There is a demand for new recommendations for pulse seeding rates that will meet the needs of organic farmers. This study was conducted to determine the impact of seeding rate on N2 fixation and N accumulation in lentil and pea and to examine the impact of different seeding rates of lentil and pea on the productivity and N-uptake (i.e., N benefit) in a subsequent wheat crop.<p> The study was performed between 2005 and 2007. Two sites were selected each year of the two-year experiment on certified organic farms in central Saskatchewan. At each location, lentil (<i>Lens culinaris</i> L.) cultivar CDC Sovereign and field pea (<i>Pisum sativum</i> L.) cultivar CDC Mozart were each seeded at five different rates. Wheat (<i>Triticum aestivum</i> L.) cultivar AC Elsa was sown as a non-fixing reference crop at a plant population density of 250 seeds m-2. In the following year, wheat was sown to assess the effect of the pulse seeding rate treatments on the succeeding crop.<p> The pulse crop seeding rates significantly affected the quantity of N2 fixed of lentil and field pea, although %Ndfa (80 to 88% and 79 to 85% for lentil and pea, respectively) typically was unaffected by seeding rate. Yield parameters of following wheat crop were not affected by the seeding rates of the previous pulses. Typically, N contributions increased with increasing seeding rates of both lentil and pea, but there was no detectable difference in N uptake by the following wheat grown on the both pulse stubble. The different seeding rates of organically grown lentil and field pea have impacts on the amount of N2 fixed and N contribution to the soil. However, the differences in N remaining in the soil at different seeding rates of the pulse crops were not detectable in the following wheat crop and the soil N in the following year.

Abstract Based on maintaining healthy soil for sustainable agriculture and enhancing banana disease resistance, Taiwan Banana Research Institute began to conduct organic cultivation on a trial basis in 1998. It had been proved that the morbidity of banana Fusarial wilt disease at organic cultivation plots was significantly lower than that of conventional farming. In order to study the differences of soil microbiota between the organic cultivation plots and the conventional farming areas, physical and chemical properties of the rhizosphere and non- rhizosphere soil samples were assayed during the period of Aug. 2010 to May 2011. The bacterial diversity was analyzed by molecular biology methods, including PCR-DGGE to separate the 16S rDNA V6 ~ V8 region of various bacteria and the recombinant DNA technology by using pGEM-T Easy Vector System to separate and sequence the DNA fragments. The results showed that organic plots was loam soil, but the conventional farming soil was sandy loam with higher sand content. The soil pH in 13 years organic area was mildly alkaline, but in conventional farming area was mildly acidic to slightly acidic. The content of various nutrients in organic 13-year area soil was not necessarily higher than the conventional farming area soil. The available nutrient contents in organic areas trend to be more stable than that in the conventional areas. Fertilization may affect the content of available nutrients in the soil. No bacterial DNA could be extracted from the organic fertilizer. The bacterial microbiota in soil was very stable, and was not related to the sampling seasons. The Banana strains had little effect on soil bacterial microbiota. There was no difference on the bacterial microbiota between the rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil samples. It is not sure whether there were any differences on the bacterial microbiota between the nearby soil of banana Fusarial wilt plants and the nearby soil of the healthy plants. By analyzing the DNA fragment clone library, 43 strains correspond to known category, of which 28 belonged to the Proteobacteria, and 34 were uncultured strains. The role of these microbial strains might involve in various element cycles, such as N cycles, C cycles, and S cycles (including some photosynthetic bacteria). The systematic cladogram showed that organic 13-year areas, organic 3-year areas and conventional farming areas represented three major categaries. The organic 13-year area and conventional area possessed the highest difference on the microbiota composition.

Kombiniert mit Versuchsergebnissen und Erfahrungsberichten aus der Praxis fasst die Broschüre die wichtigsten Anbauinformationen über die Ölfrüchte im ökologischen Landbau zusammen. Neben Raps, Sonnenblumen und Lein werden Aspekte des Anbaus von der Aussaat bis zur Ernte von bislang kaum angebauten Arten wie Senf, Leindotter, Ölmohn, Saflor und Sojabohnen beschrieben.

In zwei Berichten werden der Einfluss von Saattermin und Gülledüngung sowie unterschiedliche Maßnahmen zur Unkrautregulierung auf Ertrag und Qualität von Silomais im ökologischen Landbau dokumentiert. Ein früher Saattermin erhöht die TM-Erträge. Alle geprüften Ausbringungsverfahren an Rindergülle (vor Saat breitflächig, Unterfußdüngung, 2-Blattstadium Injektion, 6-8-Blattstadium Schleppschlauch) sind praxistauglich und führen zu höheren Erträgen und besseren Qualitäten. Die Feldversuche zeigen, dass je nach vorhandener Technik verschiedene Strategien der Unkrautregulierung erfolgreich umgesetzt werden können.

Tez (Doktora) - Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi, Fen Bilimleri Enstitüsü, Bahçe Bitkileri Anabilim Dalı, 2008. / Kaynakça var.

This thesis aims to investigate the attitudes towards organic farming and how agricultural space is understood among organic farmers in the Swedish region of Halland and then to relate this to the ongoing discussion on multifunctional agricultural transition. The research is based on a field study on nine different organic farms in Halland, where qualitative interviews have been conducted for the creation of the empirical results. Using the theory of planned behavior and the concept of the “good farmer”, the thesis has revealed that the organic farming community in Halland is heterogeneous and different perspectives and attitudes are expressed about organic farming and agriculture. While the farmers are driven by many aspects of organic farming, the attitudes towards agriculture are often in line with traditional productivist ideals highlighting clean fields and high yields, even though many organic farmers have started to question the traditional norms often due to the different conditions met by organic farmers. Due to the various attitudes represented, the range within the multifunctional agricultural spectrum is rather wide were some organic farmers understand agricultural space more in line with productivist ideals while others express attitudes in line with organic farming principles, suggesting a strong multifunctional understanding of agricultural space.

