Technical provision of organic farming in Russia: problems and prospects

Summary

Currently farmers that are starting to engage in organic crop production, mostly oriented to conventional technologies, making small changes, and use the available agricultural tools. However, agricultural plants environment in the organic field characterized by physical, chemical and biological properties which different from intensive farming options. These conditions should be reflected in the selection of appropriate technological operations, which in turn fit into certain limitations.
Research on the adaptation of the basic crop cultivation technologies to the requirements of organic production is carried out in IAEP.For that purpose we developed a model of perspective technical and technological provision of organic farmers. The model considers a set of organic crop rotation, and for each crop of which the corresponding organic technology used. Technical means are selected from the general list contained in the model, depending on the size of the farm and the selected level of crop productivity. Economic and environment indicators are also calculated.
Particular attention of the model is drawn to the following group operations: mechanical tillage, application of organic fertilizers, weed and pest control.
Generally, organic farmers use ordinary technical means, but the model also considers promising.
We use tillage system with different depths for organic crop rotation: cereal crops - at depth of 12 - 16 cm, for vegetable crops and potatoes at depth of 22 - 24 cm by mould board plough. In the presence of strongly marked "subsoil layer" or waterproof horizon the subsoil shattering is conducted to a depth of 45 cm by chisel cultivator. Fall tillage is an effective way to control weeds, diseases and pests.
Promising is the use of technical means for the local application of solid manure in the furrow.
A particularly important task in organic agriculture is weed control. In addition to crop rotation, the cultivation of root crops used ridge system and previously developed and then half-forgotten, rotary harrows to handle the ridge slopes during the growing season. Such rotary harrows were very effective for weed control in potatoes field experiment in 2016.
Following operations: seeds cover by biological drugs; biological drugs application during seeding and on plants during vegetations, are including in technologies for organic control of deceases and pests.
As a promising area is consider to use one of the physical methods for the precise removal of weeds. Also, the idea of precision agriculture can be used for imaging of a disease or pest on vegetation and accurate extermination on the small patch by biological drugs.
The model of promising technical and technological provision of organic farm can be transformed into a software system that will be useful for agricultural producers engaged in organic crop production, as well as organizations providing their technical means.