The influence of organic and integrated management practices on poppy yield, pests and disease incidence was

assessed in field trials in 2009. Crop management based on mineral fertilisers application and chemosynthetic pesticides treatment significantly increased the yield of poppy compared to organic crop protection and organic

management of fertilization. Integrated crop protection decreased harmfulness of pests as rate of infectious diseases observed on capsules during harvest

Dvorak, Petr

Hajkova, Miroslava

Kazda, Jan

Kuchtova, Perla

Plachka, Eva

English

Organic Eprints

Výsledky pokusů u máku (Papaver somniferum) v ekologické a integrované pěstitelské technologii Results of trials with poppy seed (Papaver somniferum) in organic and integrated production technology. Perla Kuchtová1 – Eva Plachká2 – Miroslava Hájková2 – Jan Kazda3 – Petr Dvořák1  1 Katedra rostlinné výroby FAPPZ – Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze 2Výzkumný ústav olejnin Opava – OSEVA PRO s.r.o. 3 Katedra ochrany rostlin FAPPZ – Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze   ABSTRACT    The influence of organic and integrated management practices on poppy yield, pests and  disease  incidence  was  assessed  in  field  trials  in  2009.  Crop  management  based  on mineral  fertilisers  application  and  chemosynthetic  pesticides  treatment  significantly increased the yield of poppy compared to organic crop protection and organic management of  fertilization.  Integrated  crop  protection  decreased  harmfulness  of  pests  as  rate  of infectious diseases observed on capsules during harvest.  KEY WORDS poppy seed, seed treatment, yield, pests, diseases  INTRODUCTION  The significant advances made in crop management in the course of the last fifteen years  have  allowed  cultivation  of  poppy  seed  in  narrow  rows  without  singling,  but  with mechanized  harvesting  and  extensive  use  of  pesticides.  This  has  not,  however,  been sufficient to reach yield percentages higher to those of the early 20th century (Kuchtova et al., 2009). The occurrence of pests and diseases makes the organic growing of poppy seed more difficult.  In recent years, the economic importance of certain insects has increased in Central Bohemia. The Stenocarus ruficornis (Rotrekl, 2010) is well known to all growers of poppy seed. Adults of this species feeding on young leaves are capable of destroying a whole crop stand. In warm and dry spring conditions, there are no other protections available to farmers than insecticides.  With respect to insect pests causing damages in warm and dry years (Laštůvka, 2009) it  was  indicated  that  it  is  also  difficult  to  protect  poppy  seed  against  the  Neoglocianus maculaalba in the framework of integrated and conventional crop management as well as in organic  farming.  Treatment  against  capsule  pests  has  become  a  standard  practice  of  the poppy cultivation technology. The poppy seed is hypersensitive to infestation fungal diseases (Pleospora calvescens, Helmintosporium papaveris, Peronospora arborescens, Sclerotinia sclerotiorum etc.). It is therefore necessary to resort to fungicidal treatment. In the case of narrow row weeding, the slow initial development and formation of the crop cover make it difficult to reduce and maintain the occurrence of weeds at an acceptable level without the use of insecticide. This is the reason why organic poppy seed growers primarily use wide row weeding techniques on stands intended for their own consumption. The use of agrochemicals sprays on large areas represents a short-sighted solution, especially in light of the increased demands of consumers with respect to “healthier” food products with no residues of pesticides, whose “cocktail” effect on the environment (including human  body)  is  still  unknown  due  to  the  lack  of  relevant  information.  A  strong  public pressure to reduce the consumption of pesticides and even prohibit the use of certain active substances  is  indeed  growing.  The  threat  or  adoption  of  such  drastic  restrictions  may ultimately lead to seeking environmentally friendly alternative methods and procedures. The objective of our work is to explore alternative plant protection techniques applicable to poppy cultivation in organic and integrated crop production systems.   MATERIALS AND METHODS  Field trials on poppy seed, variety Orfeus, were conducted (1) at two research stations of Czech university of Life Sciences (CULS) Prague in Uhříněves (Prague 10, CULS1) and in Červený Újezd (district Kladno, CULS2), (2) in the Oilseed Research Institute (ORI) of OSEVA  Development  and  Research  Ltd.  