Organic farmers are obliged, in compliance with the valid legislation, to use seed originating from the organic production when establishing the crop stands. In a survey we found certified organic cereal seed is used on 6 %, conventional untreated seed on 37 %, and farm seed on 57 % (of the organically farmed area in the Czech Republic). The main reasons for that are as follows: the insufficient surface of land intended for the reproduction of organic seed, the low proportion of accepted seed coming from the accepted reproduction surface. Therefore, low-quality farm seed is used on a large proportion of organically farmed land, which has a negative effect on the yield level of the cereals. These observations were also confirmed by results obtained in a farmer survey. Farmers indicated that they are interested in certified organic seed if it is available. However, the sufficient supply and favourable prices are important for them

Capouchova, Ivana

Huda, Petr

Konvalina, Petr

Moudry, Jan

Moudry, Jan (Jr.)

Stehno, Zdenek

English

Organic Eprints

ORAL SECTION  /  33CurrENT SITuaTIoNS IN orgaNIC CErEal SEED offEr IN ThE CzECh rEPuBlICkOnVALInA, P 1, STEHnO, Z 2, CAPOUCHOVá, I 3, HůDA, P 1, MOUDRý J 1 & MOUDRý J  JR 1Key words: Organic seed availability, Cereals, Czech RepublicAbstractOrganic farmers are obliged, in compliance with the valid legislation, to use seed originating from the organic production when establishing the crop stands. In a survey we found certified organic cereal seed is used on 6 %, conventional untreated seed on 37 %, and farm seed on 57 % (of the organically farmed area in the Czech Republic). The main reasons for that are as follows: the insufficient surface of land intended for the reproduction of organic seed, the low proportion of accepted seed coming from the accepted reproduction surface. Therefore, low-quality farm seed is used on a large proportion of organically farmed land, which has a negative effect on the yield level of the cereals. These observations were also confirmed by results obtained in a farmer survey. Farmers indicated that they are interested in certified organic seed if it is available. However, the sufficient supply and favourable prices are important for them.IntroductionThe surface of arable land represented 12.26 % (54,937 ha) in the organic farming system (Of) in the Czech Republic (CZ) by 31 December 2010. The cereals are the most important market crops grown on arable land (Václavík, 2008). There were 22,762 ha of the organic cereals in CZ in 2009 (figures were published in the yearbook of the Organic farming of the Ministry of Agriculture in 2009). The Council Regulation (EC) No. 834/2007 of 28 June 2007, and the Commission Regulation (EC) No. 889/2008 of 5 September 2008, are the most important European legislative instructions on Of, and are binding for all member states of the European Union.” They lay down a permit to solely use organic seed in order to establish organic crop stands. The seed must originate from plants being grown in compliance with Of rules for at least one generation. The seed reproduction is an extremely difficult process (Thommen, A., Schmid, O., 2006). The reproduction crop stand and seed must meet the requirements of the seed certification and authorization procedure as the conventional plants and seed do, but the Of does not allow any pesticides or mineral nitrogenous fertilizers, etc. (Houba and Hosnedl, 2002). Organic farmers may use certified organic seed or farm seed in order to establish the crop stand. They may also apply for an exception (derogation) and use the conventional untreated seed.There is a long-lasting deficiency of organic seed in CZ. However, exact data are currently not available. Study aimed to analyse the availability of certified organic seeds in CZ and summarize 1  University of South Bohemia, Studentská 13, 370 05 České Budějovice, CZ, konvalina@zf.jcu.cz2  Crop Research Institute, Drnovská 507, 161 06 Prague 6, CZ, stehno@vurv.cz3  Czech University of Life Sciences, Kamýcká 120, 165 21 Prague 6, CZ, capouchova@af.czu.cz34  /  3RD SCIENTIfIC CONfERENCE  /  14TH – 15TH NOVEMBER 2011  /  PRAGUEthe use of each category of seed in practice. To find out