The legacy of stockless organic conversion strategies

Summary

Huxham et al. (2005) reported the impacts of seven conversion strategies on the first organic crop (winter wheat). This paper investigates the effect of the conversion strategies on the second (winter beans) and third (winter oats) organic crops, thereby extending the analysis throughout the fi rst complete rotation. Conversion strategy had a significant impact on organic bean yield, which ranged from 2.84 to 3.62 t ha-1 and organic oat yield, which ranged from 3.24 to 4.17 t ha-1. In the organic bean crop, weed abundance prior to harvest, along with soil texture, accounted for 70% of yield variation. For the oats, soil mineral nitrogen in November together with weed abundance in April, accounted for 72% of the variation in yield. Annual average gross margins, calculated over the two year conversion period and the first three organic crops, ranged from £274 to £459 ha-1.