In  Opava  and  (3)  on  the  land  of  organic  farm Tachecí in Budyně nad Ohří (district Litoměřice, TACHECI). Organic farm is located 165 m above sea level with 555 mm precipitation per year (340 mm of them fall in the vegetation period) and an average annual temperature 8.5°C. Soft soils were chosen for trials, soil type chernozem. Composted manure was used to previous crop.  Split  plots  arrangement  of  experiment  was  used.  Each  variant  had  4  reps,  except CULS1, where the lack of certified area enabled only 3 reps. Harvested surface of the parcel was 10 m2.  Table 1 a: Variants of trial. Organic cultivation technology. Budyně nad Ohří 2009.   Seed treatment  Sowing  2-4 leaves  20 cm  Hook buds  7 days  End of flowering Var.  Diseases  Stenocarus ruficornis Stenocarus ruficornis  Diseases  Neoglocianus maculaalba  Diseases after 1.and 2. treatment Pests Diseases 1  Eventus  Azadirachtin1  Spruzit  Polyversum    Polyversum  Spruzit   2  Eventus  Azadirachtin1  Spruzit  Polyversum  Sodium silica glass  Polyversum  Spruzit   3  Eventus  Azadirachtin1  Spruzit  Polyversum  Spruzit  Polyversum  Spruzit   4  Eventus  Azadirachtin1  Spruzit  Polyversum  Spruzit  Polyversum  Spruzit  Spruzit 5  Eventus  Azadirachtin1  Spruzit  Polyversum    Polyversum  Spruzit  Polyversum 6  Check               1 Azadirachtin pelleted, sowed at the same time with the seeds Table 1 b: Variants of trial. Integrated cultivation technology 2009. CULS, ORI.   Seed treatment  2-4 leaves  20 cm  Hook buds  7 days Var.  Diseases  Pests  Stenocarus ruficornis  Diseases  Neoglocianus maculaalba  Diseases  after 1.and 2. treatment 1  E-ventus1    Nurelle  Caramba       2  E-ventus1  Chinook      Aqua Vitrin    Aqua Vitrin 3    Cruiser      Sodium silica glass    Sodium silica glass 4  Supresivit2    Biscaya    Azadirachtin + Greemax  Prosaro   5  Polyversum3    Biscaya    oil    oil 6  Check             1 E-ventus: elimination of pathogens from the surface of the seeds through an electronic seed treatment  2 Polyversum: antifungal agent based on Pythium oligandrum approved for use in organic agriculture, registered for poppy crop during vegetation 3 Supresivit: subsidiary soil agent based on Trichoderma harzianum, approved for use in organic agriculture Products of crop protection were tested in the trials on integrated and organic crop management (table 1 a, 1 b). On the area certified and controlled for organic farming the products  registered  for  use  in  organic  farming  were  tested  only.  On  the  others  areas  we observed the effect of both – native products and synthetic pesticides. Seeds were treated according to the variants before sowing with E-Ventus, Cruiser, E-ventus in combination with Chinook, Chinook, Supresivit and Polyversum (table 1).   Table 2: Iterventions of growing technologies 2009. Localities: CULS1. CULS2, ORI, TACHECI. Interventions  CULS1 Uhříněves CULS2 Červený Újezd ORI  Kylešovice TACHECI Budyně Previous crop  peas and beans mixture  winter wheat  spring barley  winter wheat Ploughing  19. 11. 2008  27. 10. 2008  end of October  end of October Sowing soil preparation  1. - 4.4. 2009  1. 4. 2009  28. 3. 2009  7. 4. 2009 Sowing 5. 4. 2009 1.8 kg per ha 3. 4. 2009 1.8 kg per ha 8. 4. 2009 1.3 kg per ha 9. 4. 2010 1.8 kg per ha Variety  Orfeus  Orfeus  Orfeus  Orfeus Weed management 6.4. Merlin 750 WG 8.5. Lontrel weeding 4.4. Callisto 480 SC 5.5. Targa Super 5 EC 10.4. Merlin 15.5. Callisto+Starane 5.6. Trophy weeding Fertilization  14.5. Entec 26 40 kg N per ha 11. 5. Ammonium nitrate  30 kg N per ha 5.6. Ammonium nitrate 60 kg N per ha Composted manure  to preceding crop Harvest  18.8. 2009  20.8.2009  19.8.2009  20.8.2009 In field trials, focus was placed on the factors relevant to the application of agro technical  interventions  in  organic  or  integrated  cultivation  systems:  plant  health,  pests occurrence, disease infestation. In advanced stages of vegetation number of plants, poppy numbers per plant, yield, etc. have been evaluated. Before mechanical harvest capsules were taken from 30 plants per repetition to determine the degree of infestation and analysis of the yield components. Fertilization and weed management have been adapted to local conditions (table 2).  RESULTS In our experiment integrated crops produced the highest yield (0.947 t ha-1 in average of all variants in the integrated part of the experiment to 0.265 t ha-1 in average of all organic variants). The elimination of chemosynthetic pesticides or their compensation by more native products resulted in yield reductions (table 3, 4 a, b, c).   