the experience of Of with the certified organic seed is also a objective of the study.Materials and methodsData concerning the structure of multiplication crop stands, permitted seed and the range of seed at the market, were obtained from the Department of seed and planting materials of the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture and the Ministry of Agriculture. A questionnaire survey was carried out between 2009 and 2010; 329 questionnaires were sent to organic farmers working on arable land, of which 42 % were sent back. The farmers were asked to answer nine questions. The questionnaires were converted into the electronic versions and assessed by the contingency tables in Excel program.ResultsBetween 2008/09 and 2010/11 there was a gradual increase in the land area dedicated to organic cereal seed production. They represented, nevertheless, 1.5 % (349 ha) of the total organic land surface in 2009 in CZ. Regarding the average model seeding rate of 220 kg.ha-1, we would need 5,008 t of seed to plant the entire area of cereals in a particular year. In 2009, the average grain yield of organic cereals in CZ represented 2.94 t.ha-1 (Ministry of Agriculture, 2009). It means we would need the reproduction areas of 1,703 ha of 100 % of the seed were allowed to be used. In 2009, seed were reproduced on 20.5 % of the required land surface. It is unrealistic to expect that certified organic seed 100 % seeds. Comparison between the allowed multiplication land surface and amounts of allowed winter wheat seed shows that the major part of harvested seed have not been certified as organic seed in 2009 (Table 1). In the same year, 90.95 t of the winter wheat seed were certified as organic. However, this winter wheat was grown on 125 ha of land. It means that the major part of the harvested material did not meet the requirements of the seed certification procedure (same as the major part of the other cereal species). The range of the reproduced organic cereal species is very narrow. The growing of the suitable varieties on the local farm land and climatic conditions are strongly limited, becouse of limited organic seed availability.Since 2009, organic farmers used a lot of conventional untreated seed they had asked for. In 2009, 398 exceptions for 1,664 t of seed were granted. Table 2 shows the evident difference between the amount of allowed conventional spelt wheat and triticale seed. The sufficient amount of the organic spelt wheat seed were multiplicated in 2009, organic farmers could, therefore, use only organic seed. On the other hand, triticale was in a high demand, but there was almost no organic seed.Except for the certified organic seed (Table 1) and conventional untreated seed (Table 2), the organic farmers also use their own (so called farm saved) seed in order to establish the crop stands. There is not enough information on the applied amount of farm seed. Therefore, the following model amount of seeds was used for 2009: amount of certified organic seed = 281 t/seeding rate of 0.22 t.ha-1 = 1,277 ha of the seeded surface; amount of conventional untreated seed = 1,664 t/seeding rate of 0.22 t.ha-1 = 7,564 ha of the sown surface. The surface of grown cereals represented 22,762 ha – 1,227 ha – 7,564 ha = 13,971 ha where the farm seed were applied. The ORAL SECTION  /  35proportion of each seed type is presented in Chart 1. The certified seed should not be ideally resown more than once, which is not, nevertheless, respected.Tab. 1: Seed production and certified seed offer in the Czech RepublicSpecies 2008–2009 2009–2010 2010–20112Seed production Certified seed Seed production Certified seed Seed productionNV1 ha NV t NV ha NV t NV haWinter wheat 5 72 4 73 7 125 5 91 4 102Spring wheat 1 13 1 23 - - - - 1 15Spelt 2 66 2 159 2 89 2 79 3 143Spring barley 2 21 1 21 2 26 - 3 20Triticale - - - - 1 18 1 8 2 45Winter rye - - - - 1 8 1 8 2 37Naked oat 2 28 2 23 2 34 2 28 1 15Oat 2 27 - - 2 50 2 40 2 44Total 14 227 10 299 17 349 13 254 18 4221NV = number of varieties; 2no seed certifiedTab. 