Monitoring Populations of Soil Microorganisms during a Conversion from a Conventional to an Organic System of Vegetable Growing

Sivapalan, A.; Morgan, Wendy C.; Franz, P. R.

doi:10.1080/01448765.1993.9754647

Cited by 27 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 20 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…For example, Mader and colleagues (2002) found enhanced soil fertility and microbial diversity in organic farms as compared with conventional farms. Similarly, the diversity of actinomycetes (Workneh et al ., 1993) and fungal species (Nitta, 1991; Sivapalan et al ., 1993) was higher in organic than in conventional farms.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of above‐ground plant species on soil microbial community structure and its impact on suppression of Rhizoctonia solani AG3

Garbeva

Postma²,

Veen

et al. 2005

Environmental Microbiology

209

135

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The extent of soil microbial diversity is seen to be critical to the maintenance of soil health and quality. Different agricultural practices are able to affect soil microbial diversity and thus the level of suppressiveness of plant diseases. In a 4-year field experiment, we investigated the microbial diversity of soil under different agricultural regimes. We studied permanent grassland, grassland turned into arable land, long-term arable land and arable land turned into grassland. The diversity of microbial communities was described by using cultivation-based and cultivation-independent methods. Both types of methods revealed differences in the diversities of soil microbial communities between different treatments. The treatments with higher above-ground biodiversity generally maintained higher levels of microbial diversity. Moreover, a positive correlation between suppression of Rhizoctonia solani AG3 and microbial diversity was observed. Permanent (species-rich) grassland and grassland turned into maize stimulated higher microbial diversities and higher levels of suppressiveness of R. solani AG3 compared with the long-term arable land. Effects of agricultural practices on Bacillus and Pseudomonas communities were also observed and clear correlations between the levels of suppressiveness and the diversities of these bacterial groups were found. This study highlighted the importance of agricultural management regime for soil microbial community structure and diversity as well as the level of soil suppressiveness.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of above‐ground plant species on soil microbial community structure and its impact on suppression of Rhizoctonia solani AG3

Garbeva

Postma²,

Veen

et al. 2005

Environmental Microbiology

209

135

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…There is no evidence that a larger microbial biomass changes basic relationships in soils , such as those between concentrations of soil available nutrients and plant nutrient uptake and growth (Ryan, 1999;. However, addition of organic matter can in some instances suppress pathogenic organisms through enhancing the presence of groups of antagonistic soil organisms (Sivapalan et al, 1993;Workneh and van Bruggen, 1994).…”

Section: Can Enhancing the Soil Biological Community Improve Plant Numentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Crop Production – Ambitions and Limitations

Kirchmann¹,

Bergström²

2008

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Energy parameters of a Swedish long-term field experiment comparing organic and conventional agricultural systems were evaluated. There is great potential for misinterpretation of system comparisons as a result of choice of data and how energy data are expressed. For example, reported yields based on single crops and not the whole rotation can result in significantly different interpretations. Energy use per unit yield was lower in organic crop and animal production than in the corresponding conventional system, as previously found in other studies. This is due to the exclusion of N fertiliser, the largest energy input in conventional cropping systems. Energy use per unit yield expresses system efficiency, but the term is insufficient to evaluate the energy characteristics of agricultural systems. Calculation of the most important energy component, net energy production per unit area, showed that conventional systems produced far more energy per hectare than organic systems. The energy productivity (output/input ratio), i.e. the energy return on inputs, was at least six in both types of agriculture, revealing the highly positive energy balance of crop production in general. Lower yields in the organic systems, and consequently lower energy production per unit area, mean that more land is required to produce the same amount of energy. This greater land requirement in organic production must be considered in energy balances. When the same area of land is available for organic and conventional crop production, the latter allows for complementary bio-energy production and can produce all the energy required for farming, such as fuels, N fertilisers, etc., in the form of ethanol. In a complete energy balance, options such as combustion, gasification or use as fodder of protein residues from ethanol production must also be taken into account. There is a common belief that the high fossil fuel requirement in N fertiliser production is non-sustainable. This is a misconception, since the use of N fertilisers provides a net energy gain. If N fertilisers were to be completely replaced by biological N 2 fixation, net energy production would be significantly lower. In addition, N fertiliser production can be based on renewable energy sources such as bio-fuels produced by gasification. Conventional crop production is thus energetically fully sustainable. Energy G. Bertilsson (B) Greengard AB,

show abstract

“…In organic production systems, soil fertility is augmented through applications of materials such as compost and manure and by the use of cover crops. Organically managed soils that routinely receive these deliberate inputs typically differ in other soil quality indicator properties besides fertility when compared to conventionally managed soils (Sivapalan et al, 1993). Two major projects that are currently underway in California's Central Valley, the Sustainable Agriculture Farming Systems (SAFS) Project in Davis, Calif., and the Biologically Integrated Farming Systems (BIFS) Project in Five Points, Calif., have compared soil quality indicator properties under different management systems including organic, and have found that organic soil management can result in fundamental differences in a number of soil health indicator properties including water infiltration rate (Colla et al, 2000), microbial biomass carbon, N (Gunapala and , and disease suppression (van Bruggen, 1995) in the case of the SAFS comparison, and microbial biomass carbon and N and SOM in a number of BIFS comparisons (J.P. Mitchell, personal communication).…”

Section: Farm Managementmentioning

confidence: 99%

Organic Vegetable Production in California—Science and Practice

Gaskell¹,

Fouche²,

Koike³

et al. 2000

horttech

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article summarizes the current status of organic vegetable production practices in California. The production of vegetables organically is growing rapidly in California, led in large part by growth in the market demand for organically grown produce. Key aspects of organic vegetable production operations such as certification and farm production planning, soil management, weed management, insect management, and plant disease management involve special practices. Many practices have not been thoroughly researched and the scientific base for some practices is still being developed.

show abstract

Monitoring Populations of Soil Microorganisms during a Conversion from a Conventional to an Organic System of Vegetable Growing

Cited by 27 publications

References 20 publications

Effect of above‐ground plant species on soil microbial community structure and its impact on suppression of Rhizoctonia solani AG3

Effect of above‐ground plant species on soil microbial community structure and its impact on suppression of Rhizoctonia solani AG3

Organic Crop Production – Ambitions and Limitations

Organic Vegetable Production in California—Science and Practice

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About