Strategies to improve quality and safety and reduce cost of peroduction in organic and low-input crop production systems

Summary

Organic crop production seeks to produce high quality foods while reducing the inputs in order to promote environmental quality and conserve resources. This necessitates optimal production systems in terms of soil fertility and plant health. Studies in QLIF subproject 3 have shown that soils may gain an improved potential to release N from badded amendments through adaptation of management practices. Likewise, long-term management strategies may influence suppressiveness of soils to economically important diseases. Application of manures and other organic soil fertility inputs do not pose any additional safety risk in ready-to-eat vegetables, such as head lettuce, if good farming practice is applied. Even under experimental worst-case conditions, pathogen transfer from soil treated with farmyard manure to vegetables was not substantial.
Pest and disease control was studied both at seed and field levels, and it was shown, e.g., that ß-amino-butyric acid was efficient in controlling downy mildew in lettuce under field conditions. Finally, for organic wheat production systems, an integrated assessment indicated that yields and protein contents can be increased by improved cultivar choice and fertility management regimes promoting biological N fixation in the soil.