Producing organic wheat with high grain protein content: the significance of intercropping and the need for diagnostic tools

Grain quality of wheat is one of the major concerns of organic farming production. Cereal-legume intercropping may be of significance in this regard as it enhances the yield productivity and the grain protein content (GPC) of the intercropped wheat. However, fitted tools are needed for the diagnosis and management of such interspecific canopies. Our main objectives were i) to analyse the effect of intercropping and N-management on organic farming performances and ii) to analyse the relationships between N-status indicators and GPC of intercropped wheat. These objectives were assessed in winter pea–wheat intercrops in 2007 and 2009 in western France. Our study confirmed the significance of intercropping in the production of wheat with high GPC. We showed that tools for diagnosis, fitted for sole crops to manage grain yield and GPC (N nutrition index, chlorophyll meter), can be used on intercropped wheat

Consequences of the introduction of cereal - grain legume intercrops in the supply chain. Analysis from the perspective of farmers and cooperatives

Intercropping (the simultaneous growth of 2 or more species in the same field) is one way to solve some difficulties that organic supply chain has to face. The aim of this article is to assess the consequences and the compatibility with intercrops at 2 levels: i) cropping systems of 18 farmers from north of France and ii) the logistics ofagricultural cooperatives which collect durum wheat in Midi-Pyrenees altogether with two cooperatives that already had experimented intercrops (Terrena and AgriBioUnion).The conclusions of our work is that intercrops seem a priori compatible with farmers’ cropping systems and with the presentlogistic organization of cooperatives but the main difficulty remains the feasibility and the cost in sorting out grains. Constraints and benefits of intercrops must then be analyzed more precisely at each level of the supply chain in order to collectively develop solutions

New challenges to improve organic bread wheat production in Europe

The total organic area in the EU-27 had an annual average growth rate of nearly 15% from 1998 to 2006 with winter wheat being the most important cereal crop. Wheat yield in organic farming is around 30% to 70% of yield of conventional farming but higher premia for organic wheat may to some extent compensate for this. Bread wheat is grown in a variety of crop rotations and farming systems and four basic organic crop production systems have been defined. Nitrogen deficiency and weed infestation are considered to be the most serious threat in organic wheat production. Organic wheat producers will have to fulfil the technological needs of bakers although the requirements differ widely from small artisan bakers to large enterprises handling the organic bread processing. To maintain and expand organic wheat production, there is a need to control weed population, manage nitrogen nutrition and maintain crop diversity in the cropping system. In order to obtain a share in the premium price of organic wheat products, farmers may involve in further processing and marketing

Combination of Spatial and Temporal Diversification in European Cropping Systems

There is a lack of results on the advantages and limitations of combining different crop diversification strategies both in time and space, which makes it difficult for famers and advisers to find relevant information for the transition towards more diversified cropping systems. A network of ten field experiments (diverIMPACTS project) was built across seven European countries, covering a range of pedo-climatic conditions and different farming systems: arable and vegetable systems under both conventional and organic management. Each field experiment tests one or several diversified cropping systems, which combine three diversification strategies with low input practices. These diversified cropping systems are compared to reference systems, which are less diversified and more dependent on external inputs. The three strategies of crop diversification are rotation, multiple cropping (growing different crop species on the same land within one growing season) and intercropping (growing different species in proximity on the same field). A diversified system includes, for example, the addition of cover crops or cash crops, such as legumes, for their expected ecosystem services, or crops for new markets (e.g hemp, lentil), the use of multiple cropping to increase productivity per year (e.g. winter barley with soybean) and intercropping (e.g. barley/pea,wheat/faba bean, oat/lupin) to increase productivity per unit of area and reduce external inputs. Expected impacts include: higher arable land productivity, diversification and increased farmer revenues through access to new markets and reduced economic risk, lower environmental impact through reduced use of pesticides, chemical fertilisers, energy and water, and improved delivery of ecosystem services, including biodiversity. The diversified cropping systems will be assessed using standardized measurements across the network and multi-criteria assessment tools. Decisions regarding the design and management of the diversified cropping systems will be recorded to support other diversification initiatives. The year 2018 is the first year of the network. This paper presents the original approach, the strategies designed in the network, and the assumptions concerning the interests to combine temporal and spatial diversification in order to improve the delivery of multiple services. This network will be a source of inspiration for other initiatives of crop diversification in Europe. The ultimate goal is to guide farmers in their transition towards more diversified cropping systems and to promote innovations by various actors at different scales (e.g. innovations regarding machinery for sowing or harvesting new sole or mixed crops, value-chains through the consolidation of new markets, new process of transformation, or adaptation of value-chains to intercropping)

