren Zeitraum getestet und um Praxisversuche mit Calluna sp. ergänzt.

Bei einem hohen Anteil an Leguminosen in der Fruchtfolge treten oftmals ein Ertragsrückgang bei Erbsen, Ackerbohnen und anderen Hülsenfrüchten auf. Man hat es mit der sogenannten Leguminosenmüdigkeit zu tun. Am FiBL wird geforscht, wie die Krankheit erkannt werden kann und welche Massnahmen dagegen helfen.

Ergebnisse der von 2011-2017 laufenden Versuchsserie mit 76 Einzelexperimenten zur Entwicklung eines standardisierten Biotests für das Hornmistpräparat, die in Kooperation mit der biodynamischen Koordinationsstelle an der Universität Kassel Witzenhausen auf dem Dottenfelderhof durchgeführt wurde. Untersucht wurde, wie sich die Wurzellänge von Kressesamen unter Einfluss des Hornmistpräparats entwickelt. In 28 von 76 Fällen wurde das Wurzelwachstum signifikant beeinflusst. Jedoch ist die Wiederholbarkeit der Ergebnisse über lange Zeitperioden schwierig. Das Potenzial von Laboruntersuchungen zur Wirkweise der biodynamischen Präparate wurde aufgezeigt und sollte weitergeführt werde.

This multidisciplinary research work evaluated the effects of soil erosion on grape yield and quality and on different soil functions, namely water and nutrient supply, carbon sequestration, organic matter recycling, and soil biodiversity, with the aim to understand the causes of soil malfunctioning and work out a proper strategy of soil remediation. Degraded areas in nineteen organically farmed European and Turkish vineyards resulted in producing significantly lower amounts of grapes and excessive concentrations of sugar. Plants suffered from decreased water nutrition, due to shallower rooting depth, compaction, and reduced available water capacity, lower chemical fertility, as total nitrogen and cation exchange capacity, and higher concentration of carbonates. Carbon storage and organic matter recycling were also depressed. The general trend of soil enzyme activity mainly followed organic matter stock. Specific enzymatic activities suggested that in degraded soils, alongside a general slowdown in organic matter cycling, there was a greater reduction in decomposition capacity of the most recalcitrant forms. The abundance of Acari Oribatida and Collembola resulted the most sensitive indicator of soil degradation among the considered microarthropods. No clear difference in overall microbial richness and evenness were observed. All indices were relatively high and indicative of rich occurrence of many and rare microbial species. Dice cluster analyses indicated slight qualitative differences in Eubacterial and fungal community compositions in rhizosphere soil and roots in degraded soils. This multidisciplinary study indicates that the loss of soil fertility caused by excessive earth movement before planting, or accelerated erosion, mainly affects water nutrition and chemical fertility. Biological soil fertility is also reduced, in particular the ability of biota to decompose organic matter, while biodiversity is less affected, probably because of the organic management. Therefore, the restoration of the eroded soils requires site-specific and intensive treatments, including accurately chosen organic matrices for fertilization, privileging the most easily decomposable. Restoring soil fertility in depth, however, remain an open question, which needs further investigation., The research work was carried out in the framework of the EU project RESOLVE (Restoring optimal Soil functionality in degraded areas within organic vineyards), supported by transnational funding bodies, being partners of the FP7 ERA-net project, CORE Organic Plus, and the cofound from the European Commission.

Die «Positivliste – Betriebsmittelliste für biologische Kleingärten» führt Produkte auf, welche in biologischen Kleingärten der Schweiz, insbesondere von Grün Stadt Zürich eingesetzt werden dürfen.

Delimited degraded soil areas caused by an improper land preparation before vine plantation and or management can be observed in conventional and organic Euro-pean vineyards. Soil malfunctioning including: poor organic matter content, imba-lanced nutritional status, altered pH, water deficiency, soil compaction and/or scar-ce oxygenation. The goal of the present study was to compare the effects of some agronomic strategies to restore optimal soil functionality in degraded areas in orga-nic commercial vineyards located in five countries, and to evaluate the impact of these soil management practices on vegetative growth, yield and grape quality pa-rameters. Grapevines located in non-degraded soils showed higher vegetative growth and yield, and lower total soluble solids in grapes. Generally, there were no significant differences in vegetative growth, yield and grape quality among the soil management strategies in degraded areas., This work is part of the RESOLVE project, for which the authors acknowledge the financial support provided by transnational funding bodies, being partners of the FP7 ERA-net project, CORE Organic Plus, and the cofund from the European Commission.

