Current Trends in Organic Vegetable Crop Production: Practices and Techniques

Abstract

Organic farming is a holistic production management system that promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles and soil biological activity, and consequently, it is an efficient and promising approach for sustainable agriculture within a circular and green economy. There has been a rise in the consumption of organic vegetables in the last years because of their organoleptic properties, higher nutritive value and lower risk of chemical residues harmful to health. The recent scientific evidence regarding the use of the major elements responsible for organic vegetable crop production indicates plant material, soil management and crop nutrition, soil disinfection, crop management and pest, disease and weed management. These techniques are the focus of this study. In general, the main outcomes of this review demonstrate that a great effort of innovation and research has been carried out by industry, researchers and farmers in order to reduce the environmental impact of the established and innovative horticultural practices while satisfying the requirements of consumers. However, research-specific studies should be carried out in different farming systems and pedoclimatic conditions to achieve the highest efficiency of these horticultural practices.

Analysis of global research on vegetable seedlings and transplants and their impacts on product quality

“…103 Lastly, grafting is an environmentally friendly technique suitable for organic vegetable production by reducing chemical inputs in cropping systems. 104 An explication of the most common methods for grafting vegetables (splice, tongue or approach, cleft, pin and hole insertion), comparing their main features and the vegetable species in which they may be used, have been reported in some studies. 60,105,106 However, sometimes it is difficult to achieve a good graft with some cultivars when vigorous rootstocks are used (i.e.…”

“…In addition, grafted plants provide a robust and vigorous root system, which improves soil, water and fertiliser use 103 . Lastly, grafting is an environmentally friendly technique suitable for organic vegetable production by reducing chemical inputs in cropping systems 104 …”

The inevitability of arbuscular mycorrhiza for sustainability in organic agriculture—A critical review

“…Notably, adding an AMF species in organic farming can create community imbalances in agriculture or adjacent natural ecosystems. Currently, organic farms, in general, are multicropping systems (Carof et al, 2022;Fernández et al, 2022;Trinchera et al, 2022) that use a high diversity of natural crops and other flora together in the sustainable management of soil fertility and crop productivity.…”

Risk-indicative or sustainable consumption? Consumers’ risk perception on conventional and organic food products in Poland

“…Therefore, the alternative in food production is organic farming. It offers a holistic production management system promoting agroecosystem health with biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity, and an efficient approach for sustainable agriculture by a circular and green economy (Fernández et al 2022) and by eliminating the use of synthetic inputs such as synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, veterinary drugs, genetically modified seeds and varieties, preservatives, additives, and irradiation (Food and Agriculture Organization 1999). Since the introduction of organic production by the Council Regulation (EC) No 834/2007 of 28 June 2007 on organic production and the labelling of organic products and repealing Regulation (EEC) No 2092/91 there has been a significant increase in the number of countries, organizations, and companies encouraging organic farming as a viable solution on the way to achieve the sustainable production and consumption (Cristache et al 2018).…”