Einflüsse von Minimalbodenbearbeitung und Transfermulch auf die perennierende Beikrautflora im Kartoffelbau

Reduced tillage enhances soil fertility and can help to avoid erosion. The drawback of increased weed pressure is a challenge for organic farmers due to the prohibition of herbicides. Mulch could be a way to suppress weeds and to introduce reduced tillage systems in potato cultivation. The number of perennial weeds were monitored in a comparison of two potato cultivation systems: conventional ploughing and hilling versus reduced tillage with dead mulch. In 2014, perennial weeds in the mulch system increased to double the number compared to the ploughed system. The reverse pattern was observed in 2015. This reversed effect was due to improved application methods of mulch with smaller particle size and a closer C/N-Ratio in the mulch in 2015 in combination with a severe spring drought in 2015 but not in 2014

Implications of subsidiary cropping and tillage system on economics and production risk

Subsidiary cropping and mulch systems as well as conservation tillage may induce multiple positive agro-ecological effects, increasing resilience and yield stability of cash cropping in organic farming systems. As this may also implicitly affect production economics and risk potential, the paper at hand evaluates two year crop-rotations from empiric field data, considering costs and revenues of production as well as yield effects based on stochastic risk simulation. Absolute profitability as well as risk potential substantially varies between cropping systems and locations and does not necessarily display a definite preference of conventional/reduced tillage or subsidiary cropping systems. However, a temporal expansion of the period under observation considering long-term effects of soil fertility enhancing management practices may illustrate their risk-reducing potential as well as the necessity to handle them as long-term investments with instant expenses and subsequent economic returns