Organic Team
Increasing the efficiency of nutrient recycling
A nutrient cycle as closed as possible is characteristic of sustainable production. In the regional level this means developing local food systems and exploiting community waste in agriculture.
In farms, closing the nutrient cycle means developing farming techniques and technology so that cattle emissions can be minimized and the nutrients of manure and pre-plant waste will be made useful for cultivated plants at an appropriate time. Recently, the team has produced knowledge on nutrient leaks from outdoor runs, the exploitation of manure and on factors affecting the pre-plant value of legume grasses and the effect of fertilizers on the quality of the products.
Improving the sustainability of the production requires a more efficient use of renewable resources. Together with the MTT Agricultural engineering, the team has developed optimum technology models for organic farming from an economic-ecological viewpoint.
In the soil-plant system the nutrient cycle is closely linked with the biological, physical and chemical qualities of the soil. The aim of the team is to bring about long term experimental fields for the MTT to study fertility.
Local food and local economy
In the BERAS project, Organic team and Ryhti team study the effects of the local food supply on the environment, ecology and local economy of Juva region.
More information on the project website: http://jdb.se/beras/.
Organic grain production
In 2000-2003 we coordinated a project called Vitality for organic barley and participated in a research called Permanent weeds as a threat for grain production (run by MTT Plant protection). In both these projects techniques were developed with the help of which the ability of organic barley to take in nutrients improves and the preconditions for the growth of permanent weeds weaken.
Organic vegetable production
The vegetable research of the team concentrates on the problems of nutrient maintenance in farms. A project called Valttikorttina luomuvihannekset came to an end early in 2004 but the work continues with Vihanneshanke 2004-2006.
Legume grasses
The team has a lot of knowhow on legume grass production. We study for example the feed value of clover grass and one-year pasture mixes and the supplementary sowing techniques of clover grasses.
The team is headed by Jaana Väisänen.
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