Abstract
In organic farming, artificial/synthetic inorganic fertilizers/chemicals are not applied to increase crop yields, but adequate amounts of nutrients are essential for sustainable high production from agricultural crops. Two 3-year (2008 - wheat, 2009 – pea, and 2010 - barley) field experiments were conducted on certified organic farms near Spalding (Dark Brown Chernozem – Typic Haploboroll) and Star City (Gray Luvisol – Typic Haplocryalf) in northeastern Saskatche-wan to determine the relative effectiveness of various organic amendments (compost, alfalfa pellets, wood ash, rock phosphate, Penicillium bilaiae, MykePro, or gypsum), and intercropping of non-legume (wheat, barley) and legume (pea) annual crops on seed yield, total biomass yield (TBY) and nutrient uptake in seed + straw of wheat, pea and barley. In 2008, seed yield, TBY and nutrient uptake of wheat increased (but small) with compost and alfalfa pellets. In 2010, seed yield, TBY and nutrient uptake of barley increased substantially with compost and alfalfa pellets and moderately with wood ash. Other amendments had little or no effect on crop yield and nutrient uptake. In 2009, there was no beneficial effect of any amendment on yield and nutrient uptake of pea, most likely due to fixation of N which is the most limiting nutrient in these soils. Intercropping of wheat or barley with pea produced greater seed yield and nutrient uptake per unit land area basis compared to wheat or barley grown as sole crops in most cases. In conclusion, our results suggest potential benefits in improving yield and nutrient uptake of wheat and barley from compost, alfalfa pellets and possibly wood ash, most likely by preventing deficiencies of some nutrients, especially N, lacking in these soils under organic farming. Our findings also suggest the need for future research to determine the feasibility of rock phosphate, Penicillium bilaiae, MykePro, gypsum or other amendments in preventing P and/or S deficiency in organic crops using soils extremely deficient in these nutrients.
Highlights
The interest and demand for organically-grown food and fiber are increasing in Canada [1] and internationally, because of possible high economic returns due to the price premiums on organically-grown products [2]
Two 3-year (2008— wheat, 2009—pea, and 2010—barley) field experiments were conducted on certified organic farms near Spalding (Dark Brown Chernozem—Typic Haploboroll) and Star City (Gray Luvisol—Typic Haplocryalf) in northeastern Saskatchewan to determine the relative effectiveness of various organic amendments, and intercropping of non-legume and legume annual crops on seed yield, total biomass yield (TBY) and nutrient uptake in seed + straw of wheat, pea and barley
Our findings suggest the need for future research to determine the feasibility of rock phosphate, Penicillium bilaiae, MykePro, gypsum or other amendments in preventing P and/or S deficiency in organic crops using soils extremely deficient in these nutrients
Summary
The interest and demand for organically-grown food and fiber are increasing in Canada [1] and internationally, because of possible high economic returns due to the price premiums on organically-grown products [2]. In the Canadian Prairies, under organically farmed cropping systems most soils are deficient in available N, many soils are low in available P, and some soils contain insufficient amounts of available S (mostly in the Parkland region) and available K for optimum crop growth and yield [3,4] Research comparing both organic and conventional cropping systems in Saskatchewan has suggested that on soils low in available P, long-term production of organic crops without adding adequate amounts of P can result in the decrease/depletion of available P in soil by removing/ mining P in seed away from the field [5]. Maintaining soil fertility is an important production issue facing organic agriculture in the semi-arid region of the Canadian Prairies and elsewhere
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