Current Use Of Copper And Mineral Oils Inputs In Organic Production Across 10 Countries In Europe

Summary

The use of contentious inputs in organic growing was mapped across Europe in the H2020 project Organic- PLUS (GA774340) during 2018. This paper presents results on the use of copper and mineral oils linked to plant protection in several horticultural crops grown across 10 countries in Europe. Among the investigated crops (mainly citrus, olive, tomato, potato, strawberry), large amounts of copper are used mainly by Mediterranean growers in citrus, olive and potato. For crops like citrus and olives the limit of 6 kg per ha and per year may not be always respected. Tomato producers apply high amounts of copper in winter crops (greenhouses). The project aims to develop alternatives to these contentious inputs, which will be presented.