sÉminaire résultats de la recherche en agriculture ... · sÉminaire résultats de la recherche...

SÉMINAIRE Résultats de la recherche en

agriculture biologique dans l’Est du Canada –

Programme

Partie 3 • Impacts de l’agriculture biologique sur l’environnement et les gaz à effet de serre

(Environmental Goods and Services – Organic Systems) ............................ page 54 • Phytoprotection et techniques en cultures fruitières (New Techniques for Organic

Fruit Production) ...........................................................................................page 63 • Caractérisation des sols – Utilisation du Folsomia candida comme indicateur

(Measuring the Biological, Physicaland Chemical Characteristics of Highand Low Input Systems)..............................................................................................page 65

NSAC. Science Applied to Life.

Nova ScotiaAgriculturalCollege

ENVIRONMENTAL GOODS AND

SERVICES – ORGANIC SYSTEMS

D. Lynch, Mar. 2008



RESEARCH

Applied agronomic and livestock research is crucial to advance organic agriculture.

Organic research is developing methods of benefit to all farmers

Farm Profits

HealthyEnvironment

and Food

Organic Conventional



Can Organic Contribute to Multiple Policy Goals?



‘Agriculture, generally, is multifunctional,and organic is about multifunctionalitymore than most systems’

MacRae et al., 2004

07-BIO-20 54



Values Chain

Branded productionsystem… not product

Linking consumers withproducers



Reasons for purchasing organic

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Europe NorthAmerica

Global

Kinder toanimalsBetter for theenvironmentHealthier for mychildrenHealthier for me

ACNielsen, 2006



Measurable Benefits of Organic

• Biodiversity

• Energy Use

• Environmental Risk

• Soil Health

• Soil Carbon Storage

• Ethical Treatment of Animals

• Rural Revitalization

• Climate Change



Boutin et al. 2008. AEE 123:185-193

Ontario study of fields and field margins on 16conventional and 14 organic farms.

Fields and hedgerows on organic sitesconsistently harboured more native and exoticplant species.

Biodiversity

07-BIO-20 55



Hoeppner et al. 2006. RAFS 21:60-67

Twelve year comparative cropping system/rotationstudy in Manitoba.

Energy use was 50% lower in organic thanconventional system

Energy efficiency (output/input) also higher in organic

Energy Use and Efficiency



Soil C Storage

• Teasdale et al. 2007. Agron. J. 99:1297-1305

• Nine year US study comparing yields and soilchanges in corn-soybean-wheat roations.

• Although more tillage in organic system itproduced greater long term soil C gains thanconventional no-till system.



Water Quality

CFI-funded $150k facility

12 tile-drained large plots(~2ha total)

Completed by Spring, 2008



Ethology: The scientificstudy of animal behaviour.

Ethical treatment of animals

07-BIO-20 56



• 65% sold products locally

• 93% emphasize local purchasing

• 76% volunteered in rural community

• 100% followed environmental guidelines

Rural Revitalization

S. MacKinnon, U of Guelph, 2006

Organic farmers contribute economically, sociallyand environmentally



Soil Health

• Capacity of soil to function as avital living system within ecosystemand land use boundaries (Doran et al.1994)

• Examines the soil holistically:interaction of physical, chemicaland biological factors

• Soils unable to recover from adisturbance (potato) will continue todegrade over time



Soil Health Indicators

Biological

Earthworm abundanceSoil respiration

Potentially Min NMicrobial Biomass-C

Physical

Light Fraction OMBulk DensitySoil Texture

Chemical

Soil pHC:N ratio

Minimum Data Set NSAC. Science Applied to Life.


Methods

• RICB design– Four organic farms (PEI & NB)– 4 quadrants per field– Each phase of the 5yr rotation

were composite sampled(n=24)

• Included adjacent reference fieldsat each farm

• Earthworms were collected inAugust by hand-sorting

20 m

20 m

07-BIO-20 57



Collembola Analysis

• Growth and reproduction ofFolsomia candida are beingassessed in five substrates :

• Long term pasture fields• Deciduous forest soil• Composted manure• Sand• Sand with yeast



RESULTS



Results: Bulk Density & pH

Rotation Phase

potato

1yr 2yrs3yrs

4yrsReference

Bulk Density (gcm-3

)

