A comparison of soil quality and yield parameters under organic and conventional vineyard systems in Mediterranean conditions (West Turkey)

Abstract

Soil chemical and microbial parameters are commonly used as soil quality indicators to evaluate sustainable land management in agroecosystems. The objective of this research was to evaluate the impact of organic and conventional management strategies on biological, chemical and yield parameters in vineyards (Vitis vinifera cv. Sultani seedless). Organic plots received a mixture of barley, vetch and broad bean (25 þ 35 þ 75 kg seed ha 21) as green manure, and farmyard manure (15 t ha 21 ) every year. Inorganic fertilizers (NPK) and pesticides were used in the conventional managed vineyards. Conventional and mulch tillage methods were used in conventional and organic plots, respectively. Microbiological and chemical soil properties were determined in the soil samples which were taken four times in 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007. In addition, the yield and some quality parameters of vineyards were also determined. Soil microbial biomass, and dehydrogenase, b-glucosidase and alkaline phosphatase activity were significantly higher in organic management than in conventional management. Higher C mic /C org and lower qCO 2 values were found with the organic management. The response of the chemical indicators (C org , N t and available nutrient content) of the soils to different management systems appeared after a longer time than with the biological indicators. In the transition zone between continental and Mediterranean climates of West Turkey, soil quality of organically managed vineyards improved after 2 years of the transition period prescribed for organic certification. However, soil quality improvements in organic plots did not result in higher yield.

L'Analyse du Cycle de Vie pour réduire l'impact environnemental de la viticulture biologique

“…Dans ce contexte, l'unité fonctionnelle (UF) par kilogramme de produit désavantage systématiquement les systèmes biologiques. Même si cette baisse n'est pas toujours constatée en viticulture [28], l'unité par kg ne devrait pasêtre la seule UF dans les comparaisons biologique / conventionnel.…”

Soil microbiota respond to green manure in organic vineyards

“…Moreover, the organic carbon available for soil micro‐organisms is significantly increased by green manure, which also enhances the activity of numerous soil enzymes, especially those involved in the N cycle (Okur et al . ). Although the advantages of using green manure have been recognized, little is known about the possible modifications that it could cause in soil microbial communities.…”

Optimizing Arabica coffee production systems in Rwanda : a multiple-scale analysis

“…Different mulches have different effects in supplying nutrient contents to soils; variations are depended on quality of mulching materials, climatic conditions and soil types (discussed in Chapters 5). Similar observations have been reported by Daraghmeh et al (2009), Herencia and Maqueda (2016), Okur et al (2016) and Liu et al (2017). The smallholder farmers are usually in better position to identify good quality mulches that decompose faster (Chapter 2) to supply higher nutrients' concentrations (discussed in Chapter 5).…”

“…Soil nutrient levels increases with higher mulch applications (Adekiya et al, 2017;Agbede et al, 2014;Fang et al, 2008;Mulumba and Lal, 2008), leading to improved soil fertility and crop productivity (Liu et al, 2017;Okeyo et al, 2014;Tao et al, 2015). Different mulches have different effects in supplying nutrient contents to soils; variations depending on quality of mulching materials, climatic conditions and soil types (Awopegba et al, 2017;Daraghmeh et al, 2009;Okur et al, 2016). Mulching with crop residues was reported as a major source of soil nutrients to improve efficiently the soil fertility.…”