creators_name: Nachimuthu, Gunasekhar
creators_name: Kristiansen, Paul
creators_name: Lockwood, Peter
creators_name: Guppy, Chris
type: conference_item
datestamp: 2005-11-23
lastmod: 2009-08-20 14:25:26
metadata_visibility: show
title: A comparison of soil properties under organic and conventional farming in Australia
ispublished: unpub
subjects: 1soilqual
full_text_status: restricted
keywords: Organic and Conventional production, Australia, soil properties, review
abstract: Organic farming is an alternative to conventional farming for providing sustainable crops with high export demand. This review analyses research findings on organic farming in Australia, with an emphasis on soil health. Several reports have indicated that organic farm management generally improves soil physical properties in Australia and elsewhere. Although low nitrogen (N) availability can constrain yields, organic farmers can improve N supply through legume green manures. Plant available phosphorus (P) is a more serious limiting factor in organic farming, particularly in Australia with naturally low P levels. Phosphorus is less easily replaced in the soil than N, and there is a need for alternate sources of organic-certified P and methods to enhance P availability from existing inputs such as rock phosphate. The role of micro-organisms in improving soil health nutrient availability is discussed, as well as the use of P accumulator crops such as Acacia and Tithonia, which could be incorporated as border crops or green leaf manure.
date: 2005
date_type: published
refereed: yes
citation: Nachimuthu, Gunasekhar; Kristiansen, Paul; Lockwood, Peter and Guppy, Chris (2005) A comparison of soil properties under organic and conventional farming in Australia. Researching Sustainable Systems - International Scientific Conference on Organic Agriculture, Adelaide, Australia, September 21-23, 2005. [ Unpublished, ]
document_url: http://orgprints.org/4362/4/Nachimuthu_etal_4p_revised-ed.doc