scholarly journals The problems of breeding new varieties of forage and other plants for improving the soil in organic farming in Russia

2021 ◽  
Vol 901 (1) ◽  
pp. 012053
Author(s):  
S I Kostenko ◽  
N Yu Kostenko ◽  
E G Sedova ◽  
K S Kharkov

Abstract In the agriculture of Russia, organic farming is still relatively uncommon, aimed at obtaining ecologically pure food products of the highest quality category. Such agriculture is characterized by minimal use (up to complete rejection of the use) of various pesticides and other agrochemicals. Tillage under such a farming system is also minimized. At the same time, the use of green manure plants is of great importance. The most famous of these is the seradella. But this culture is most common in the southern regions. In Western Europe, it has been used for this purpose for hundreds of years. On the territory of our country, other crops are used and mainly these are fodder plants: yellow lupine, narrow-leaved lupine, white lupine, hedgehog, perennial ryegrass, white mustard. gray mustard, spring rape, winter rape, spring vetch, winter furry vetch, meadow clover and many others. To create specialized varieties, the main thing is to select plants that, to the maximum extent, will be able to suppress the development of weeds, increase soil fertility, and make poorly soluble nutrients available. In our country, there is a huge number of soil differences and climate features (temperatures, rainfall and their distribution by seasons, etc.), therefore, the creation of one variety of each crop for the entire country is extremely difficult. The requirements for green manure and normal use of plants of the same crop differ sharply. For example, the presence in fodder plants of hydrocyanic acid, glucosinolates and other substances toxic to animals is unacceptable, and their presence in green manure crops, as a rule, is not harmful, and often useful. There are also differences in the requirements for the rate of development and longevity of varieties. Therefore, the standards for breeding varieties intended for green manure fallows or cover crops differ significantly from the requirements for a variety for other purposes - such varieties should be distinguished by rapid seed germination, rapid growth of green mass, such varieties may not differ in longevity, since they are used for one season, often they winter hardiness is not needed. Work in this direction has begun, there are specialized first varieties, but for many cultures this work is just beginning.

Author(s):  
Joseph E. O. Ansa ◽  
Kingsley O. Wiro

The need for sustainability has been the focus of every country especially developing countries of which Nigeria belongs. Population increases at an uncontrollable dimension and the provision of food for the populace becomes paramount. The productivity of crops is seriously hampered due to influence of weds which reduce the quantity and quality of plants by affecting plants growth, development and yield. Weeds reduce crops performance by as much as 80% in an uncontrolled situation. To increase crops yield and control weeds, synthetic substances like inorganic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides were introduced into Nigerian cropping system. These off-farm-inputs caused soil degradation, soil compartment, soil pollution and environmental hazard as well as life uncertainty (insecurity) as herbicides enter water bodies and affect animals and human when such polluted underground water is used. Research on more efficient and effective means of saving the soil from destruction and adequate weed control measures gave rise to organic farming. The emergence of organic weed control is geared towards the effective control of weeds with environmental consideration and soil enrichment. Many organic weed control measures have been identified in Nigerian cropping system to include: use of cover crops, use of green manure, use of crop rotation, use of soil fauna, tillage, use of allelopathic plants, use of farmyard manures and biofertilizers. It was recommended that for increased food production to be achieved, organic farming system should be adopted, government at all levels should give more attention to the training of more personnel who will adequately control weeds, organic weed control measures should be advocated (encouraged) and there should be enlightenment for the Nigerian farmers on the need to adopt organic weed control measures in their cropping system for increased crop productivity.


2018 ◽  
Vol 2 (95) ◽  
pp. 78-81
Author(s):  
L.I. Shkarivska

The changes of the soil’s humus soil within the rural areas are investigated for the organic farming system. The most significant impact of organic agriculture on humus content over 55% was observed on soddy podzolic soils (V>75%), the lowest –7,5% on typical chernozem (V≈16%). Changes in the qualitative composition of humus for the introduction of various types of organic substrates are analyzed.


