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| University of Helsinki |
| Agricultural and forest sciences / Environmental sciences |
| 07.06.2010 13:10 |
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| Organic farming can be a road towards sustainable agriculture |
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| Practiced correctly, organic farming in Finland is productive, and this productivity can be increased considerably. This is one of the conclusions in Paul Riesinger’s dissertation on agronomic challenges for organic crop husbandry. |
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Organic farming is assumed to be less productive than conventional farming. However, organic farming supports soil fertility and biodiversity, the foundations of agricultural productivity, more than does regular conventional farming. Provided an increase in its productivity, organic farming can contribute to the development of sustainable agriculture.
Riesinger explored the two major factors restricting the agronomic productivity of organic crop husbandry under Nordic conditions: nitrogen supply and weed occurrence. He studied perennial red-clover grass leys and spring cereal crops on 34 organic farms located in the southern and the north-western coastal regions of Finland. Herbage growth, the clover content of the ley, biological nitrogen fixation, the occurrence of weed species and weed-crop competition in spring cereal stands were examined in relation to climate conditions, soil properties and management measures.
The results showed that skills and knowledge are crucial in organic farming: the productivity of ley and spring cereal crops on farms managed by full-time farmers who have expertise and experience in organic farming was on the same level as that of the average for all conventional farms located in the respective regions.
-Weed infestation was not generally correlated with the duration of organic farming. Successful weed control requires the integration of long- and short-term crop husbandry, and field-specific management, says Riesinger.
The dissertation proposes many measures aiming at the further development of organic crop husbandry.
-Organic farming can create the foundation for genuinely sustainable agriculture, Riesinger emphasises. However, this also presupposes an integration of crop and animal husbandry.
Paul Riesinger, M.Sc., presented his dissertation, Agronomic challenges for organic crop husbandry, for public examination on the Viikki Campus on May 28, with Docent Perttu Virkajärvi as opponent and Professor Juha Helenius as custodian.
The dissertation is published in the series of the Department of Agricultural Sciences. The dissertation is available as an electronic publication on the E-thesis service at http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-10-4302-4.
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More information:
Paul Riesinger (in German, Swedish or English), tel. +358 40 561 9023, paul.riesinger@novia.fi
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Reference link: |
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http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-10-4302-4
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