This technical handbook provides an easy to follow guide describing the process on how to produce home-made mycorrhizal inoculants using different types of propagation units and how inoculants can be applied as bio-fertilizers in the nursery and during field transplantation for improving the growth and stress tolerance of crop plants.

La liste des intrants contient tous les produits phytosanitaires, les engrais, les substrats du commerce, les produits de lutte contre les mouches des étables, les agents d'ensilage, les aliments minéraux et complémentaires, les produits pour la désinfection des stabulations et les produits contre les maladies des abeilles autorisés pour l'agriculture biologique. Cette liste est contraignante pour les producteurs de Bio Suisse et Demeter. Sur les fermes Bio Suisse, seuls les produits mentionnés sont autorisés. Les exceptions sont décrites séparément dans les introductions aux différents chapitres.

Stickstoffangebot und Einstrahlungsintensität wirken sich auf Morphologie und inhaltsstoffliche Zusammensetzung der Salatrauke aus. Eine Wirkung des Hornkieselpräparates wurde mit diesen Parametern unzureichend erfasst und liegt im Bereich der Irrtumswahrscheinlichkeit. Untersuchungen mit Bildschaffenden Methoden machten jedoch deutliche Auswirkungen sichtbar.

Report from field visit presenting the DoubleCrop experiments to stakeholders (growers, advisors).

In dieser Studie wurde das Risiko, dass sich das Erdmandelgras und Japanknöterich mittels ausgebrachtem Kompost oder Gärgut ausbreiten und weitere Parzellen befallen können, evaluiert. Dazu wurden verschiedene Kompostierungs- und Vergärungsversuche unter Praxis und Laborbedingungen durchgeführt.

Cette étude a évalué le risque que le souchet comestible et la renouée du Japon se propagent par le compost ou le digestat et colonisent ainsi de nouvelles parcelles. Pour ce faire, plusieurs essais de compostage et de méthanisation ont été réalisés, dans la pratique et en laboratoire.

Reduced tillage combined with about 10cm of fresh mulch of a mixture of green peas and rye was compared to a system with conventional tillage with a plow for its effects on disease development of Phytophthora infestans. Within tillage treatments the precrops for potatoes were weedy fallow, vetch (Vicia sativa), or a mixture of oilseed radish and black oats with or without compost application. The Area Under the Disease Progress Curve in the minimum tillage and mulched plots was on average 881 while in the plowed plots it was 1336, a highly significant difference. Yield data are currently being analyzed and will be presented.

Bioslurry is used to improve soil fertility, soil structure, and crop productivity and it can be an excellent fertilizer. However, not many farmers are familiar with the advantages of bioslurry. This article brings together the main findings of available research on bioslurry as well as information from the field in Hivos’ and SNV’s biodigester programmes.

Low input methods in apple production

Die Betriebsmittelliste beinhaltet alle für den biologischen Landbau in der Schweiz zugelassenen Dünger und Substrate, Pflanzenschutzmittel, Reinigungs-, Desinfektions- und Hygienemittel, Mittel gegen Parasiten sowie Futter- und Siliermittel. Die Liste ist für die Produzenten von Bio Suisse verbindlich. Grundsätzlich dürfen auf Bio Suisse-Betrieben ausschliesslich die in der Betriebsmittelliste aufgeführten Produkte eingesetzt werden. Ausnahmen sind in den Einleitungen der einzelnen Kapitel vermerkt.Der Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln, Düngern, Futter- und anderen Betriebsmitteln in Schweizer Biolandwirtschaftsbetrieben ist in der “Bio-Verordnung“ und der entsprechenden Verordnung des Eidgenössischen Departements für Wirtschaft, Bildung und Forschung geregelt. Weiterführende Informationen bietet die Website www.betriebsmittelliste.ch. Die geprüften Betriebsmittel für den Einsatz im ökologischen Landbau in Deutschland sind in der Betriebsmittelliste für Deutschland aufgeführt.

