Solitary bees are important pollinators and maintain biodiversity in agricultural landscapes, yet their populations are declining due to habitat loss, intensive farming and pesticide use. Organic farming offers a sustainable alternative to conventional systems, benefiting pollinators through reduced chemical inputs and greater habitat diversity. While effects on social bees such as honeybees and bumblebees are well documented, little is known about how farming practices and landscapes influence communities of cavity-nesting solitary bees. We investigated these effects across 17 sites in Germany using standardized cavity nests (“bee hotels”). This approach enabled us to assess number of brood cells, species diversity, the abundance of females and males and the proportion of undeveloped bees, revealing how solitary bee populations respond to different farming systems and landscape features. Landscape composition was analyzed within a 500 m radius to quantify the extent of organic farming and forest cover within the bees’ foraging range. We found that organic farming had a beneficial effect on solitary bee brood cells and female production. Organic landscapes were positively correlated with increase in bee abundance, species richness, and diversity, while forest cover had no strong effects. Still at the landscape level, the abundance of both females and males increased with the extent of organic farming, while at the local scale, the abundance of both sexes was higher in organic farms than in conventional sites. The findings highlight the potential ecological benefit of organic farming in supporting cavity nesting solitary bee populations and underscore its potential to mitigate biodiversity loss in agriculture. • Organic farming enhances cavity-nesting solitary bee communities, increasing abundance, species richness, and diversity across agricultural landscapes. • Both female and male solitary bees respond positively to organic management, with higher abundances at local (farm) and landscape scales. • Landscape-level organic farming extent is a key driver of solitary bee population metrics Forest cover showed no strong influence on cavity-nesting solitary bee abundance or diversity in agricultural settings. • Organic farming has clear potential to mitigate biodiversity loss, supporting solitary bees in intensively managed agroecosystems.

Unlocking carbon decay kinetics under varying hydrothermal regimes: insights from long-term nutrient supply strategies in the subtropical rice-wheat system

Organic agriculture is becoming more popular because of its potential benefits for the environment and human health compared with traditional farming methods. Tomatoes, one of the most widely cultivated horticultural crops in the United States, are grown using both organic and conventional systems, which differ in their approaches to nutrient management, soil management, and plant protection. These differences can affect nutrient absorption and fruit quality. This study aimed to evaluate nutrient uptake and fruit quality of eight hybrid tomato cultivars grown under both organic and conventional production systems. The tomato cultivars showed significant differences in yield, fruit quality, and nutrient uptake in both systems. However, the two systems cannot be directly compared because of the many independent variables involved. Differences were observed in how the genotypes performed across systems. These findings highlight the importance of cultivar selection because different hybrids may respond uniquely to various production conditions. To improve fruit quality and nutrient use efficiency, producers should consider how specific cultivars perform under different production systems.

Soil and water conservation and dryland farming performance: An emergy synthesis perspective on three typical farming systems in the Loess Plateau of China

Organic and conventional farming systems: Effects on fruit quality and nutritional attributes of apple (Malus domestica Borkh.) - A review

Assessing the impact of outdoor farming, farm size, and farm density on highly pathogenic avian influenza epidemics: A modelling study in the Netherlands.

Proteomics perspective: differences in milk fat globule membrane proteins across regions and farming systems.

ABSTRACT The transition to organic farming is increasingly promoted as a pathway toward sustainable agriculture, yet its implications for smallholder welfare in developing countries remain empirically underexplored. This study investigates the welfare effects of adopting organic vegetable farming among smallholder producers in Ghana's Ashanti Region, a hub for intensive vegetable cultivation. Using cross-sectional data from 385 farmers and employing the Endogenous Switching Regression model to address selection bias, we examine both the drivers of adoption and its impact on multiple welfare outcomes. Our findings reveal that being a farmer native to the district, off-farm employment, crop diversification, and access to stable markets significantly influence the decision to adopt organic practices. Impact estimates suggest that adoption improves household welfare by enhancing consumption expenditure and reducing food insecurity. However, adoption is also associated with reduced dietary diversity and lower incomes, highlighting potential trade-offs. These outcomes underscore the need for complementary interventions such as targeted input support and structured market linkages to maximize the benefits of organic farming for rural livelihoods. This study contributes to the empirical literature on sustainable agriculture by providing evidence of the welfare consequences of organic farming adoption in Sub-Saharan African contexts, with important implications for policy and program design. Key policy highlights Organic vegetable farming improves food security and household consumption for smallholder farmers in Ghana, but may lead to reduced dietary diversity and lower incomes. Organic adoption increases with market access but declines among native, off-farm employed, and diversified farmers. Policies should provide input subsidies, training, and access to organic farming resources. Stronger marketing support linking producers to premium markets through national and continental trade institutions is needed to improve incomes. Promoting farmer cooperatives and improving awareness of international trade opportunities can enhance bargaining power and welfare gains for small organic producers.

