Determining the effect of organic and low-input production methods on food quality and safety. QLIF subproject 2: Effects of production methods

The objectives of QLIF subproject 2 were to: (i) identify the effect of production systems (organic, low-input and conventional) on food quality and safety parameters; (ii) identify agronomic parameters responsible for differences in food quality and safety; (iii) carry out a pilot study into the effect of consumption of organic crops on hormonal balances and immune status in a model experimental animal system. The results showed that organic food production methods resulted in: (a) higher levels of nutritionally desirable compounds (e.g., vitamins/antioxidants and poly-unsaturated fatty acids such as omega-3 and CLA); (b) lower levels of nutritionally undesirable compounds such as heavy metals, mycotoxins, pesticide residues and glyco-alkaloids in a range of crops and/or milk; (c) a lower risk of faecal Salmonella shedding in pigs. These nutritional benefits were linked to specific agronomic practices that are prescribed by organic farming standards. Pilot studies showed that these composition differences may translate into measurable health benefits in a model experimental system with rats. Further elaboration on the complex interaction between production methods and health benefits will have to be addressed in future studies

Improving the quality and safety of organic and low input foods and maximizing the benefits to consumers and producers

‘Improving quality and safety and reduction of cost in the European organic and 'low input' supply chains' (QLIF) is an Integrated Project under the 6th Framework Programme of the European Commission which started in March 2004 and will end in February 2009. After three years of research by 31 QLIF partners, the scientific data on on the benefits of the system approach used in organic and ‘low input’ agriculture has expanded considerably. At the same time the project has developed an array of technological innovations that are applicable to a wide range of food production systems and novel approaches for whole food chain management. During the 3rd QLIF Congress held at the University of Hohenheim, Germany, in March 2007, these results were discussed in nine synthesis papers and in 37 in-depth papers

Blight-MOP: Development of a systems approach for the management of late blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans) in EU organic potato production

Blight-MOP Late blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans) is the most devastating fungal disease affecting organic (and conventional) potato production in the EU. It kills the foliage and usually results in losses of yield which can be very large when infection is severe and occurs early in the season. The disease may be transmitted to the tubers which become unmarketable and these can lead to complete deterioration of the stored crop if put into storage with healthy tubers. To a great extent, conventional production systems rely upon frequent applications of synthetic fungicides with different modes of action for late blight control, but this is seldom completely successful. However, in organic systems, the availability of chemical fungicides is currently restricted to those which are ‘considered to be traditional organic farming practices’: these include copper hydroxide, copper oxychloride (tribasic), copper sulphate and cuprous oxide that have a protectant action and are reasonably effective. Their use is restricted by national legislation and organic certifying authorities and pressure has been mounting to withdraw them not only because of possible adverse effects on wildlife, the environment and human health but also their incompatibility with organic production principles. This led to a proposed ban on the use of copper fungicides for control of late blight in organic farming in the EU from March 2002 which had potentially serious implications for the potato crop. The resultant losses of yield and hence income in the absence of copper-based fungicide sprays were expected to threaten the economic viability of both organic potato enterprises and/or whole organic farming businesses in many areas of the EU in the medium to long term until effective, alternative methods are developed. In the meantime, two major approaches were adopted. One was to set a limit to the amount of copperbased fungicides permitted for application: until 31 December 2005, the maximum application was restricted to 8kg of elemental copper/ha/year for annual crops, declining to 6kg/ha/year from 1 January 2006 (but this could be changed at any time in the light of developments in viable alternatives or should there be proposals for withdrawal under the EC Review programme for existing active substances). Another was to promote further research to identify and develop effective alternative late blight control methods and strategies without the undesirable effects associated with copper-based fungicides. The Blight-MOP project – ‘Development of a systems approach for late Blight (caused by Phytophthora infestans) Management in EU Organic Production systems’ was initiated in March 2001 to achieve this aim and maintain yield and quality and hence commercial viability of organic potato crops without the use of copper fungicides. Such an approach involves integrated use of (i) resistant varieties (ii) existing agronomic strategies (iii) alternative treatments that can replace synthetic and copper-based fungicides (iv) use of existing blight forecasting systems to optimise control treatments and to maximise synergistic interactions between (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv). The specific objectives were to: 1. Assess the socio-economic impact of late blight and ‘state-of-the-art’ blight management practices in EU organic potato production systems 2. Assess varietal performance in organic production systems in different EU regions and interactions with local blight populations 3. Develop within field diversification strategies to prevent/delay blight epidemics 4. Optimise agronomic strategies for the management of late blight 5. Develop alternative control treatments to copper-based fungicides that comply with organic farming standards 6. Evaluate novel application and formulation strategies for copper- free/alternative and copper-based late blight treatments 7. Integrate optimised resistance management, diversification, agronomic and alternative control treatment strategies into existing organic potato management systems. To pursue these objectives, experiments were conducted over 4 seasons from 2001 to 2004 under organic cropping system conditions in seven countries (Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Switzerland and United Kingdom) spanning a wide range of aerial, soil, production and marketing environments. The rate and severity of the late blight epidemics in 2001, 2002 and 2004 gave a rigorous test of the different components of the integrated management system which gave broadly similar effects in the three years. In 2003, the very hot, dry summer (and August in particular) severely restricted the disease making it difficult to evaluate the efficacy of treatments in some regions, but in others where infection did occur the general trends were similar to those observed in other years

