Ground cover management and farmyard manure (FYM) management have important roles in organic lettuce production.However,there is not enough information about their combined effects.In order to assess ...the effects of individual and combined ground cover and FYM management on soil mineral N (NH4-N and NO3-N) dynamics,lettuce yield and economics in organic farming,a two-year field experiment was conducted on a certified organic farm in Kisa(c) (Vojvodina,Serbia).The experiment had a two-factorial split-plot completely randomized block design.FYMwas applied on the half of the experimental field as a whole-plot factor,while ground cover management included the following four treatments:(Ⅰ) control,without ground cover management ((O));(Ⅱ) hoeing (H);(Ⅲ) agrotextile cover;(V) straw mulch (SM),which were applied on split plots.The applied SM and AT increased soil moisture by 12.83 and 3.73％,respectively,compared to the control treatment.FYM increased soil mineral N concentration,the lettuce fresh matter (FM) yield and nitrate concentration in lettuce.However,nitrate concentration in lettuce in all treatments was below the limit required by the European Commission (EC) (2001).The highest lettuce yield was obtained by AT (39 122 kg),followed by SM (33 925 kg),and it was higher with FYM application by 16.85％.Hoeing did not positively affect the yield,probably due to its negative effect on soil moisture.Additional profit was higher with FYM,showing the following decreasing order:AT＞H＞SM＞(O).However,value/cost ratio (VCR) was in the order (O)＞H＞SM＞AT on FYM fertilized plots.FYM application led to higher lettuce yield and higher profit and VCR.In case a farm does not have FYM,SM is the best alternative due to its positive effect on the yield and low investment costs.
At times of crisis, home gardening has often been sought out as a potential solution for threats to food security and as a measure to increase socio-psychological effects, such as public sense of ...self-efficacy, trust in the government and care for one’s wellbeing. The objective of this study was to investigate if home gardening increased during the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring/summer of 2020 and to provide socio-psychological insights into the explanatory factors of such an increase. An explanatory theoretical model of home gardening was proposed and tested to analyse whether home gardening is correlated to food security concerns, and if so, to what extent. A non-representative survey was conducted in five European countries (Slovenia, Norway, Estonia, Switzerland, and Iceland) using snowball sampling via social media networks, reaching 1144 participants. The results showed the pandemic did prove to be an important psychological push towards home gardening prompted by food security concerns. Measured as loose as introducing at least one new gardening activity during COVID-19, this study found an approximately 10% increase in home gardening during the first wave of COVID-19 in the sample population, which was skewed towards educated, female, middle-class Europeans.
The objectives of organic farming are consistent with the objectives of protected areas. In this paper, possibilities for development of organic farming in protected areas are analyzed against the ...background of the current state of organic farming in Slovenia, current legislation regarding farming in protected areas, and economic and demographic characteristics of the selected protected areas in that country. Organic farmers are important providers of healthy, locally produced food, which can be an important component of tourism. Low interconnections between farmers, insufficient supporting legislation, limiting natural factors, and aspects of demographic structure inhibit the development of organic farming in protected areas.
•Various aspects of cover crop usage in organic vegetable production are presented.•Cover crops can reduce the use of external inputs.•Cover crops suppress weeds as well as improve and maintain soil ...fertility.•Examples of their effects to pest populations and diseases are included in review.
Environmental protection and human health have recently become important factors when selecting food production systems. The wide usages of pesticides and synthetic fertilisers in conventional production cause environmental pollution and degradation. Cover crops can reduce the use of external inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers and can at the same time suppress weeds as well as improve and maintain soil fertility. Cover crops can also modify the microclimate which affects pest populations and diseases. The cover crops are usually terminated before the planting of the main crops, but some management practices use cover crops simultaneously with the main crop to, provide living mulch. Determining, cover crop species and management practices is based on the needs and goals of sustainable production.
The summarised studies show that further research is needed for best practices of vegetable production especially using living mulches and roller crimper for termining cover crops before planting vegetables.
Ekološka pridelava oljk v Sloveniji Podmenik, Dane; Lampič, Barbara; Bavec, Martina
Dela (Univerza v Ljubljani. Oddelek za geografijo),
12/2013
39
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Open access
V prispevku predstavljamo razvoj in značilnosti ekološke pridelave oljk v Sloveniji. V letu 2012 je bilo zabeleženih 184,5 ha ekoloških oljčnikov, kar predstavlja 10 % vseh oljčnih nasadov. Glede na ...trende lahko v naslednjih letih pričakujemo, da bi se obseg ekoloških oljčnikov lahko povzpel na 350 ha. Pomembna je tudi ugotovitev, da pridelovalci namenjajo premalo pozornosti trajnostnim kmetijskim praksam, kar sproža kritičen premislek o izpolnjevanju temeljnih standardov ekološkega kmetijstva.
Purpose: Organic and integrated production of vegetables are the two most common production systems in Slovenia. The study analyzed two production systems with different cultures as alternatives with ...purpose to find the most appropriate variants.
Design/Methodology/Approach: The study based on the development and integration of developed specific technological- economic simulation models for the production of vegetables (salad, growing peppers, salad cucumbers, pickling cucumbers, round and cherry tomato) in greenhouse and multi-criteria decision analysis. The methodology of the study based on the DEX methodology and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) of organic (ECO) and integrated production (IP) in greenhouse.
Results: The evaluation results show that both cultivation methods of commercially attractive vegetables in greenhouse are variable. In the case of integrated production, the assessment of multi-criteria decision analysis EC and DEXi showed that salad (Donertie F1) proved to be the best possible alternative. In the case of organic production, the multi-criteria analysis assessment of pickling cucumbers (Harmony F1) is the best possible business alternative.
Conclusion: For the further production planning process by decision maker is the ranking with Expert Choice (EC) more useful and precise, while the DEX evaluations are more descriptive.
The contents of sugars, organic acids, total phenolic content, and the antioxidant activity were quantified in the flesh of red beet from conventional (CON), integrated (INT), organic (ORG), ...biodynamic (BD), and control farming systems using established methods. Significant differences were measured for malic acid, total phenolic content (TPC), and total antioxidant activity, where malic acid content ranged from 2.39 g kg−1 FW (control) to 1.63 g kg−1 FW (CON, ORG, and INT). The highest TPC was measured in BD and control samples (0.677 and 0.672 mg GAE g−1, respectively), and the lowest in CON samples (0.511 mg GAE g−1). Antioxidant activity was positively correlated with TPC (r 2 = 0.6187) and ranged from 0.823 μM TE g−1 FW to 1.270 μM TE g−1 FW in CON and BD samples, respectively, whereas total sugar content ranged from 21.03 g kg−1 FW (CON) to 31.58 g kg−1 FW (BD). The importance of sugars, organic acids, phenols, and antioxidants for human health, as well as for plant resilience and health, gained from this explorative study, is discussed and put into perspective.
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