Climate and farming system dominate wheat yield responses across European pedoclimatic zones, despite widespread soil nutrient surpluses
Background and aims European wheat production faces the challenge of maintaining yields while reducing environmental impacts from agrochemicals. Organic farming is often considered a sustainable alternative to promote soil health and reduce chemical inputs. This study assessed nutrient status in wheat soils across nine European pedoclimatic zones, comparing conventional and organic systems and evaluating management […]
Effects of crop rotation and organic fertilization on microbial biomass and enzyme kinetics in a long-term stockless/veganic field experiment
We need to radically transform our food and agriculture system to stay within the planetary boundaries. Sustainably increasing plant production while substantially reducing animal production unveils the need of alternatives to both chemical-based conventional and animalbased organic agriculture. In stockless farming systems, legume–grass mixtures provide no direct economic return; therefore, their proportion in crop rotations […]
How do nutrient supply and reduced tillage influence weed flora and its impact on grain maize growth under organic farming?
Nutrient management and weed control are two major issues in organic farming. Reducing tillage has many benefits for soil fertility. To improve management strategies in stockless organic agriculture, it remains important to properly understand the impact of nutrient supply and tillage on weed communities and the impact of those communities on crop yield. The aim […]
Web‑Man – a new software for web‑based nutrient management in organic farming
An essential prerequisite for the successful expansion of organic farming is an optimal nutrient supply to increase and stabilise yields and reduce the yield gap compared to conventional farming. To date, there is no practical software designed for organic farming, that supports farmers and advisors in soil organic carbon and nutrient management and maps all […]
Organic fertilizers in fruit orchards (Biofruitnet Practice Abstract)
Fertilization of organic fruit orchards strongly relies on authorized external commercial fertilizers leading to nutrient flows from conventional into organic farming systems. The use of alternative fertilizers including legume-based materials and non-contentious external commercial fertilizers, should be based on locally available resourced. An integrated approach is recommended. Alternating and integrating different fertilizers, depending on the […]
Agronomic Efficiency of Animal-Derived Organic Fertilizers and Their Effects on Biology and Fertility of Soil: A Review
The review is published in the Journal of Agronomy. Healthy soils are essential for progressive agronomic activities. Organic fertilization positively affects agro-ecosystems by stimulating plant growth, enhancing crop productivity and fruit quality and improving soil fertility. Soil health and food security are the key elements of Organic Agriculture 3.0. Landfilling and/or open-dumping of animal wastes […]
Meta-analysis of nutrient budgets in organic farms across Europe
A scientific publication for the project “Relacs – Improving inputs for organic farming”. Nutrient supply to organic farms is a highly discussed topic in Europe, due to the restricted availability of external fertilizer resources and the use of contentious inputs. To optimize the flow of nutrients throughout the organic farming system, it is firstly necessary […]