Improving baking quality, nutritional value and safety of organic winter wheat / Améliorer la qualité technologique, nutritionnelle et sanitaire du blé biologique, Principaux leviers agronomiques et technologiques

The organic bread wheat market has been diversified over time through the emergence of different sale channels. Processors require organic bread wheat of higher quality and safety in order to meet the consumers’ demand. The overall objective of the AGTEC-Org project was to identify agronomical and technological ways to improve the performance of organic wheat and flour. The findings would contribute to enhanced baking quality and nutritional value of organic flour, as well as prevention of mycotoxin contamination. The project involved 9 research centers or universities from 5 European countries for a total budget of about 1.5 million €. More than 400 experimental treatments were analyzed from 23 agronomic trials and 4 lab-experiments on food technology. Choice of cultivar is an efficient way to obtain higher grain quality. Intercropping legumes (grain or forage) improves weed control and N availability for wheat crop or succeeding crop. Green manure can be an effective alternative to farmyard manure. Fertilization with organic fertilizers improves yield and quality when water is available. Reduced tillage affects soil fertility and wheat yield but has little effects on grain quality. Milling process strongly influences flour characteristics. Stone milling improves the nutritive value and flour characteristics remain very stable independently of the milling yield. However, stone milling slightly raises DON levels. Characteristics of flour produced by means of roller milling appear very dependent on milling yield, instead. Increasing milling yield with the aim of enriching nutritional quality has a detrimental effect on either safety (DON) or bread-making quality (bread volume). Debranning before milling has a very positive impact on flour safety by reducing its DON content by 50 %

Acquisition de l'azote dans des associations pois - orge (Pisum sativum L. - Hordeum vulgare L.) en relation avec le fonctionnement du peuplement

Les associations céréale-légumineuse connaissent un regain d intérêt en Europe dans des systèmes à faibles intrants. Face à la variabilité de leurs performances, ce travail a cherché à approfondir les connaissances sur les interactions entre espèces en particulier pour la ressource azotée dans une association-modèle composée de pois et d orge. Le travail a mis en évidence l importance de la compétition pour l azote du sol entre espèces et ses interactions dynamiques avec la fixation symbiotique, l expansion foliaire et la croissance aérienne. La compétition pour l azote apparaît peu affectée par les écarts d enracinements entre espèces mais davantage par les écarts de demande en azote en relation avec la disponibilité en azote du milieu. Ce travail a aussi apporter des outils méthodologiques : mise au point de méthodes simples de caractérisation au champ de l enracinement d espèces associées et adaptation d un modèle de culture pour simuler le fonctionnement de ces associationsCereal-legume intercrops are gaining increasing interest in Europe in low-input systems. Face with the large variability of performance the aim of this works is to increase knowledge on interactions between species especially for nitrogen in pea-barley intercrops. This work reveals the major role of the competition for soil nitrogen between species and its dynamic interactions with N2 fixation, leaf expansion and aerial growth. Competition for soil nitrogen appears little affected by differences in root growth between species but more by differences in nitrogen demand in relation to soil nitrogen availability. This works also provides methodological tools: simple root methods for assessing root growth of associated species and adaptation of a crop simulation model for pea-barley intercropsANGERS-BU Lettres et Sciences (490072106) / SudocSudocFranceF

N2 fixation and N supply in organic pea (Pisum sativum L.) croping systems as affected by weeds and peaweevil (Sitona lineatus L.). European Journal of Agronomy : 22(4) : 449-458.

