Organic No-Till with Roller Crimpers: Agro-ecosystem Services and Applications in Organic Mediterranean Vegetable Productions

Abstract

In sustainable/organic farming systems, Agro-ecological Service Crops (ASC) may provide many beneficial ecosystem services, when they are introduced as buffer zones, living mulches or break crops. This outlook paper focuses on: i) the role of ASC genotype and mixtures as catch crops for soil mineral nitrogen (NO 3 -) surplus, which is returned to the system after their termination; ii) living mulches and break crops management strategies, particularly comparing ploughing under (green manure) with termination by roller crimper; iii) summary of three recent case studies that have assessed the effectiveness of ASC management by no-till with roller crimper for tomato, zucchini and melon crops, under Mediterranean conditions. Recently, in central Italy yield and quality results on organic tomato indicated that this crop was suitable following termination of leguminous ASC by roller crimping. Similarly, this ASC management increased yield by about 70% compared to green manure in zucchini crop. In southern Italy, no substantial differences were found in the ASC management and organic fertilizer interactions in organic melon, confirming the suitability of matching these strategies to sustain crop production. More studies should be encouraged to further empower the use of ASC in a wide range of agro-climatic conditions. Furthermore, additional studies on the roller crimper should be performed, mainly to understand the dynamic of N mineralisation in the soil-mulch interface and synchronisation of N release with cash crop N requirements. Finally, Decision Supporting Systems (DSS) for ASC introduction into vegetable cropping systems should be developed.

Overview of Organic Cover Crop-Based No-Tillage Technique in Europe: Farmers’ Practices and Research Challenges

“…Potential savings in labor is a primary farmer motivation when deciding to adopt NT as documented by European researchers, as significant labor is required for soil tillage [2,53,64]. However, farmers' concerns about increased labor requirements related to the implementation of a cover crop phase may explain why relatively few famers combine NT and cover crops, as perceptions exist that the time required for cover crop management will negatively impact the expected labor-saving benefits of NT.…”

Agro-Ecology for Potential Adaptation of Horticultural Systems to Climate Change: Agronomic and Energetic Performance Evaluation

“…Agricultural biodiversity and knowledge preserved by traditional farming systems as well as the innovation developed by effective research are essential to strengthen the resilience of agro-ecosystems in response to a potential change in the climate. In low input and organic farming systems, proper rotations, agro-ecological service crops (ASC) introduction as buffer zones or break crops, reduced tillage and fertilization management can provide beneficial services to the agro-ecosystems, contributing to weed, pest and diseases management, NO 3 − leaching reduction and improving soil water retention and crop tolerance to drought occurrences [6].…”

Environmental Sustainability Assessment of Horticultural Systems: A Multi-Criteria Evaluation Approach Applied in a Case Study in Mediterranean Conditions

“…In the RC-ASC management, most of these attributes scored "high" or "medium-high", whereas in NO-ASC, the most frequent score was "medium-low". These differences were likely due to the mulching effect that occurred in the RC-ASC crop management, which can determine better weeds control [23], better N balance [28] and higher production than NO-ASC [6].…”

“…As suggested by Canali et al [6], the ASC introduction in sustainable organic farming systems represents a powerful tool for farmers to positively influence the agro-ecosystem, by promoting the whole soil-plant system equilibrium in space and time. Moreover, the same authors [23] pointed out that the introduction of the ASC termination by the roller crimper reduces the energy cost, compared with the traditional cover crops termination (green manure), thus increasing the economical sustainability of this practice.…”

“…In fact, in the flat soil strips, pure ASC or mixtures of different proportions of legume and non-legume crops, which are potentially resistant to temporary water excess, are cultivated during the winter-rainy period between two consecutive spring-summer cash crops. These break ASC are terminated with a roller crimper before the transplanting of cash crops [6]. The last layer consists of an organic fertilization strategy, which is implemented using commercial and/or innovative fertilizers and amendments, i.e., anaerobic digestates, with the aim of maintaining or increasing long-term soil organic matter and fertility.…”