Organic farming has gained increasing relevance worldwide due to its environmental benefits and its prominent role in sustainable food systems; however, the persistence of organic farms remains uneven across regions, particularly within the European Union. While the number of organic farms has grown overall in the EU, significant exits from organic production highlight the need to better understand the factors shaping farm survival, especially in newer Member States, where organic conversion and maintenance support schemes are often implemented through area-based CAP payments. This study aims to identify the structural and contextual determinants of short-term organic farm persistence in Hungary within a broader European context. Using farm-level data for the period 2020–2023, including Standard Output (SO) indicators, we applied a combined modelling framework based on Logistic Regression, Decision Trees, and Random Forest algorithms to assess the relative importance of economic, structural, and regional variables. The results show that organic farm persistence is primarily driven by structural characteristics such as farm size, economic scale, degree of conversion to organic farming and regional embeddedness, while production specialization and organizational features play a secondary, conditional role. The convergence of results across modelling approaches indicates that survival is shaped by hierarchical structural constraints rather than isolated management decisions. Our findings suggest that policy measures aiming to stabilize and expand the organic sector should move beyond uniform incentives, such as area-based payments, and should place greater emphasis on the structural conditions of farms and region-specific support mechanisms.

Aphids are a major pest of greenhouse-grown temperate crops, responsible for billions in crop damage yearly. As organic agriculture rapidly grows in popularity, understanding how plants grown under organic systems respond to insect pest pressure may give insights into better management practices and information about the genes of interest for crop improvement. We measured the response of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) leaf and fruit transcriptome, as well as a few selected metabolites in the mature fruit, to an infestation of the generalist green peach aphid (Myzus persicae). The aphids were introduced approximately halfway through the lifecycle of the plants that were grown under conventional and organic fertilizer regimes. While plants provided with conventional fertilizer experienced greater aphid infestation, neither group suffered a significant loss in total yield or fruit quality. This result is likely a consequence of ample nutrient and water availability. Co-expression network analysis using WGCNA revealed that in leaf tissue, both treatment groups showed a general shift from diverse anabolic processes to catabolism, while fruit tissue experienced relatively minor changes. At the stage of infestation investigated, abscisic acid appeared to be the main phytohormone response. One coexpression network module showed a correlation with both organic fertilizer treatment and aphid infestation; its hub gene (Solyc02g078940.3) may be of interest in exploring unique responses to phloem feeding insect infestation under an organic fertilizer regime.

A monitoring campaign was carried out in a Mediterranean agricultural district by transplantation of thalli of the lichen Evernia prunastri to 32 stations to evaluate the distribution of pesticides, the development of drift events, the dimension of the area, and the level of exposure in the Cantinella village. Spearman correlation coefficients and PCA performed on the database stations × pesticides revealed that they were sprayed as mixtures and mostly bioaccumulated in the northern part. Spirotetramat and Hexythiazox exhibited the highest levels, consistent with the pests, being the former sprayed to contrast Tetranychus urticae, the most diffused species, and the latter used as a multi-spectrum pesticide. Based on the Calabria Region treatment schedule and covariance between pesticide spatial variation, we believe that Hexythiazox and Acetamiprid treatment has gone beyond prescribed deadline. Drift events were associated with the detection of pesticides in Cantinella and zones managed with organic agriculture criteria and to the significant correlation between the concentration patterns and wind flows. All the pesticides were detected inside Cantinella stations pointing to a potential co-exposure of the inhabitants to them. Spirotetramat concentration was 80% higher than that of the outside stations. The green-cement cover ratio was strongly inadequate for reducing atmospheric pollution, with a significant spatial variation (chi-square test) in green areas (northern side: 14%, southern side: 24%) associated with the percentage of single and total pesticide loads (northern side: 25%, southern side: 7%). Our data suggest that widespread drift, caused also by over-spraying, can damage the agricultural economy and promote pesticide inhalation by residents, especially when urban characteristics increase exposure.

