DARCOF · Research > Darcof I > Plant health and quality

Plant health and quality

A key consideration in organic farming is that healthy soil gives healthy plants, of high nutritional value to humans and animals. The health of a plant expresses its ability to protect itself against external influences. This project investigates examples of one type of defence mechanism, secondary metabolites, which on the one hand support the plant's interactions with pests and beneficial organisms, and on the other are crucial for the taste, colour, smell and nutritional quality of the food.

The main theme of this project is to compare the active mechanisms that are available to organic farming for influencing the health and quality of cultivated plants. Since both the environment and choice of variety are crucial elements of the health and quality of plants, the objective of this project is to investigate which of these factors is the more important to optimise in the framework naturally set out by the type of agriculture.

Against this background the projects aims to:

  • increase our understanding of the functions of secondary metabolites in organic farming by relating them to data on soil characteristics and records of plant health and quality obtained in this and other projects

  • quantify general and specific effects of organic soils and plant genotypes on important groups of secon-dary metabolites

  • establish which of the factors that can be manipulated in organic farming have greatest significance for one or more groups of compounds, and ought therefore be put at the centre of attempts to optimise those expressions of plant health and quality which relate to these compounds

  • establish whether secondary metabolites can be used as chemical markers in the production of varieties suitable for organic production and for the development of improved tillage strategies for organic crops

This strategic and basic knowledge will serve as the basis for applied R&D with a view to optimising the yield and quality of organic products. Black currents, barley and peas will serve as model plants. All field trials will be conducted as parts of other DARCOF projects.

Summary
Publications


Project title
I.4 Plant health and quality in relation to tillage strategy and choice of variety

Project leader
Kirsten Brandt,
Danish Institute of Agricultural Science
Kirstinebjergvej 10, DK 5792 Aarslev
Tel: +45 6599 1766. Fax: +45 6599 2566.
E-mail: Kirsten.Brandt@agrsci.dk

Project participants

Carsten Iversen, Per Nielsen Kudsk, Lars Porskjær Christensen and Rikke Nørbæk, Danish Institute of Agricultural Science
Niels Elmegaard, National Environmental Research Institute
Ane Bodil Søgaard, The Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University