Table 3: Results of organic growing technology. TACHECI Variant  1  2  3  4  5  6 Plant per m2 (30.4. 2009, 4-6 young leaves)  80  130  63  70  72  91 Plant per m2 (19. 8. 2009, harvest)  15  18  20  13  18  17 Plant per m2 (%, percentage of survivors)  19  14  32  19  24  19 Interspace in crop stand (early growth)  69  70  59  70  66  70 Height of plant (cm, harvest)  110  108  111  113  110  112 Capsules infestation index (diseases)1  2.89  2.83  2.81  2.84  2.80  2.83 Percentage of capsules attacked by pests (%)  20.4  15.8  15.8  18.3  17.5  10.0 Yield (t per ha, 8% of monture, hand harvesting)  0.250  0.275  0.290  0.265  0.245  0.263 Percentage of yield to check variant (%)  95  105  110  101  93  100 Percentage of yield to average of all variants of the experiment (%, 0,947 t per ha = 100 %)   26  29  31  28  26  28 TSW (g, thousand grain weight)  0.471  0.469  0.472  0.473  0.473  0.477 Percentage of TSW to check variant (%)  99  98  99  99  99  100 1 Determining of the index: (n1*1+ n2*2+ n3*3)/n, where n1 = capsules with infestation 0-30 % of surface, n2 = capsules with infestation 31-60 % of surface, n3 = capsules with infestation 61-100 % of surface, n = the total number of observed capsules The  differences  between  yields  are  even  more  evident  when  we  realize  that  the harvest  of  organic  experiment  was  carried  out  manually,  while  the  integrated  part  of experimental fields were harvested mechanically.  Table 4: Results of integrated growing technology. Average of sites CULS1. CULS2, ORI Variant  1  2  3  4  5  6 Plant per m2 (30.4. 2009, 4-6 young leaves)  78.7  154.0  116.0  97.3  85.3  98.0 Plant per m2 (19. 8. 2009, harvest)  23.3  34.0  32.0  26.0  33.7  27.0 Plant per m2 (%, percentage of survivors)  36  34  41  33  50  39 Interspaces  in crop stand (early growth)  17.7  18.0  13.0  21.7  15.7  24.3 Height of plant (cm, harvest)  124  127  126  126  126  122 Capsules infestation index (diseases)1  2.14  2.01  2.22  2.13  2.19  2.17 Percentage of capsules attacked by pests (%)  10.40  6.25  8.90  8.20  5.40  8.75 Yield (t per ha, 8% of moisture)  1.178  1.208  1.175  1.254  1.205  1.028 Percentage of yield to check variant (%)  118  132  120  126  119  100 Percentage of yield to average of all variants of the experiment (%, 0,947 t per ha = 100 %)   124  128  124  133  127  108 TSW (g, thousand grain weight)  0.551  0.565  0.559  0.559  0.554  0.538 Percentage of TSW to check variant (%)  102  105  104  104  103  100 1 Determining of the index: (n1*1+ n2*2+ n3*3)/n, where n1 = capsules with infestation 0-30 % of surface, n2 = capsules with infestation 31-60 % of surface, n3 = capsules with infestation 61-100 % of surface, n = the total number of observed capsules In experimental organic cultivation the variants 2, 3 and 4 (tab 1 a) were the best ones with the yield of seeds 0.275, 0.290 and 0.265 t ha-1, respectively (tab 3) compared to check untreated variant 6 (tab 3), which gave higher yield than variants 1 and 4 0.263 t ha-1 to 0.250 (variant 1) or 0.245 (variant 4).  Figure 1: Yield of integrated poppy (t per ha, at 8 % of moisture) CULS 1, CULS 2, ORI, 2009   Statistical  analysis  of  results  recorded  by  ANOVA  (Tuckey  HSD,  at  the  95,0  % confidence  level,  Statgraphics  Plus)  showed  statistically  significant  differences  between experimental sites as well as in agricultural technology. There were no significant differences between  the  variants  from  experimental  sites.  Differences  in  yield  at  different  localities (CULS1, CULS2, ORI) can be seen in Figure 1. Averaging of the results leveled the differences between the localities (Fig 1). In term of average yield, variants 4, 2 and 1 (Tab 1 b) were the best from of all with 1.254, 1.208 and 1.178 t ha-1, respectively. In addition, all selected strategies in integrated cultivation were better in relation to the untreated control, as opposed to organic poppy cultivation. It  was  also  interesting  to  compare  the  number  of  plants  after  emergence  and  at harvest, both within individual experimental sites, and between them according to the method of  treatment.  For  organic  variants,  the  percentage  of  survivors  plants  amounted  from  15 (variant 1) to 20% (variant 3), while for the variants of integrated cultivation from 33 (variant 4) to 50% (variant 5, Tab 4). Higher  was  also  the  rate  of  infestation  by  pests  and  disease  in  organic  poppy cultivation (Tab 3, 4). Plants in integrated experiments were on average about 10-15 cm higher.  