Impact of Integrated and Conventional Plant Production on Selected Soil Parameters in Carrot Production

Anna Szeląg-Sikora,Maciej Kuboń,Zofia Gródek-Szostak,Jakub Sikora,Joanna Kapusta-Duch,Monika Komorowska,Marcin Niemiec,Joanna Karcz

doi:10.3390/su11205612

Anna Szeląg-Sikora, Maciej Kuboń + Show 6 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/su11205612

Copy DOI

Abstract

Currently, the level of efficiency of an effective agricultural production process is determined by how it reduces natural environmental hazards caused by various types of technologies and means of agricultural production. Compared to conventional production, the aim of integrated agricultural cultivation on commercial farms is to maximize yields while minimizing costs resulting from the limited use of chemical and mineral means of production. As a result, the factor determining the level of obtained yield is the soil’s richness in nutrients. The purpose of this study was to conduct a comparative analysis of soil richness, depending on the production system appropriate for a given farm. The analysis was conducted for two comparative groups of farms with an integrated and conventional production system. The farms included in the research belonged to two groups of agricultural producers and specialized in carrot production.

Highlights

In an agronomic sense, the agricultural system is defined as a way to manage the space for the production of plant and animal products
In 2016, tests were carried out on 22 farms producing in accordance with the integrated production (IP) standard (Integrated Plant Production) and on eight conventional farms carrying out intensive production with no certified quality management system
The element is a component of nucleotides, phospholipids, and adenosine triphosphate (ATP), the latter of which plays a fundamental role as an energy carrier in the plant cell

Summary

Introduction

The agricultural system is defined as a way to manage the space for the production of plant and animal products. There are three basic management systems [3,4]: conventional, ecological, and integrated. The basis for this distinction is the extent of dependence of agriculture on the industrial means of production, mainly mineral fertilizers and pesticides, and the degree of their impact on the natural environment [5]. Conventional production is a management method aimed at maximizing profits It is based on increasing the use of means of production and minimizing the number of agrotechnical operations in order to maximize profits [6,7]. Integrated agriculture is a form of alternative farming, which is based on harmonizing the premises of conventional agriculture with elements of biological plant protection in order to increase the safety of food products

Objectives

Methods

Results

Conclusion