2: Exceptions for conventional untreated seed use in the Czech RepublicSpecies 2009 2010Number of exceptionsSeed (t) Number of exceptionsSeed (t)Bread wheat 66 271 112 515Spelt 5 78 9 8Barley 47 129 77 319Triticale 86 651 76 455Rye 23 12 20 42Oat 161 523 174 444Total 398 1664 468 1783Tab. 3: Organic farmers‘ attitudes to seed issuesReason for farm seed use ( %) Use of organic seed database ( %) Would you prefer organic seed ( %)Suitability of varieties 16 Yes, I use the database 51 Yes, I would 75Seed price 37 Yes, I sometimes use 16 No, I would not 14Transport distance 18 I know but I do not use 20 I do not know 11Supply 24 I have no access 7Others 5 Others 6A further part of the questionnaire aimed to find out how organic farmers find and gather information on seed. The main information resources are as follow: internet, consultancy, from the Association of Organic farmers and seed companies. The official database of the certified organic seed (http://www.ukzuz.cz/folders/2295–1-Ekologicke+osivo.aspx) is also frequently used by the organic farmers (Table 3). The obligation to document the absence of the certified 36  /  3RD SCIENTIfIC CONfERENCE  /  14TH – 15TH NOVEMBER 2011  /  PRAGUEorganic seed when applying for an derogation in the conventional untreated seed use, is one of important reasons. Most of the organic farmers (75 % of the farms) would prefer the certified organic seed if the supply was sufficient and prices favourable (Table 3). Only 14 % of the farms explicitly prefer conventional untreated seed. The suitability of varieties and transport distance are another reasons for the farm seed preference (Table 3).DiscussionThe application of organic seed becomes more important in many European countries thanks to the legislative measures and increasing demand for the organic products (Václavík, 2008). It is, nevertheless, one of the most developing parts of the organic farming system (Shamash, 2008). However, the total supply of organic seed is still quite low. The high proportion of common farm seed coming from repeated seeding contributes to a reduction of the yield rate of the crop stands (Lammerts van Bueren, E. T. et al., 2003). The seed certification process is very demanding, as the organic seed undergo the control of the Central Institute for Supervising and Testing in Agriculture and of the organic farming (Houba, Hosnedl et al., 2002), but organic farming regulations do not allow to use any supportive, etc. (Lampkin, 1990).ConclusionsThere is a deficiency of the organic seed in the Czech Republic. The authorized multiplication land surface is insufficient. Most of the seed have not been certified as organic, especially because of their health. Therefore, the seed certification process should be revised (nowadays, the same requirements are imposed on the organic and conventional seed, however the organic farming system is not allowed to use any pesticides). Seed producers should also be motivated, by special benefits and grants for example. It is also possible to import the seed from the countries providing a sufficient supply of them, but just for a limited period of time.AcknowledgmentsThis work was supported by the Ministry of Agriculture of the Czech Republic – NAZV, Grant No. QI91C123.Organic seed5 %32 %63 %Farm seedConventional untreated seedfig. 1: Cereal seed use in organic farming in the Czech Republic (2009) ( %)ORAL SECTION  /  37referencesHouba, M., Hosnedl, V. (2002): Osivo a sadba. Profi Press, Praha, 186 p.   Lammerts van Bueren, E. T., Struik, P. C., Jacobsen, E. (2003): Organic propagation of seed and    planting material: an overview of problems and challenges for research. NJAS Wageningen Journal of Life Sciences 51: 263–277.Lampkin, N. (1990): Organic farming. farming press, Ipswich, 701 p.   MZe (2009): Ročenka ekologické zemědělství 2009. MZe ČR, Praha, 44 p.   Shamash, J. (2008): Developments in seed production. Horticulture Week 41: 2.   Thommen, A., Schmid, O. (2006): The use of organic cereal seed in selected European countries. In:    Joint Organic Congress, Odense, Denmark, May 30–31, 2006.ÚKZÚZ (2011): Ekologické osivo, http://www.ukzuz.cz, (accessed 2011–06–26).   Václavík, T. (2008): Ročenka český trh s biopotravinami. Green marketing, Praha, 65 p.   

Current situations in organic cereal seed offer in the Czech Republic

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