Grain legumes, especially peas, could play a key role in organic cropping systems. They could provide nitrogen (N) to the system via N2 fixation and produce grain rich in protein while improving soil N for the succeeding crop. Thus, maximising N2 fixation and optimising grain N production together with N contribution to soil is a challenging issue for organic pea crops. However, pest, disease and weed infestation are less easy to control in organic systems than in conventional systems. Therefore, the effects of weed infestation and pea weevil (Sitona lineatus L.) attacks on N nutrition and N2 fixation of organic pea crops were examined by on-farm monitoring over two years. The magnitude of the net contribution of the crops to the soil N balance in relation to their productivity was also assessed. In many situations, weed infestation together with pea weevil damage severely limited the nitrogen nutrition and grain yield. Percentage of N derived from fixation (%Ndfa) increased with weed biomass because weeds appeared more competitive than peas for soil N. But %Ndfa decreased with pea weevil leaf damage score. The interaction between these two biotic factors affected N yields and the net contribution of the crops to soil N. This latter ranged from −133 kg N ha−1 to 69 kg N ha−1 depending on %Ndfa and nitrogen harvest index (NHI). Optimising both grain N and net balance would require a reduction in root nodule damage by weevil larvae in order to maximise %Ndfa and a reduction in the NHI through the choice of cultivar and/or suitable crop management

Performance of pea, lupin and faba bean, in organic cropping systems in France

Organically farmed pea, lupin and faba bean were compared in terms of dry matter (DM), grain yield and nitrogen (N) production, as well as for their competitive ability against weeds. Adjacent strips of pea, lupin and faba bean were set up at eight sites throughout the Pays de la Loire region. Soil conditions and weed pressure differed between sites. In general, faba bean produced slightly more grain yield and grain N than pea. Lupin was the least productive grain legume and the weakest competitor against weeds, though it provided grains with the highest N contents. However in most situations, pea was shown to be the most efficient until flowering for DM and N accumulation as well as for light interception and crop height. A faster development of aboveground plant parts at early growth stages and a better soil N uptake were likely explanations for the lowest weed DM of pea. However DM of pea, lupin and faba bean were equally limited by weeds despite the differences in weed biomass between these species

Intercropping strategies of white clover with organic wheat to improve the trade-off between wheat yield, protein content and the provision of ecological services by white clover

Nitrogen (N) deficiency and weed infestation are the main factors limiting the yield and quality of organic soft winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). If forage legumes are associated with wheat, simultaneously or successively, they can help to reduce the impact of limiting factors through the ecological services they provide. The aim of this study was to evaluate two intercropping strategies to increase soft winter wheat yield and protein content and improve the provided ecological services (mainly N provisioning and weed control) by white clover (Trifolitum repens L.). White clover (Thfolium repens L. cv Aberdai) was intercropped with soft winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L. cv Renan) under organic conditions. Two strategies were compared, simultaneous intercropping versus relay intercropping using three field experiments. A control treatment with sole wheat crop was included in the three field experiments. Fertilization management on organic wheat was also tested (0 versus 100 kg N applied at spring time) to evaluate its incidence on cash and cover crop yields and protein content. White clover shoot dry matter (DM) was significantly higher in simultaneous intercropping compared to relay intercropping at wheat harvest (2.2 vs. 0.1 Mg DM ha(-1)) and at cover destruction (4.5 vs. 3.1 Mg DM ha(-1)). Wheat grain yield was not affected by the intercropping strategy while the protein content was significantly lower under simultaneous intercropping system (9.1% of the grain DM) compared to relay intercropping or in wheat as sole crop (10.0% of the grain DM). At cover destruction, both simultaneous and relay intercropped white clover significantly decreased weed shoot DM compared to sole wheat crop (-1.4 Mg DM ha(-1) for relay intercropping and -1.8 Mg DM ha(-1) for simultaneous intercropping). In comparison to relay intercropping strategy, N accumulation in white clover shoot DM was higher under simultaneous intercropping strategy at wheat harvest (52 vs. 2 kg N ha(-1)) and at cover destruction (123 vs. 83 kg N ha(-1)). In conclusion, our study has highlighted the positive effect of combining a simultaneous intercropping strategy with high N availability to guarantee a sufficient level of legume shoot DM as rapidly as possible to increase both N accumulation and weed control services, thus reducing the risk of impairing winter wheat yield and protein content