The limited availability of herbicides for weed management, coupled with the rapid expansion of herbicide-resistant weed populations, has intensified the need to explore alternative weed management strategies, particularly for producers transitioning to and/or operating in organic farming systems. The expansion of bioherbicides in the US market has opened new opportunities in weed control and new research avenues for weed management. Bioherbicides are natural substances with herbicidal activity, and are mostly non-selective and do not translocate within plants. They are directly connected with agroecological principles by serving as sustainable, nature-derived complementarily to synthetic herbicides aiming to control weeds while preserving biodiversity, soil health, and ecological balance. Their non-selective activity requires special attention because they may also affect crops, while targeted application may be needed for safe use. Because some bioherbicides are new to the market, data on their effectiveness against troublesome weeds is limited. Therefore, bioherbicides, when integrated with precision application technologies and non-chemical tactics, may serve as a bridging strategy for systems facing herbicide resistance. This perspective discusses the challenges and opportunities of bioherbicides as a new tool for weed control, with particular attention to application technology, regulatory pathways, and ecosystem services.

Background and Aim: Dairy goats exhibit distinct physiological adaptations during pregnancy and lactation, necessitating breed-specific biochemical reference values for accurate health assessment. The Thuringian Forest goat, an important regional dairy breed managed under organic systems, remains insufficiently characterized in this regard. This longitudinal study aimed to evaluate clinical-chemical profiles and metabolic dynamics across reproductive stages and to determine the influence of lactation number, milk yield, and litter size on biochemical parameters. Materials and Methods: A total of 25 clinically healthy Thuringian Forest dairy goats were monitored over one production cycle under standardized organic farming conditions. Blood samples were collected monthly from late gestation (−3 to −1 months) through 12 months of lactation, yielding 300 serum samples. Analyses included enzyme activities (alkaline phosphatase, gamma-glutamyl transferase, aspartate aminotransferase, glutamate dehydrogenase, and creatine kinase), electrolytes (sodium, potassium, calcium, phosphate, and magnesium), and metabolic indicators (glucose, cholesterol, β-hydroxybutyrate, urea, creatinine, total protein, triglycerides, and free fatty acids). Repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to assess the effects of time, lactation number, milk yield, and litter size. Results: Marked physiological variations were observed across reproductive stages. Sodium and potassium decreased slightly prepartum and fluctuated significantly during lactation, while calcium, phosphate, and magnesium showed stage-dependent changes. Enzyme activities exhibited clear lactation-related patterns, with alkaline phosphatase increasing progressively, gamma-glutamyl transferase peaking in early lactation, and aspartate aminotransferase declining over time. Metabolic parameters demonstrated adaptive responses, including increased glucose, total protein, and cholesterol during lactation, and elevated β-hydroxybutyrate in early lactation without exceeding clinical thresholds. Milk yield significantly influenced several biochemical markers, including sodium, creatine kinase, triglycerides, and β-hydroxybutyrate, whereas litter size had minor effects, primarily on sodium and urea concentrations. No evidence of pathological alterations was detected. Conclusion: The study provides comprehensive longitudinal data on biochemical and metabolic adaptations in Thuringian Forest dairy goats under organic management. Lactation stage and milk yield are the primary determinants of biochemical variation, while litter size plays a limited role. These findings support the development of breed-specific reference intervals and highlight the importance of considering physiological and production factors for accurate clinical interpretation and improved herd management. Keywords: biochemical profile, dairy goats, lactation, metabolic adaptation, milk yield, organic farming, pregnancy, Thuringian Forest goat.