DISCUSSION Lower yields of the variants in organic experiment can be attributed to particularly strong  pressure  from  the  adults  of  Stenocarus  ruficornis  during  germination,  when  the depletion of plants. Granular Azadirachtin applied to the lines during sowing, did not bring the desired effect. Azadirachtin, gradually releasing the granules, killed many soil macro-organisms (probably microorganisms also), as has been observed, but did not directly affect the Stenocarus ruficornis. In the same year, the same pest destroyed the similar trial with organic poppy growing at Uhříněves (CULS1). In a panic response to the growing damage on the experimental plots in Budyně (TACHECÍ) being used row spraying of Spruzit (Tab 1), non-selective product based on natural pyrethrum authorized for use in organic agriculture. (Unfortunately, the Spruzit is unstable and its effect does not last long, as can be monitored during  its  use  in  the  later  stages  of  growth  against  pests  of  capsules,  namely  against Neoglocianus  maculaalba.)  The  compensation  effect  has  been  observed,  but  it  could  not compensate for loss of income, combined with the failure of plant surface and strong pressure from pests of capsules and plant diseases (namely Pleospora calvescens, Helmintosporium papaveris,  Peronospora  arborescens)  during  vegetation.  Botrytis  cinerea,  Sclerotia sclerotiorum, mosaic diseases and bacteriosis were also observed. For this state of affairs is not surprising fact higher rate of infestation of organic poppy capsules. The surprise is that was anything harvested. If it is possible to talk about a successful strategy, the variants were the best, where treatment was used against pests of capsules (variants 2, 3 and 4, Tab 1). In contrast with organic variants, seed treatment (Chinook, Cruiser) and spraying with chemical agents (Nurelle, Biscaya) showed greater effect and less loss of plants in the early stages of culture. The paradox is that good yields were recorded for "green" versions of the integrated poppy growing, where biological agents with fungicidal effect in combination with chemistry were used (variants 4, 5, Tab 2). It was also good combination of electronically and chemically (Chinook) treated seeds, in which during the vegetation water glass (Aqua vitrin) was used for protection against pests and diseases only.  In Opava results were marked by erratic emergence, mainly due to dry in the spring of 2009, which has been almost a month. (This was also the reason for the ineffectiveness of the Merlin and the need of corrective.)  CONCLUSION Based on our results, it would appear that the poppy cultivation in organic farming is impossible, but it is not. Sure, on the large areas. Poppy cannot grow organically everywhere. The difficulties are mainly related to poppy cultivation in warm areas, where to begin to occur to a greater extent of thermophilic pests. With climate change and weather patterns diseases pressure  change  and  sometimes  increased.  The  solution  is  to  cultivate  poppy  seed  in  the higher, cooler areas.  Weed management is special issue in organic poppy growing, difficult because hand-operated weeding requiring. The only possibility for success is to adapt to farm conditions, trying to modify crop rotation, use unusual methods of weed management (mulching), and use resistant varieties and test the products of crop protection registered for use in organic farming.   ACKNOWLEDGEMENT Results were obtained thanks to the support of a grant of the Ministry of Agriculture QH 92106.  REFERENCES KUCHTOVÁ, P. – KAZDA, J. -  CIHLÁŘ, P., PLACHKÁ, E., HÁJKOVÁ, M., HAVEL, J., DVOŘÁK, P., ŠUPOVÁ, E.: Vliv vybraných přípravků a jejich kombinací na výnos máku (Papaver somniferum, L.) In: Prosperující olejniny. 2009, 10.12.2009 ČZU v Praze, 82 – 103 pp MOTTL,  V.  Mák  –  pěstování  a ekonomika.  In:  9.  makový  občasník.  Praha.  Únor  2010. Sborník odborných seminářů. ČZU v Praze, Katedra rostlinné výroby FAPPZ, s.14 – 19 HAVEL, J. – RICHTER, R. – LOŠÁK, T. – BARANYK, P. – ZEHNÁLEK, P. – ZELENÝ, V. – MARKYTÁN, P. Mák setý, ozimý, jarní forma. In: Olejniny. 1. vydání, ProfiPres, Praha 2010, s. 81 – 112 LAŠTŮVKA, Z. Climate Change and Its Possible Influence on teh Ocurrence and Importance of Insect Pests. Pant P/rotect. Sci. Vol. 45, 2009, Special Issue: s. 53 – 62 ROTREKL, J. Krytonosec kořenový (Stenocarus ruficornis) na máku a možnosti ochrany. 2010,  Výzkumný  ústav  pícninářský  s.r.o.  Troubsko,  s.  1  -  8  Dostupné  z: http://www.vupt.cz/dokumenty/rot_06_10.pdf  

Results of trials with poppy seed (Papaver somniferum) in organic and integrated production technology.

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