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

Soil pH

0

2

4

6

8Bulk Density Soil pH



Results: Carbon and Nitrogen

Rotation Phase (years)

Potato 1 yr since

2 yrs since

3yrs since4/5 yrs since

Reference

C concentration (g C Kg-1

)

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

N concentration (g N Kg-1

)

0.0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1.0

1.2

1.4C N

07-BIO-20 58



Results: Light Fraction OM

Phase of the Rotation (years)

Potato1yr since

2yrs since

3yrs since

4yrs since

Reference

Am

ou

nt o

f LF

(g L

Fg

-1 so

il)

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

LF

as %T

OC

0.00

0.05

0.10

0.15

0.20

0.25LF as %TOCLF amount • Amount of LF indicates

an increasing trend

• No significant differencewhen looking at it as a%TOC



Earthworm: numbers & biomass

Phase of the Rotation (years)

Potato 1 yr since2 yrs since3yrs since

4/5 yrs sinceReference

Num

bers (individuals m- 2

)

0

200

400

600 2006 data2007 data

Biomass

Potato 1 yr since2 yrs since3yrs since

4/5 yrs sinceReference

Biom

ass (fresh mass gm

- 2)

0

100

200

300

2006 data2007 data

a a

ab

b

cc

a a a b

cc

aa

b

bc

c

c

a a ab

c c

Numbers



Microbial Biomass

• Microbial biomass-C as a % ofTOC was lowest in the potatoyear

• MBC/TOC increased to levelsfound under pasture (3.7%TOC) after two or more years

Rotation Phase (years)

Potato1yr since

2yrs since

3yrs since

4yrs since

Reference

MB

C as %

Total Organic C

arbon

0

1

2

3

4

5

c

bc

ab

ab

a

a



CONCLUSIONS

Organic potato production systems are veryconservative with respect to residual soil nitrates atharvest, and associated environmental risks

Extended rotations characteristic of organic potatofarms have measurable benefits to soil health

Biological indicators most sensitive to changes insoil health

07-BIO-20 59



IPCC coefficients greatly overestimates N2Oemissions from legumes.

Rochette et al., 2005.Legumes

Composting reduces GHG emissionscompared with manure storage. Pattey et al., 2005.

Composting

GHG and Organic SystemsNSAC. Science Applied to Life.


Air Quality and Organic Systems

- in all phases concurrentlyof an organic rotationsequence (NSAC)

(MSc student E. Clegg)

- as affected by long–termfertilizer versus compost use(AAFC Bouctouche)

OBJECTIVES:

To measure GHG emissions



Climate Change

Measuring GHG emissionsin an organic andconventional rotationsequence (NSAC)



Main crop: Potato

Forages: Timothy or Clover

Management:

(i) Forage plowing date (F/S)

(ii) +/- N fertilizer

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Research

07-BIO-20 60



0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

900

16-Apr 17-May 16-Jun 17-Jul 16-Aug 16-Sep 16-Oct 16-Nov

2006

N2O

em

issi

ons

(gN

/ha

d)

CloverTimothyTimothy + 140N

Nitrous Oxide emissions - Forages



Nitrous Oxide emissions - Potatoes

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

200

16-Apr 17-May 16-Jun 17-Jul 16-Aug 16-Sep 16-Oct 16-Nov

2006

N2O

em

issi

ons

(gN

/ha

d)

Clover + 0 NClover + 90NTim + 0 NTim + 140N



Comparative Yields and N2O Emissions

The organic system emitted less N2O (4.4 kgN2O -N ha-1) while maintaining acceptable yieldsof forage (4.5 t ha-1) and potato (7.2 t ha-1) crops,compared with emissions of up to 11.6 kg N2O-Nha-1 for conventional (i.e. fertilized) forage andpotato management regimes.