Comparative Effects of Organic and Conventional Farming Systems with Diversified Crop Rotations on Soil Microbial Dynamics and Productivity Under Arid Conditions

Functional differentiation of glomalin-related soil protein fractions reveals dual pathways for carbon storage in organic farming systems.

International audience

Practices of knowledge pluralization: Knowing and doing organic agriculture in a participatory guarantee system

Altering scenarios of organic farming pre and post COVID-19 in India: A comprehensive review

Agriculture remains a fundamental sector supporting the global economy and food security. Despite technological progress,farmerscontinuetoface significantchallengessuchasdecliningsoilfertility, impropercropselection,insufficient access to agricultural expertise, and fluctuating market prices. These challenges often result in reduced crop productivity and economic instability for farmers. To address these issues, this research proposes Agri Growth, an intelligent farming assistant designed to integrate artificial intelligence with modern digital technologies to support sustainable agricultural practices.The Agri Growth platformprovidesfarmerswithacomprehensivedecision-supportsystemthatincludessoilnutrientanalysis,croprecommendation, marketintelligence,andexpertagriculturalguidance.Thesystem analysessoilparametersincludingNitrogen(N), Phosphorus (P), Potassium (K), and pH values using machine learning algorithms to recommend suitable crops and fertilizers. Additionally, the platform integrates real-time agricultural market price information to help farmers determine optimal selling strategies. An AIpowered chatbot is incorporated to provide farmers with instant answers to agricultural queries and best farming practices.The system is developed using Fast API for backend processing, React for the frontend interface, and machine learning models implemented using Python libraries such as Scikit-Learn and Pandas. Experimental evaluation demonstrates that the system caneffectivelyprovideaccuratecroprecommendationsandimprovedecision-makingcapabilitiesforfarmers.Theproposedsystem contributes to the advancement of smart agriculture technologies and supports the transition toward sustainable organic farming practices

In Türkiye, the cattle population has increased by 56% in the last quarter century. The number of cattle has risen from 10.7 million to 16.8 million. 70.4% of the annual red meat production and 93.6% of the milk production in the country originate from cattle. Almost all of this production comes from dairy breeds. As in other countries, the increasing demand for organic milk and dairy products in the country has led to the conversion of some dairy cattle to organic production. However, the search continues for the most suitable breeds for organic dairy farms operating under limited and restricted conditions, particularly regarding concentrate feed ratios. This study aims to identify the most suitable breed by comparing some reproductive and milk yield characteristics of Holstein Friesian and Swedish Red cattle raised organically in Türkiye. For this purpose, fertility and milk yield records of 1559 HF and 339 SR cows belonging to a private organic dairy farm operating in Kelkit district of Gümüşhane province in the Eastern Black Sea Region of Türkiye covering the years 2007-2012 were used. HF and SR heifers reached first calving age at 29.8 and 26.1 months, respectively, in other words, SR heifers reached first calving age 3.7 months earlier (P<0.01). Calving interval in HF and SR cows was determined as 406.1 and 380.8 days, respectively, and the difference was significant (P<0.05). HF cows had a longer service period (9.3 days) (P<0.05). The number of days milked was determined as 350.5 and 322.4 days in HF and SR cows, respectively, with a significant difference of 28.1 days in favor of HF (P<0.01). HF cows had a 305-day milk yield of 522 kg more, but this difference was not significant. While actual milk yield of HF cows was 1.074 kg higher (P<0.05). SR cows reached the peak point earlier (10.7 days) (P<0.05). In both breeds, positive and significant (P<0.01) relationships were determined between the first calving age and the number of days of milking between calving, and actual milk yield. In both breeds, a positive and significant relationship (P<0.01, P<0.05) was detected between calving interval and days in milk as well as actual milk yield. In other words, antagonistic relationships were determined between fertility and milk yield in both breeds. The findings of present study indicate that SR cows raised under organic conditions in Türkiye exhibit superior reproductive performance and maintain comparable milk yield characteristics. Overall, the findings reveal a breed-specific trade-off between reproductive robustness and lactation persistence under organic production constraints, indicating that SR cows may be better suited for organic systems that prioritize fertility, regular calving intervals, and long-term herd sustainability.