Systems of organic farming in spring vetch II: Biological response of Aeolothrips intermedius Bagnall and Coccinella septempunctata L.

The effects of four systems of organic farming of spring vetsch on Aeolothrips intermedius Bagnall (Thysanoptera: Aeolothripidae) and Coccinella septempunctata L. (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) population density and the toxicity of several products on predatory insects were studied. The variants were: Control (without using any biological products); combined treatment with Polyversum (biological foliar fertilizer) and Biofa (biological plant growth regulator); treatment with NeemAzal T/S (biological insecticide, a.i. azadirachtin) and treatment with a combination of NeemAzal with Polyversum and Biofa. Variant V was a conventional farming system in which a combination of Nurelle D (synthetic insecticide), Masterblend (foliar fertilizer) and Flordimex 420 (growth regulator) was used as a standard treatment. In the organic farming system that included treatment of plants with the biological insecticide NeemAzal (azadirachtin), the reduction in A. intermedius abundance was 20.7% when it was applied alone and 24.6 % in combination with the organic products Polyversum and Biofa. NeemAzal achieved a lower reduction in the counts of predatory ladybirds C. septempunctata, from 14.9% (alone) to 21.9% (combination). The biological insecticide, applied alone or in combination, was mostly harmless and rarely harmful to A. intermedius. NeemAzal manifested harmlessness to C. septempunctata as its toxic action did not exceed 25%. An analysis of variance regarding product toxicity to A. intermedius and C. septempunctata demonstrated that the type of treatment (the application of insecticides alone or in combination) had the strongest effect on product toxicity. ?he use of neem-based insecticides can be a substantial contribution towards preservation of biodiversity in ecosystems.

Download Full-text

Systems of organic farming in spring vetch I: Biological response of sucking insect pests

Pesticidi i fitomedicina ◽

10.2298/pif1502077n ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 30 (2) ◽

pp. 77-84

Author(s):

Ivelina Nikolova ◽

Natalia Georgieva

Keyword(s):

Plant Growth ◽

Organic Farming ◽

Growth Regulator ◽

Plant Growth Regulator ◽

Farming System ◽

Conventional Farming ◽

Organic System ◽

Foliar Fertilizer ◽

Biological Insecticide ◽

Organic Farming System

Four systems of organic farming and a conventional farming system were studied over the period 2012-2014. The organic system trial variants included: I - an organic farming system without any biological products used (growth under natural soil fertility) - Control; II - an organic farming system involving the use of a biological foliar fertilizer and a biological plant growth regulator (Polyversum+Biofa); III - an organic farming system in which a biological insecticide (NeemAzal T/S) was used; IV - an organic farming system including a combination of three organic products: the foliar fertilizer, the plant growth regulator and the bioinsecticide (Polyversum+Biofa+NeemAzal T/S). Variant V represented a conventional farming system in which synthetic products were used in combination (foliar fertilizer, plant growth regulator and insecticide: Masterblend+Flordimex 420+Nurelle D). Treatment of vetch plants with the biological insecticide NeemAzal in combination with Biofa and Polyversum resulted in the lowest density of sucking pests, compared to all other organic farming methods tested (i.e. without NeemAzal, with NeemAzal alone, and its combination with Biofa and Polyversum). The greatest reduction in pest numbers during the vegetation period in that variant was observed in species of the order Thysanoptera (36.0-41.4%), followed by Hemiptera, and the families Aphididae (31.6-40.3%) and Cicadellidae (27.3-28.6%). This combination showed an efficient synergistic interaction and an increase in biological efficacy as compared to individual application of NeemAzal. The highest toxic impact was found against Thrips tabaci, followed by Acyrthosiphon pisum. An analysis of variance regarding the efficacy against the species A. pisum, E. pteridis and T. tabaci showed that type of treatment had the most dominant influence and statistically significant impact.

Download Full-text

Regime of soil humus rural residential areas organic farming systems

Interdepartmental thematic scientific collection "Agriculture" ◽

10.31073/zem.95.78-81 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 2 (95) ◽

pp. 78-81

Author(s):

L.I. Shkarivska

Keyword(s):

Organic Farming ◽

Rural Areas ◽

Humus Content ◽

Farming Systems ◽

Farming System ◽

Organic Substrates ◽

Residential Areas ◽

Typical Chernozem ◽

Podzolic Soils ◽

Organic Farming System

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.

Download Full-text

Organic Farming Increases the Technical Efficiency of Olive Farms in Italy

Agriculture ◽

10.3390/agriculture11030209 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 11 (3) ◽

pp. 209

Author(s):

Maria Raimondo ◽

Francesco Caracciolo ◽

Concetta Nazzaro ◽

Giuseppe Marotta

Keyword(s):

Organic Farming ◽

Technical Efficiency ◽

Stochastic Frontier ◽

Farming System ◽

Positive Role ◽

Conventional Agriculture ◽

Direct Sales ◽

Organic Farming System ◽

The Impact

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.

Download Full-text