Which aspects of health are likely to be affected by our choice of food quality, such as organic food, and how can we investigate this question?

There are ample examples that the methods used for production of food do make a difference for food composition or other aspects of its quality, and that some of these differences are large enough to make a real difference for the consumer in terms of health. Some of these differences may in fact cause (yet unproven) general differences in food quality between organic and conventional products. However, many of the production methods that benefit food quality are not necessarily restricted to either organic or conventional systems. Understanding the links between production methods and food quality therefore allows improvement of the products of any system, whether organic or conventional. Many of these benefits are linked with what is presently common practice in organic farming, but which is not prescribed by the regulations, and for these the main challenge can be to conserve existing quality benefi ts during further development of the productivity of organic methods

Integration of fertility management, cultivar selection and alternative spray treatments to optimize control of foliar diseases of greenhouse grown tomatoes

Powdery mildew caused by Leveillula taurica (Lev.) Arn. is one of the most serious foliar diseases of greenhouse and open field tomato. The disease is currently controlled with the use of organic fungicides and sulphur, the latter being the only product permitted in organic crops. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential of controlling the disease by integrating: a) hybrids of low susceptibility to the disease, b) organic fertilisers (chitin) and c) alternative spray treatments. Some of the combinations of the above factors were highly effective in decreasing the percentage of disease severity. Specifically the combination of the hybrid of low susceptibility with the addition of chitin in the substrate and the spray treatment Milsana®+chitosan, was equally effective to sulphur. These results indicate that the combination of the above factors could probably be used as an alternative to sulphur for control of L. taurica in the greenhouse

Development of strategies to improve quality and safety and reduce cost of production in organic and ‘low input‘ crop production systems

The overall aims of organic and low input crop production include the economically viable and environmentally sound production of high quality food and feed. Technological bottlenecks in such systems include insufficient and instable yields and in some instances unsatisfactory processing, sensory and/or nutritional quality of the final product. Recently, concerns have also been raised that the intensive use of manures may lead to increased risk for contamination of food by enteropathogenic micro-organisms. Crop production in low input systems is based on key pillars, i.e. (i) a fertile soil which provides sufficient capacity to allow for plant growth while preventing soil-borne diseases, (ii) high quality, disease-free seeds and plant material, (iii) a crop-specific soil fertility management to provide sufficient nutrients for optimum plant growth, and (iv) adequate crop protection techniques to prevent damage due to noxious organisms. In the QLIF project we develop improved component strategies to overcome technological bottlenecks in annual (wheat, lettuce, tomato) and perennial (apple) crop production systems. In this paper we report the progress achieved so far

The Effects of Crop Type and Production Systems on the Activity of Beneficial Invertebrates

Beneficial invertebrate activity (13 groups) was assessed in five crop types on a split-plot experimental system in northern England using pitfall trapping and suction sampling in May-October 2005. Very significant differences were detected in activity between crop type, and in the preference of groups for individual crops. Within crop types, differences in fertiliser and crop protection approaches appeared to significantly affect activity, with preferences for either organic or conventional management differing between groups. In general, inorganic fertiliser application had more effect on activity than pesticide, herbicide and fungicide use