*Fertilzed Timothy grass yield: 6.1 t ha-1

Fertilzed potato yield: 6.1 t ha-1



0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

5-May 25-May 14-Jun 4-Jul 24-Jul 13-Aug 2-Sep 22-Sep 12-Oct 1-Nov 21-Nov

N2O

em

issi

ons

(gN

/ha d)

Nfert 135

Comp Low

Comp High

Nitrous Oxide emissions – Potatoes (Bouctouche)

07-BIO-20 61



NEW RESEARCH DIRECTIONS

• Soil Fertility and Soil Health

• Organic Systems and Air Quality (GHG)

• Organic Systems and Water Quality

• Improved Resource Utilization

• Blueberry Production

• Dairy Production

• Vegetable Production



ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

• Canada Research Chairs Program• OMAF New Directions Program• NSDAF Technology Development Fund• Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada• Provinces of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Prince

Edward Island• Envirem Technologies Inc. (Fredericton, NB)• Nova-Agri Associates (Centreville, NS)• Western Ag. Innovations (Saskatoon, SK)• Organic Meadow (Guelph, ON)• Louisiana Pacific (Chester, NS)• Many Farmers and Collaborators

07-BIO-20 62

1

New Techniques for Organic Fruit Production

• Strawberries– Genotype selection for large root systems– Root weevil best management practice

• Blueberries– In search for bio-control agents

• Apples– Biological control of tree fruit diseases– Reflective mulch to improve overall tree health and fruit quality– Bio-control of apple maggot flies– Organic apples in hog’s diet– Hog grazing– Organic blossom thinners

2

Strawberry Breeding- Dr. Andrew Jamieson

• Collaborator: Mr. Chiam Kempler (Agassiz, B.C.)

- examine 170 strawberry genotypes

- identify types with large and rapidly growing root systems

- large root system will better compensate for root loss due to pathogens andmay offer better competition with weeds-may be ideal for organic production systems

3

Root Weevil Management in Strawberry- Dr. Kenna MacKenzie

• Collaborators: Dr. Jeff Tolman, (AAFC, London), Ms. Pam Fisherand Ms. Hannah Fraser (OMAFRA), Dr. Sheila Fitzpatrick (AAFC,Agassiz), Dr. Pat Bouchard (AAFC, Ottawa), Mr. John Lewis(AgraPoint), Dr. Doug Strongman (St. Mary’s University), Ms.Josee Owen (AAFC, Bouctouche)

BarrierFence

Root Weevil• Best Management Practice

-The use of entomophagous nematodes wastried with some success

- Barrier fences were used to prevent movementfrom infested to non-infested fields

-‘Stolo’ has some tolerance to root weevil feeding

- Efficacy trials in support of Metarhizium(Met52) registration

4

Disease Management in Lowbush Blueberries- Dr. Paul Hildebrand

• Collaborators: Dr. James Traquair (AAFC, London), Dr. Greg Boland (Universityof Guelph)

- Bio-agents (Sporodex, Mycostop, Actinouate, Prestop) were tested to controlMonilinia and Botrytis blights

- Serenade has been identified as having considerable activities

Flower cluster infected with Monilinia blightWithout fungicide With fungicide

07-BIO-20 63

5

Tree Fruit Diseases- Dr. Gordon Braun

Apple replant disease (ARD)- Biological control of ARD

- Attempts have been made toalter the soil environment andthus reduce the size of thepathogen population in replantsoil

- Muscodor albus – a new bio-fumigants for ARD

Other tree fruit diseases- Organic practices to manage

apple scab and fire blight

Plants grown inreplant soil

Sterile 0g/L 5g/L 10g/L 20g/L

Plants grown in different amounts of Muscodor 6

Reflective Mulch in Organic Apple Orchard- Dr. JuliaReekie

- Management tool toincrease light harvesting

- Conserve moisture

- Insect control

- Weed controlReflective Mulch

With Reflective Mulch Without Reflective Mulch

7

Increase Coloration in Organically Grown Apples- Ms. Katherine Sanford

• Collaborator: Dr. Lisa Duizer (Acadia University)－ Use reflective mulch to increase the percentage red skin coloration in

organically produced apples－ Develop and test a rating scale for judging % red skin

－ Promote apples as ‘organic’ to influence school children’s fruit consumption

8

Bio-Control of Apple Maggot- Dr. Julia Reekie

• Collaborators: Ms. Kathryn Carter, Ms. Margaret Appleby and Ms. HannahFraser (OMAFRA), Mr. Al McFadden (Dow AgroSciences)

－ GF-120 is a Spinosad bait producednaturally by the fermentation of the soilactinomycete Saccharopolyspora spinosa－ GF-120 is approved by the OMRI for usein organic production－ It has been registered for use to controlcherry fruit flies in cherries and blueberrymaggots in blueberries－To date, it has not been registered for usein apples

