Newsletter from Danish Research Centre for Organic Farming • September 2004 • No. 3

Higher antioxidant content in organic milk than in conventional milk due to feeding strategy

Over recent years, several studies have shown that differences in the composition of organic and conventional milk are either small or non-existent. However, a new study, made by the Danish Institute of Agricultural Sciences and the Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, shows that the content of antioxidants is significantly higher in organic milk.

Read the article

Low nitrate leaching from long-term grass-clover

The decoupling of EU payments and increasing farm sizes will lead to long-term pastures on dairy farms. Experiments with 4-8 year old grass-clover leys showed low nitrate leaching when extensively managed due to less grazing and reduced nitrogen fixation by clover.

Read the article

Lupin grows well where pea is destroyed by soil borne diseases and vice versa

Pea plants grow successfully on land infested with Fusarium spp. pathogenic to lupin. Conversely, lupin plants grow well on land infested with the pea destroying pathogen Aphanomyces eutieches. Growth of faba bean is apparently not strongly affected by any of these severe pea and lupin pathogens. Read the article

Nitrate leaching in organic arable crop rotations

Nitrate leaching was studied at three soil types in Denmark during an organic crop rotation experiment. Leaching losses were largest from the coarse sand at Jyndevad and lowest from the sandy loam at Flakkebjerg. There was no effect of manure application and crop rotations on the nitrate leaching. The use of catch crops reduced nitrate leaching significantly by 30-38% on the two sandy soils. At all locations catch crops reduced the year averaged nitrate concentration to drinking water quality in the crop rotation with green manure.

Read the article

Band-steaming reduces laborious hand-weeding in vegetables

Band-steaming is a new method that may reduce the need for hand-weeding in demanding row crops like carrot and drilled onion. Band-steaming only affects a soil volume equal to the intra-row area of the subsequent crop, and effectively kills the weed seeds in this soil volume. Side-effects on beneficial soil organisms are minimized as compared to current steaming technology, but still need to be assessed. Read the article

Soil organic carbon as an indicator of soil quality

Soil organic carbon (SOC) is necessary for a good soil quality and for sustainable farming. Yet, the soil organic carbon content cannot be used as a universal soil quality indicator independent of soil type and climatic conditions. Increases in SOC can be achieved through a versatile crop rotation, which has a greater impact on SOC than the application of organic manure.

Read the article

Contamination of oilseed rape varieties by pollen and seeds

Field trials show that certified seeds of the oilseed rape varity Canberra deviate genetically from plants in the field. Thus, harvest and post-harvest procedures should probably be included in the evaluation of the risk of adventitious presence of GMO in organic crops. More..

Broilers reduce the apple sawfly population in organic apple growing

New experiments show that combining chicken and fruit production may reduce the problem with apple sawfly. Yet, poultry alone is not a sufficient way of controlling sawflies. More..

Threshold levels for seed borne diseases in organic cereals

Seed borne diseases is a problem in organic seed production. Current practice is to discard the seed lot if infections exceed the threshold for treatment of conventional seeds. Adjustment of threshold values, better diagnostic methods, and preventive control may reduce the number of seed lots discarded. More..

New fungicides for apple scab control in organic growing

In the future control of apple scab in organic apple growing could be based on the use of natural fungicides like plant extracts and oils. Current projects are testing this idea. More..

Major congress on Organic Farming, Food Quality and Human Health

A major international congress organised jointly by European researchers and the organic farming movement will take place in Newcastle upon Tyne in January 2005. More...

News briefs

Updates on SAFO and EISfoM. More..