8FJCW9BE

7764

19 septembre 2023 23:48

19 septembre 2023 23:51

The management of organic cropping system for vegetable production require the use of substantial imported fertilizers, but various European countries gradually ban the use of nutrients from conventional sources of organic matters in organic agriculture. The aim of the present study is to experiment, during two 6 years long rotations, innovative approaches of organic vegetable productions, designed to reduce the reliance on import of external resources. Four cropping systems were developed: the carbon import mixed farming system, without animal manure, without ploughing (S1), the standard self-fertility mixed farming system with balanced animal manure, with ploughing (S2), the soil conservation market gardening system with intensive vegetable production without animal manure (S3) and the standard organic market gardening system with intensive vegetable production, animal manure and ploughing (S4). Through different approaches, cropping systems are relying on green manures, catch crops grown during the autumn or on-farm-produced cut-and-carry lucerne and ramial wood chips as their main source of soil fertility. Average annual import of commercial nitrogen fertilizers was 0, 0, 0, 90 kg N ha−1 in the S1, S2, S3, S4 systems, respectively.Differences in crop yields or quality parameters of the harvested crops, i.e. nutrient content, dry matter content or damages by pests or diseases were few and not systematic, whereas clear effects on carbon (C) and gross nutrient (N, P, K) balances were registered. On average, the S1 and S4 resulted in a well-balanced N annual budget (30 and 8 kg ha-1 N surplus respectively) compared with S2 (-24 kg ha-1 N deficit) and S3 (330 kg ha-1 N surplus). However, the N surplus in S3, coming from leguminous crops, did not increase yield compared to S4 and did not provide high level of soil mineral nitrogen and therefore nitrogen leaching risk. The S1, S2 and S4 had negative annual budgets for K (-30, -88, -45 kg ha-1 respectively) which could explain the slight K content decreases in the top soil layer in every low- or medium input cropping systems. C content in the top soil layer slightly increased during the experiment in each cropping systems. The S4, with annual winter ploughing, was easier to manage regarding weed control, refining seedbed, water management in spring, but decrease the average time available for cover crop development and reduce soil structural stability compared with reduced tillage cropping systems. Intensive vegetable systems S3 and S4, reduce soil biodiversity during the three first experimental years.

None

• AB - Spécifique
• CRA-W
• GEO Belgique
• GEO Wallonie
• azote
• fertilité du sol
• légumes
• qualité

SSRN

40

2023-07-29

29 juillet 2023

10.2139/ssrn.4525647 Le DOI est une URL unique de référencement d'une publication. Il est donc plus fiable et permanent qu'une URL classique