Seeds and plant protection substances for French organic oilseed crops: what are the challenges for tomorrow?

Abstract

Organic production systems rely on different combinations of agronomic levers to ensure their sustainability, notably seeds and crop protection products. These inputs were mostly developed for conventional farming, which is the main market, and then evaluated under organic conditions. However, the growth of organic farming raises the question of producing inputs more specifically designed for this type of production, with its technical constraints, concepts and ethics. Recently, changes to European regulations on organic farming have opened up new perspectives, particularly in terms of varietal selection and evaluation, with introduction of the notions of “organic variety” and “organic heterogeneous material”. These two notions challenge and question the concept of variety, as well as the classic methods for evaluating their performance. With regard to crop protection products, a number of products can now be used on oilseed crops, including basic substances, low-risk substances and biocontrol agents but, the list remains limited, particularly for sunflower and soybean. However, new innovations are emerging, particularly in biocontrol agents, which augur new possibilities for controlling diseases and pests for which no solution is currently available. It is therefore necessary to support research in order to provide rapid solutions, and also to ensure that regulations evolve to promote their integration and availability to farmers. The use of inputs (seeds and plant protection products) in organic farming is governed by a number of European regulations, which are sometimes difficult to harmonize.