Direct Seeding of Faba Beans in Organic Agriculture

Summary

Field experiments carried out at two experimental sites over two years showed that temporary direct seeding (DS) of faba beans (FAB) is possible in Organic Agriculture (OA) when weed pressure of perennials is low. Weed density of DS treatments was significantly lower when compared with mouldboard plough (MP, control) although no clear effects on annual weeds were given by the precrop oats neither by the amount of crop residues (0, 4, 6 t ha-1) nor the sowing density of autumnal sown oats (0, 600, 1200, 1800 seeds m- ) simulating hail-shattered grains. No significant differences in grain yield but lower costs of labour and fuel were determined for DS compared with MP. Estimated DS gross margins exceeded MP gross margins when DS yield losses remained lower than 0.95 t ha-1 as compared with MP yields.