PLANT PRODUCTION WORKING GROUP
(RAPPORTEUR: C. STOPES AND CHAIRMAN: D. ZNAOR)
Twelve experts from 12 countries participated, namely: P. Plamen (Bulgaria); H. Niels (Denmark), D. Cristophe (France); R.H. Jugen (Germany); K. Emmanouili (Greece); R. Laszlo (Hungary); Z. Darko (The Netherlands/Croatia) - Chairman; S.L. Elina (Norway); T. Ion (Romania); L-B. Magdalena (Slovak Republic); F. Padrout (Switzerland) and C. Stopes (United Kingdom) - Rapporteur.
Excerpts from the notes taken:
Conventional methods are used in 90 percent of OA research.
- Research should take into account:
- Time frame: short (farmer first), mid (industry, policy/society first), long (research first);
- Hierarchy: gene, variety, species, cropping system: vegetable, arable, grassland, perennial;
- Method: e.g. split-plot, modelling, etc.;
- Type: basic, strategic, applied, adaptive;
- Objectives: whose objectives?
- Position of the researcher: inside versus outside;
- Target group and relevance: consumers, policy makers, farmers, environmentalists, nature conservators, etc.;
- it is estimated that one full-time unit (research labour) is needed for a 20 ha experimental farm;
- analysis of variance (old), non-stocastics/non-orthogonal are non-statistical methods. Development of software enables more alternative statistics;
- conventional approach is more linear, while organic is more circular;
- in comparison studies, there should be a physical difference between the plots (e.g. 0.7 ha as used in DOC experiments is not sufficient in size from the biodiversity and pest and disease point of view);
- most of the industry based extension is input-supply and output-processing based;
- root architecture is an alternative parameter, too;
- types of research;
- basic (e.g. physiology of weed seed germination);
- strategic (e.g. germination in relation to daylight, temperature, etc.);
- applied (e.g. testing different weeding techniques);
- adaptive research.
In each of the research process phases (question identification, methods used, result interpretation and dissemination) either a conventional or alternative/novel route can be taken.
- What is holistic: integrating farmers, topics, wide-set of parameters to be measured, debating socio-economic issues, adopting anthroposophic concept, etc?
- Except image-capturing methods (paper-chromatography, christalography, sensitive chaos method) and phenomenology-methods developed in bio-dynamic agriculture there is hardly any other novel research method developed by OA (maybe only food quality testing method with biophotons). In this sense the myth of OA research methodologies as something unique has to be modified. The same accounts for the approach used e.g. on-farm, farmers-first, participatory and similar flags. In most cases, farmers are involved only in research at the farming system level. Often only two hours per month! It is highly questionable whether farmer's "involvement" of two hours/month is "participation" and in some cases when farmers are just interviewed it might be more a misuse of term.
- OA researcher should be a scientist, technologist and artist at the same time.
- Research question approach and research methods practised in OA research might be less unique, novel, interdisciplinary and holistic than it is usually claimed. The wide set of parameters is what is in most cases holistic, interdisciplinary and novel in OA research; e.g. total system quality, animal welfare index, SA index, quality index (often presented with amaebae-like methods)
CROPPING SYSTEMS AND CROP PRODUCTION
Definition of System Boundaries
EXAMPLE QUESTIONS FROM GROUP
NEED
|
REFLECTION
|
ACTION
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DISSEMINATION
|
Topic
|
Farmer problem/ Research question/ Observation
|
Research methods and practice
|
|
Potato blight
|
During vegetative period appears to be nutrient deficiency
|
Specific research to quantify deficiency and seek appropriate measures to rectify
|
|
Appropriate crop rotations for conversion
|
Conventional 'rotation'- continuous maize. On conversion: appropriate crop rotation for weed control and nutrient management
|
Experimental research trial
- build confidence
- replicated trial
- weed and nutrient management
- agro-ecology
- economic
|
|
N management for cereal crops
|
Farmer interviews, understand questions/systems/ practice
|
On farm trials - 10 farms
|
|
EXAMPLE EXPERTISE IN THE GROUP:
Vegetable Production
|
0
|
Crop Rotation
|
7
|
Cereal
|
2
|
N and Soil Management
|
3
|
Green Manures
|
1
|
Novel Cropping Systems - Intercropping
|
0
|
Weed Management
|
3
|
Plant Production
|
5
|
Manure Management and Composting
|
3
|
Farming Systems
|
3
|
Soil Biology
|
1
|
Pest and Disease Control
|
4
|
Biodiversity
|
1
|
Dissemination
|
0
|
Seed Production and Plant Breeding
|
0
|
Standards
|
0
|
Research Methods, Holistic, Replicated, On-farm, etc.
|
4
|
WORKING GROUP RANKING OF APPROACHES FOR ORGANIC FARMING R&D
Approach
|
1
|
2
|
3
|
4
|
5
|
6
|
7
|
8
|
9
|
10
|
11
|
12
|
Tot
|
Participatory
|
40
|
10
|
90
|
100
|
20
|
80
|
50
|
20
|
20
|
|
20
|
30
|
480
|
"Split plot" ***
|
50
|
20
|
|
|
30
|
20
|
20
|
20
|
20
|
|
20
|
30
|
230
|
Modelling
|
|
7
|
|
|
30
|
|
|
10
|
10
|
|
|
|
57
|
Statistics
|
|
10
|
|
|
20
|
|
|
10
|
10
|
|
20
|
10
|
80
|
Qualitative
|
10
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20
|
Knowledge dev
|
|
10
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20
|
|
30
|
Precision Farm
|
|
7
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
20
|
|
30
|
Pilot farms
|
|
35
|
|
|
|
|
30
|
30
|
30
|
|
|
30
|
155
|
*** "Split plot" includes e.g. lab/growth chamber; Glasshouse; Field experiments.
PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH APPROACH FOR ORGANIC CROP PRODUCTION R&D
Researcher and farmer actively involved in process
|
|
|
|
|
Observe innovative farms
|
|
|
|
|
|
Characterize differences
|
|
|
|
|
|
Identify cause/effect
|
|
|
|
|
Determine predictability in wider range -
|
Agro-ecological region
|
|
|
|
|
|
Pedology
|
|
|
|
|
|
Climate
|
|
|
|
|
|
----------
|
|
|
|
|
|
Farming type
|
|
|
|
Empirical method to refine predicability.
|
|