Darbo tikslas – nustatyti fosforo trąšų įtaką dirvožemio elektrocheminių parametrų kaitai bei miežių grūdų kokybės parametrams. Darbo uždaviniai: o nustatyti sertifikuotų ekologiškų fosoforo trąšų fosforitmilčių įtaką dirvožemio elektrocheminėms savybėms; o nustatyti sertifikuotų fosforo trąšų įtaką žemės ūkio augalų grūdų elektrocheminėms savybėms. Darbo objektas – Lietuvos žemės ūkio universiteto Agroekologijos centro ekologinės gamybos ūkio dirvožemis bei jame auginti vasariniai miežiai. Darbo rezultatai. Lietuvos žemės ūkio universiteto Agroekologijos centro ekologinės gamybos ūkyje atlikus sertifikuotų fosforo trąšų įtakos dirvožemio elektrocheminėms savybėms tyrimus, nustatyta, kad patręšus P60 fosforitmičių norma esminiai padidėjo dirvožemio pH rodiklio reikšmė, lyginant su netręštu dirvožemiu bei tręšimu P90 ir P120 normomis. Tiriant dirvožemio savitojo elektrinio laidžio reikšmes prieš tręšimą fosforo trąšomis pavasarį ir po vasarinių miežių derliaus nuėmimo, nustatyta, kad dirvožemio savitojo elektrinio laidžio reikšmės sumažėjo esminiai. Ištyrus dirvožemio savitąjį elektrinį laidį rudenį po tręšimo fosforo trąšomis, nustatyta, kad dirvožemio savitasis elektrinis laidis esminiai padidėjo, lyginant su dirvožemio ėminiais, paimtais po vasarinių miežių nupjovimo, bet negauta esminių skirtumų, lyginant su dirvožemio ėminiais paimtais pavasarį prieš vasarinių miežių tręšimą. Patręšus didžiausia tirta P120 fosforo trąšų norma, esminiai padidėjo dirvožemio redokso... [toliau žr. visą tekstą] / The thesis aims at defining the effect of phosphatic fertilizers on the change of electrochemical parameters of the soil and the quality parameters of barleycorn. The goals of the thesis are as follows: • determination of the effect of bone meal as a certified organic phosphatic fertilizer on the electrochemical parameters of the soil. • determination of the effect of certified phosphatic fertilizers on the electrochemical parameters of the crop grain. The soil of the organic farm of the Agro-ecological Centre of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture and spring barley grown therein constitute fall within the scope of the thesis. Findings. Research of the effect of certified phosphatic fertilizers on the electrochemical parameters of the soil in the organic farm of the Agro-ecological Centre of the Lithuanian University of Agriculture shows that application of the standard P60 bone meal resulted in a considerable increase of the pH value of the soil, as compared to unfertilized soil or use of the standard P90 and P120. The analysis of the values of soil conductivity before application of phosphatic fertilizers in spring and after reaping of spring barley reveals that the values of soil conductivity decreased to a remarkable extent. After testing of soil conductivity in autumn after use of phosphatic fertilizers it was established that soil conductivity, as compared to the soil samples taken after reaping of spring barley, considerably increased, however, testing shows no... [to full text]

This thesis focused on the conversion period from conventional to organic agriculture for a Quebec dairy farm. The crucial problem resided in developing an economic framework to evaluate alternative crop rotations that would provide farmers in transition an optimal rotation plan compatible with organic farming practices. / Two multi-period linear programming models were developed for that purpose, both models having different assumptions concerning effects that the transition might have on crop yield. / In both transitional models, two crop rotations were selected in the optimal solution. In addition, the establishment of crop rotations was comparable for both models, and this showed that the assumed drop in yield did not have a large impact on the selection of crop rotation. Also, the results support the notion that conversion to organic agriculture had a relatively less negative effect on farm profit if the transition was done gradually.

Im ersten Teil des Heftes wird der Einfluss von Stroh- und Gründüngung auf den Ertrag und die Qualität von Öko-Hafer untersucht. 3-jährige Feldversuche zeigen, dass Strohdüngung einen leichten, nicht signifikanten Ertragsrückgang bei Hafer zur Folge hat. Gründüngung dagegen führt sowohl mit Leguminosen als auch mit Gras zu deutlichen Mehrerträgen. In einem weiteren Beitrag werden 10 Jahre Ökolandbau im Lehr- und Versuchsgut Köllitsch ausgewertet. Dabei zeigt sich, dass trotz negativer Nährstoffbilanzen für N, P, K und Mg lediglich bei K eine Unterversorgung messbar wird. Die Erträge der angebauten Kulturen spiegeln bislang noch keinen K-Mangel wider. Die Humusbilanz der Fruchtfolge ist trotz unterbliebener organischer Düngung positiv. Die Veröffentlichung bietet Informationen für Öko-Landwirte und Umstellungsinteressierte.

It has been argued that organic farming sustains a higher biodiversity than conventional farming. This might promote the ecosystem services that exist in agricultural landscapes such as pollination and pest control. Here, I examined the effect of farming system (organic vs. conventional) with respect to the time since farming system transition, landscape heterogeneity and plant richness on pollinating and predatory insects. In total, data from 30 farms were used, of which 20 were organic and 10 were conventional. The data were analyzed using general linear models and model averaging. The results show that insect groups responded differently to various factors. Pollinators were more sensitive to landscape complexity, showing an increase of abundance and species richness with an increased heterogeneity. Predators on the other hand reacted to farming system, where there was an increase in abundance and species richness on organic farms.