2011 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hiroshi Uchino ◽  
Kazuto Iwama ◽  
Yutaka Jitsuyama ◽  
Keiko Ichiyama ◽  
Eri Sugiura ◽  
...  

Agriculture ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 209
Author(s):  
Maria Raimondo ◽  
Francesco Caracciolo ◽  
Concetta Nazzaro ◽  
Giuseppe Marotta

While there is growing recognition of the positive role played by organic farming in the reduction of the negative externalities due to conventional agriculture, there is uncertainty about the effect of the latter on the economic performance of the farms. In this scenario, the present paper aims at investigating the effect of organic farming on technical efficiency in Italian olive farms. A cross-section dataset was analyzed through the stochastic frontier function, where the adoption of organic farming was explicitly modeled. Then, to obtain an unbiased estimate of the impact of organic farming on technical efficiency, a propensity score matching method was implemented. The findings reveal that organic farming increases technical efficiency in Italian olive farms by approximately 10%. The highest impact of organic farming is observed in small farms. As for the propensity to become organic, we found that the production and the direct sales of a higher quality of gross marketable output, as well as the intensity of labor and machines, increase the probability to adopt organic farming. Conversely, farm localization, the availability of family labor, and financial capital discourage conversion to the organic farming system.


Insects ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 220
Author(s):  
Jo Marie Reiff ◽  
Sebastian Kolb ◽  
Martin H. Entling ◽  
Thomas Herndl ◽  
Stefan Möth ◽  
...  

Habitat simplification and intensive use of pesticides are main drivers of global arthropod declines and are, thus, decreasing natural pest control. Organic farming, complex landscapes, and local vineyard management practices such as implementation of flower-rich cover-crop mixtures may be a promising approach to enhance predator abundance and, therefore, natural pest control. We examined the effect of organic versus integrated management, cover-crop diversity in the vineyard inter-rows, and landscape composition on the natural pest control of Lobesia botrana eggs and pupae. Predation of L. botrana pupae was reduced by organic farming and species-poor cover-crops by about 10%. Predation rates of L. botrana eggs did not differ significantly in any of the studied management options. Dominant predators were earwigs (Forficulidae), bush crickets (Tettigoniidae), and ants (Formicidae). Negative effects of organic viticulture are most likely related to the negative nontarget effects on arthropods related to the frequent sulfur and copper applications in combination with the avoidance of strongly damaging insecticides by integrated winegrowers. While a 10% difference in predation rates on a single pest stage is unlikely to have strong practical implications, our results show that the assumed effectiveness of environmentally friendly agriculture needs to be evaluated for specific crops and regions.


2012 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 60-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven J. Shirtliffe ◽  
Eric N. Johnson

AbstractOrganic farmers in western Canada rely on tillage to control weeds and incorporate crop residues that could plug mechanical weed-control implements. However, tillage significantly increases the risk of soil erosion. For farmers seeking to reduce or eliminate tillage, potential alternatives include mowing or using a roller crimper for terminating green manure crops (cover crops) or using a minimum tillage (min-till) rotary hoe for mechanically controlling weeds. Although many researchers have studied organic crop production in western Canada, few have studied no-till organic production practices. Two studies were recently conducted in Saskatchewan to determine the efficacy of the following alternatives to tillage: mowing and roller crimping for weed control, and min-till rotary hoeing weed control in field pea (Pisum sativum L.). The first study compared mowing and roller crimping with tillage when terminating faba bean (Vicia faba L.) and field pea green manure crops. Early termination of annual green manure crops with roller crimping or mowing resulted in less weed regrowth compared with tillage. When compared with faba bean, field pea produced greater crop biomass, suppressed weeds better and had less regrowth. Wheat yields following pea were not affected by the method of termination. Thus, this first study indicated that roller crimping and mowing are viable alternatives to tillage to terminate field pea green manure crops. The second study evaluated the tolerance and efficacy of a min-till rotary harrow in no-till field pea production. The min-till rotary hoe was able to operate in no-till cereal residues and multiple passes did not affect the level of residue cover. Field pea exhibited excellent tolerance to the min-till rotary hoe. Good weed control occurred with multiple rotary hoe passes, and pea seed yield was 87% of the yield obtained in the herbicide-treated check. Therefore, this second study demonstrated that min-till rotary hoeing effectively controls many small seeded annual weeds in the presence of crop residue and thus can reduce the need for tillage in organic-cropping systems.