The influence of site on resistance of grapevine (cv. Chasselas) to Plasmopara viticola was evaluated. Grapevine leaves from three vineyards in the region of Lake Neuchâtel (Switzerland) were tested for their susceptibility to P. viticola in the lab in five successive years (2004–2008), and the expression levels of four selected defence-related genes (Glucanase, Lipoxygenase 9, 9-cis epoxycarotenoid dioxygenase, Stilbene synthase) were studied in 1 year. In all 5 years of examination, differences between sites were substantial. In four out of 5 years, plants from site Hauvernier were much less susceptible to P. viticola than plants from site Auvernier. In another year, differences were less pronounced but still significant for one leaf age. Susceptibility of plants from a third site (Concise) varied from year to year. Differences in the genetic background were excluded by microsatellite analysis. Differences in susceptibility were mirrored in the constitutive expression pattern of four defence-related genes, with samples from the Hauterive site clearly separated from samples of the other two sites in redundancy analysis. Furthermore, it was evaluated whether site-specific resistance can be modulated by agronomic practices such as the application of organic amendments. In two commercial vineyards (cv. Pinot noir), soils had either not (control) or yearly (compost) been amended with a compost for the last 9 years. Leaves from plants grown in any of the two treatments did not differ in their susceptibility to P. viticola in both years of examination. Additionally, under controlled conditions, none of 19 different composts amended to the substrate of grapevine seedlings or cuttings affected their susceptibility to P. viticola, but 8 out of 19 composts reduced severity in the control bioassay Arabidopsis thaliana—Hyaloperonospora arabidopsidis, indicating that a modulation of site-specific susceptibility of grapevine plants by organic amendments is at the very least, difficult.

Eisen wird von einigen Kulturpflanzen nur schwer aufgenommen, zudem wird es im Boden bei neutralem und basischem pH – Wert schnell als Eisenoxid festgelegt und ist nicht mehr pflanzenverfügbar. Daher wird Eisen üblicherweise zur besseren Aufnahme in Chelatform gedüngt. Ab Mitte 2010 gab es Versorgungsschwierigkeiten mit dem bewährten organischen Eisendünger Optifer. Mittlerweile ist das Produkt wieder verfügbar.

Die Betriebsmittelliste beinhaltet alle für den biologischen Landbau in der Schweiz zugelassenen Dünger und Substrate, Pflanzenschutzmittel, Reinigungs-, Desinfektions- und Hygienemittel, Mittel gegen Parasiten sowie Futter- und Siliermittel. Die Liste ist für die Produzenten von Bio Suisse verbindlich. Grundsätzlich dürfen auf Bio Suisse-Betrieben ausschliesslich die in der Betriebsmittelliste aufgeführten Produkte eingesetzt werden. Ausnahmen sind in den Einleitungen der einzelnen Kapitel vermerkt.

One hundred Swiss composts and digestates were investigated in order to evaluate their influence on plant growth and health. Important differences in biological compost quality and on the impact on soil fertility and on plant health were observed. The most important limiting factor of compost quality is the possible immobilization of mineralized nitrogen by some composts. However, quality composts have a good potential to protect plants against diseases. More attention should be paid to the control of the composting process in order to improve the biological quality of composts with more beneficial effects on crops.

Les cultures maraîchères mettent, de par leur intensivité, le sol à rude contribution. Ceci peut avoir des effets négatifs sur sa fertilité en général et en particulier causer une augmentation de la pression des maladies telluriques. Pour remédier à ces problèmes, le compost de qualité offre une alternative très intéressante. Son action positive sur la santé des plantes est indirecte (entre autres en apportant un mélange d’éléments fertilisants équilibré et en améliorant la structure du sol, son aération et son bilan hydrique) et directe (la microflore bénéfique qu’il contient influençant l‘activité biologie du sol). Les effets positifs des composts ne se limitent pas à protéger les plantes contre les maladies telluriques, mais peuvent également s’observer au niveau des maladies foliaires. L’emploi de composts (ou du compost) peut renforcer la résistance globale des plantes. Divers exemples pratiques de l’utilisation de compost en maraîchage sont présentés ici. Il s’agit d’utilisations après stérilisation du sol à la vapeur, dans les substrats de culture et en plein champs. Tous les composts ne montrent cependant pas la même efficacité. Les aspects de qualité des composts sont à prendre impérativement en compte pour obtenir les résultats souhaités. Les composts ne permettent certainement pas de résoudre tous les problèmes rencontrés, mais peuvent représenter un élément important dans la mosaïque des mesures utilisées pour favoriser la fertilité des sols et la santé des plantes.

A common handbook was conceived in the CORE Organic AGTEC-Org project in order to give some elements of field trial monitoring.

Auf dem Versuchsbetrieb Queckbrunnerhof (DLR Rheinland, Schifferstadt) wurden 2008 bei der Frühjahrskultur von Kohlrabi und Chinakohl neue Dünger auf pflanzlicher Basis mit den gängigen Düngern auf tierischer Basis verglichen.