Productivity, quality and sustainability of winter wheat underlong-term conventional and organic management in Switzerland

TY - JOUR

T1 - Productivity, quality and sustainability of winter wheat underlong-term conventional and organic management in Switzerland

AU - Mayer, Jochen

AU - Gunst, Lucie

AU - Mäder, Paul

AU - Samson, Marie-Francoise

AU - Carcea, Marina

AU - Narducci, Valentina

AU - Thomsen, Ingrid Kaag

AU - Dubois, David

PY - 2015

Y1 - 2015

N2 - Long-term sustainability and high resource use efficiency are major goals for high quality baking wheatproduction throughout the world. Present strategies are low input systems such as organic agriculture orimproved conventional systems (integrated). The fertilisation level and strategy, crop protection as wellas preceding crop effects may modulate system performance with respect to wheat grain yield, qualityand environmental performance of the systems.Our aim was to evaluate data of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) performance from the DOK long-term systems experiment in Switzerland comparing two mixed organic (biodynamic and bioorganic:BIODYN and BIOORG) and a mixed conventional cropping system (CONFYM) using mineral fertilisers andfarmyard manure at two fertilisation intensities (level 1: 50% of standard fertilisation, level 2: standardfertilisation) since 1978. A conventional system was fertilised exclusively minerally at level 2 (CONMIN)and a control remained unfertilised (NOFERT). We compared crop yields, baking quality parameters, thenitrogen use efficiency and the effect of maize and potatoes as preceding crops obtained between 2003and 2010 along with long-term soil sustainability parameters.The mean grain yields across both fertiliser levels of the organic cropping systems (BIODYN andBIOORG) were 64% of CONFYM, whereas crude protein contents were 79% of CONFYM at fertilisationlevel 2 and achieved 90% at level 1. The main driving factor of lower yields was a reduction of the num-bers of ears per m2and the thousand kernel weight. The apparent nitrogen use efficiency decreased withincreasing N fertilisation. Doubling the organic fertilisation in the organic systems only slightly improvedwheat grain yields but was not able to improve grain baking quality, due to low mineral N additions viaslurry and farmyard manure. In contrast the effects of the preceding crop potatoes in comparison withpreceding silage maize outperformed the organic fertilisation effects, resulting in 33% higher yields and11% higher crude protein contents. The yield components recorded in the case of preceding potatoesdemonstrated a more synchronised nutrient supply throughout the wheat development. Over all lowinput systems and both fertilisation levels in the conventional mixed farm system at half standard fer-tilisation (level 1) performed best with distinctly higher grain yields and crude protein contents than inthe organic systems with standard fertilisation. However, all systems, organic and conventional, with thelow or zero organic fertiliser inputs performed poorly considering the long-term soil quality parameters,indicating a degradation of soil quality. The DOK long-term experiment allows an integrated view onthe performance of baking wheat production and long-term sustainability. The results emphasise theimportance of a sufficient supply of soils with organic fertilisers as well as the need to improve the avail-ability of organic nitrogen and synchrony between nutrient supply and demand in organic baking wheatproduction, beside the selection of a suitable preceding crop.

AB - Long-term sustainability and high resource use efficiency are major goals for high quality baking wheatproduction throughout the world. Present strategies are low input systems such as organic agriculture orimproved conventional systems (integrated). The fertilisation level and strategy, crop protection as wellas preceding crop effects may modulate system performance with respect to wheat grain yield, qualityand environmental performance of the systems.Our aim was to evaluate data of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) performance from the DOK long-term systems experiment in Switzerland comparing two mixed organic (biodynamic and bioorganic:BIODYN and BIOORG) and a mixed conventional cropping system (CONFYM) using mineral fertilisers andfarmyard manure at two fertilisation intensities (level 1: 50% of standard fertilisation, level 2: standardfertilisation) since 1978. A conventional system was fertilised exclusively minerally at level 2 (CONMIN)and a control remained unfertilised (NOFERT). We compared crop yields, baking quality parameters, thenitrogen use efficiency and the effect of maize and potatoes as preceding crops obtained between 2003and 2010 along with long-term soil sustainability parameters.The mean grain yields across both fertiliser levels of the organic cropping systems (BIODYN andBIOORG) were 64% of CONFYM, whereas crude protein contents were 79% of CONFYM at fertilisationlevel 2 and achieved 90% at level 1. The main driving factor of lower yields was a reduction of the num-bers of ears per m2and the thousand kernel weight. The apparent nitrogen use efficiency decreased withincreasing N fertilisation. Doubling the organic fertilisation in the organic systems only slightly improvedwheat grain yields but was not able to improve grain baking quality, due to low mineral N additions viaslurry and farmyard manure. In contrast the effects of the preceding crop potatoes in comparison withpreceding silage maize outperformed the organic fertilisation effects, resulting in 33% higher yields and11% higher crude protein contents. The yield components recorded in the case of preceding potatoesdemonstrated a more synchronised nutrient supply throughout the wheat development. Over all lowinput systems and both fertilisation levels in the conventional mixed farm system at half standard fer-tilisation (level 1) performed best with distinctly higher grain yields and crude protein contents than inthe organic systems with standard fertilisation. However, all systems, organic and conventional, with thelow or zero organic fertiliser inputs performed poorly considering the long-term soil quality parameters,indicating a degradation of soil quality. The DOK long-term experiment allows an integrated view onthe performance of baking wheat production and long-term sustainability. The results emphasise theimportance of a sufficient supply of soils with organic fertilisers as well as the need to improve the avail-ability of organic nitrogen and synchrony between nutrient supply and demand in organic baking wheatproduction, beside the selection of a suitable preceding crop.

KW - wheat

KW - baking quality

KW - yield components

KW - nitrogen use efficiency

KW - long-term sustainability

U2 - 10.1016/j.eja.2015.01.002

DO - 10.1016/j.eja.2015.01.002

M3 - Journal article

SN - 1161-0301

VL - 65

SP - 27

EP - 39

JO - European Journal of Agronomy

JF - European Journal of Agronomy

ER -