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nelson Virgilio Piraneque Gambasica ◽  
Sonia Esperanza Aguirre Forero ◽  
Adriano Reis Lucheta

Vegetative soil cover mitigates climatic variability and enhances the balance between mineralization and humification processes. Under aerobic conditions, most of the carbon that enters the soil is labile, but a small fraction (1%) is humified and stable, contributing to the soil carbon reserve; therefore, it is important to assess the carbon content captured after green manure cultivation and decomposition. During two consecutive semesters, July to December 2016 and January to June 2017, green manure plots (<em>Zea mays </em>L., <em>Andropogon sorghum </em>subsp.<em> sudanensis </em>and <em>Crotalaria longirostrata</em>) were cultivated individually, in a consortium or amended with palm oil agro-industrial biosolids in a randomized complete block design with 12 treatments. Once decomposed, the different carbon fractions (organic, oxidizable, non-oxidizable, removable and total) were determined. The results showed high total and organic carbon contents under the sorghum treatment, at 30 and 28 Mg ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively, followed by those under the fallow + biosolid treatment, at 29.8 Mg ha<sup>-1</sup> and 27.5 Mg ha<sup>-1</sup>, respectively. Despite the short experiment duration and the possible contributions of previous management on recalcitrant carbon soil stocks, these findings suggest the importance of maintaining plant cover and utilizing green manure in the Colombian Caribbean region. Long-term experiments may be conducted to confirm the full potential of cover crops on carbon sequestration under tropical semiarid conditions.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (3) ◽  
pp. 194-207
Author(s):  
PIET GELEYNS

The Hoge Kempen rural industrial transition landscape: a layered landscape of Outstanding Universal Value? Up until the beginning of the 20th century, the eastern part of the Belgian province of Limburg was a sparsely populated and not very productive part of the country. The dominating heathland was maintained with sheep, which were an essential part of a small-scale extensive farming system. This all changed when coal was discovered in 1901. Seven large coalmines were established in a few decades, each one employing thousands of coal-miners. This also meant that entire new garden cities were built, to house the coal-miners and their families. The confrontation between the small-scale traditional land-use and the new large-scale industrial developments defines the landscape up to today. The scale and the force of the turnover are considered unprecedented for Western Europe, which is why it is being presented by Belgium for inclusion in the World Heritage List.


Author(s):  
Ahmed Abu Shaban

Organic farming has achieved significant growth in developing countries. However, it is still in some areas such as Gaza strip at embryonic stage. Introduction and promotion of organic farming would need more information about economic feasibility of shifting from the existing conventional farms to organic farming system. This is the main aim of this study. Data was collected from 100 randomly selected farmers in southern area of Gaza strip using standard questionnaire. Additional focus group discussions were conducted for further qualitative analyses. Data was also collected from the organic farm of Safe Agriculture Association where vegetables are organically produced and marketed. Gross margin and comparative analyses were used to describe cost structure of conventional and organic production and to assess economic potentialities to shift to organic farming. Results varied among vegetable crops as some crops showed very high economic potential to shift to organic farming while other crops did not. Major reasons for crops with good potential were higher yield under organic farming, premium market prices and lower production costs. Major reasons for lower economic potential to shift were the significant lower yield and higher production costs. The study recommends further technical research to explore organic production techniques that allows for higher yield and lower production cost. The study also recommends further market research to investigate consumers' preferences and willingness to pay for organic products.


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