L’Organic Center USA riprende uno studio europeo sulle alternative agli input esterni nelle aziende biologiche

Sebbene gli agricoltori biologici si astengano dall'uso di prodotti chimici inorganici e fertilizzanti sintetici, le piante e il bestiame possono essere trattati con input esterni approvati. E nonostante le sostanze approvate per l'uso nel biologico debbano avere conseguenze negative minime per il loro utilizzo, è importante rivedere e valutare regolarmente il loro potenziale impatto sull'ambiente e sulla salute umana.

Agroecology: research for resilient, sustainable, climate-, ecosystem- and social-friendly farming systems

The EU has set ambitious targets for the agricultural sector. Not only do Europe’s farmers need to ensure a reliable supply of high-quality food – fruit, vegetables, nuts, cereals and animal products – and non-food products at competitive prices, they must also deliver on the environmental commitments of the EU Green Deal and farm to fork strategy.

RELACS - Quattro anni di ricerca di successo sulle alternative ai mezzi tecnici controversi in agricoltura biologica

A conclusione delle attività, il coordinatore di RELACS Lucius Tamm, assieme a Joelle Herforth-Rahmé, FiBL Svizzera,  riflette sui risultati più rilevanti del progetto. Finanziato dal programma Horizon 2020 dell'Unione Europea, il progetto è stato coordinato dal FiBL Svizzera.

Sustainable control of the greenhouse whitefly: combining solutions

Project RELACS – Improving inputs for organic farming. The greenhouse whitefly, Trialeurodes vaporariorum causes direct damage to plants by piercing their tissues, as well as indirect damage, by transmitting viruses. Mineral oils are usually applied to control the greenhouse whitefly but should be replaced with more sustainable solutions.

Nitrogen efficiency of organic fertilisers

Project RELACS – Improving inputs for organic farming. A high share of the nitrogen (N) in recycled and other organic fertilisers is not in a form available to plants and needs to be mineralized before plant uptake. This makes the effect on yields less predictable.

Evaluating recycled fertilisers regarding their nitrogen efficiency compared to mineral fertilisers can help estimate the amount of N they supply to the plants and, therefore, their effect on yields.

Essential oil trials on-farm: an alternative treatment for mastitis

Project RELACS – Improving inputs for organic farming. While antibiotics remain necessary treatments against mastitis, their widespread use leads to antibiotic resistance, which constitutes a threat to public health.

Many essential oils have antibacterial or anti-inflammatory properties. With the help of an advisor, dairy farmers can test alternative mastitis treatments with essential oils following a common protocol established by RELACS.

A basket of options to control worms in organic sheep production systems

Project RELACS – Improving inputs for organic farming. Organic sheep producers are aware that worm control issues continue to pose a threat to their business. To a large extent, they still have to rely on dewormers to maintain the health and productivity of their animals.

Research on alternative strategies for worm control can now be put into practice. These strategies have been developed independently of each other, but we now bring them together in a “basket of options” approach.