Saccharopolyspora spinosa

Maggot fly Apple maggot damage

07-BIO-20 64

Measuring the Biological, Physicaland Chemical Characteristics of High

and Low Input SystemsG., Boiteau, C. Goyer, H.W. Rees and B.J. Zebarth

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Fredericton, NB

Project Objective• Use biological, physical and chemical characteristics

to measure the health of different productionsystems

Sites Sampled in 2003

Conventional potato production– 3 year (1 in 2 rotation)

Conventional potato production– 3 year (2 in 1 rotation)– 1st year potato

Reduced input potato production– 3 year (1 in 2 rotation)

Transition potato production– 4 year (1 in 3 rotation)

Wheat fieldAbandoned fieldPasture

Biological Characteristics

• Earthworms• Bacteria• Fungi• Micro-arthropods

07-BIO-20 65

Earthworms

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Mea

n C

ount

s

Potato

(1 in

2)

Potato

(2 in

1)

Reduc

ed in

put

Potato

(1 in

3)Whe

at

Aband

oned

Pastur

e

Field Type

Micro-arthropods

Physical Characteristics

• Soil profile• Aggregate stability• Water holding capacity

Differentiation of potato farming systems on the basis of relationships

between physical, chemical and biological soil parametersG. Boiteau, C. Goyer, H.W. Rees and B.J. Zebarth

2002 - 2005

• Results:– Clear separation of conventional

production and organic productionalong the first factor.

– Intermediate location of uncertifiedsites.

• Conclusion:– Data support the growing evidence

that long periods of time will berequired before conventional oreven uncertified sites can reachthe properties of long establishedorganic potato production sites.

PO21

PO12

POORGU

BA

POORGC

PA

Bacteria

WormsWorm Mass

Acari Morphs

Acari

Aggregates

Co2

Bulk Density

Total Pore Space

P

Ca

S

Fe

Al

DPS

pH

Total NTotal C

POAB

Collembola

Matrix Bulk Density

Sat. Hydr. Conductivity

Permanent Wilting PointMicro Pores / Field Cap.

-2.0

-1.5

-1.0

-0.5

0.0

0.5

1.0

1.5

2.0

-1.5 0.0 1.5

Factor 1

Fact

or 2

07-BIO-20 66

National Initiative Project 2008-2011 (proposed)Folsomia candida (Collembola): standard biological indicator ofchanges in soil qualityBackground and Rationale:

– Organic agricultural practices result in the development of complex food webs that providesystem stability and ensure crop health (Buchs 2003; Phelan 2004).

– Soil health improves over repeated crop cycles of the crop (e.g. Mader et al.) and within eachcycle of 4 - 6 years (Nelson Lynch and Boiteau, unpublished).

– Folsomia candida has been used for more than 40 years as a standard ecotoxicological testinsect (ISO 1999).

– Current study adapting ISO guidelines guidelines for soil health quantification (Nelson, Lynchand Boiteau).

Objective– To validate the use of Folsomia candida as

a novel standard indicator of soil health inpotato production by comparing itsestimates of soil health to that of anextended array of soil physical, chemicaland biological parameters in a range ofproduction rotations over one or moreproduction cycles.

Methodology

Year 1 - 4• Apply test procedure and method developed by Nelson et al. to:

– Harrington Farm organic plot setup,– Fredericton Research Farm plot setup,

– Napan or NSAC organic plot setup

– (3 organic sites; different soil types, different farming practices)[Goal – validate bio-indicator test and determine sensitivity to agro ecosystemvariables.]

Year 3 - 4• Reduce intensity of sampling for bio-indicator test.

• Initiate application of tests to commercial organic farms nationally todetermine the sensitivity of the test to horticultural crop cycle duration andoverall history of organic production at each site.

National Priorities

The project addresses 3 of the 7 national priority areas.

• The research is directed at the validation and further development of:– a novel science-based-bio-indicator-standard (Priority 4)– for the economical and rapid assessment of the soil quality (health) (Priority 5)

– in organic horticultural crop production (Priority 4 )

– in response to changing BMPs/regulations (Priority 5)– and changing environment/climate (Priority 6).

Thank you !Thank you !For more information:

– Contact Gilles Boiteau: [email protected]

07-BIO-20 67

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