Sustained and increased organic cereal production by improved nutrient supply and pest control (218889)

- WP1 Field trials have shown that digestate from household waste can be suitable as fertilizer in organic farming. In the beginning of the project period, use of digestate was not allowed in organic farming. However, after a change of the regulative by the Norwegian Food Safety Authority, use of digestate is now permitted under certain circumstances. Results from the project will be published in peer reviewed publications, and has already been published in popular science reports and in oral presentations. The fertilizer effect of dried organic substrates, based on organic waste, was much more variable and inconstant. These substrates seem to be more unsuitable to organic farming. The project has given knowledge about recycling of nutrients from the society and improved nutrient supply in organic farming for farms near digestate plants based on household waste. Eva Brod defended her PhD-thesis at 3rd June 2016 with the title: "The recycling potential of phosphorus in secondary resources". Part of her work has been connected to the project "Økokorn". WP2 - weeds A 3-year factorial experiment was run from spring 2013 to autumn 2015. The main factors were (i) weed harrowing versus hoeing and (ii) different fertilization levels. The results showed that hoeing in cereals is a viable method for control of perennial weeds. Another experiment with 6 different strategies, built up by combinations of harrowing in (i) spring and/or in (ii) autumn and (iii) plus/minus hoeing in the cereals, showed that some of the strategies gave better control of the perennial weeds. Particularly good results were obtained with Kvik-Up-harrowing, both in autumn and spring, as did the combination of disc harrowing in autumn and hoeing in the cereals. In addition to these applied experiments, more basic studies of the biology of creeping thistle and coltsfoot have been completed. In cooperation with the EU project "OSCAR" and the company Kverneland Group we have developed two prototypes of root cutting harrows that cut the roots of shallow and deep growing weed species with minimal soil disturbance. These implements have also been tested in field experiments in Sweden and Norway with promising results. WP2 - diseases In the experimental plots of barley with various organic fertilizer types and increasing amounts of nitrogen, net blotch was observed at tillering. However, the disease severity was not influenced by the type of fertilizer. No incidence of leaf blotch or glume blotch was recorded in the wheat trials. Considerable amounts of net blotch was recorded in grains of barley harvested in Trøndelag all three years, but there was no significant effect of fertilizer or amounts of nitrogen on the degree of disease severity. A tendency towards a higher severity of leaf and glume blotch was recorded in grains of wheat harvested from plots receiving the highest nitrogen amounts compared to non-fertilized plots. Likewise, there was a tendency towards a higher incidence of Fusarium spp. in grains of wheat and barley harvested from plots receiving the highest nitrogen amounts compared to non-fertilized plots at Apelsvoll and Trøndelag in 2012. The mycotoxin deoxynivalenol (DON) was detected in most of the grain samples from this year, but only at moderate levels. WP3 The profitability of both wheat and barley production was higher when digestate from HRA, Mjøsanlegget or fish sludge treated with the Global Enivro method was supplied, as compared to no fertilization. There was no difference in contribution margins between use of digestate from Mjøsanlegget or HRA. Yield level is strongly related to the resulting contribution margin. Hence, even though there were higher expenses related to fertilization with digestate from HRA and Mjøsanlegget than the use of dry substrates, the final economical results for use of digestate were relatively good. WP4 There has been a strong focus on dissemination of results both to farmers and other target groups during the entire project period, with increasing priority as the project progressed. For example, many field-days for farmers have been carried out. In 2016, trials at Østre Voll (Vollebekk Research station) have been central events. As a part of NIBIOs 125th anniversary for plant health/protection science in Norway in June 2016, a presentation of our experiments and different mechanical implements such as the Kvik-Up harrow and the Kverneland root cutters prototypes was included. In October, a final project seminar with presentations of all work packages was held at Vitenparken on the NMBU campus, Ås, with 90 participants. http://www.nibio.no/nyheter/ny-kunnskap-for-norske-kornprodusenter.

The yields from cereals in Norwegian organic stockless cropping systems are low, and the demand for grains for feed and food is far from being met by inland production. The present project aims at developing options for increasing the productivity. Pest c ontrol and nutrient supply are outlined as important bottlenecks, and experiments and studies will be conducted in settings that allow concern for both challenges simultaneously. Nutrient supply will be sought improved by application of organic wastes fro m society (residues from biogas production, meat and bone meal and reactor composted catering waste) and compared with the supply from cattle manure and soil organic matter in field trials. The grain yield and quality and incidence of perennial weeds and seed borne pathogens will be recorded. It is expected that improved nutrient supply will allow a higher proportion of cereals in the crop rotation and fewer windows for weed control. It will therefore be investigated to what extent intensive soil cultivat ion by different harrows in spring suppresses perennial weeds. A challenge is not to cause detrimental delays in crop establishment. Studies of bud development in undisturbed and disturbed populations of perennial weeds will also be undertaken to suggest further innovations in weed control. Environmental aspects of the investigated amendments for nutrient supply and pest control will also be evaluated. A cereal rotation fertilized with waste products will be implemented in the system experiment at Biofors k Apelsvoll, and previous and future recordings of losses of N and P from this experiment will supply relevant data for the evaluation. An economical planning program for conversion to organic farming will be used for the assessment of profitability. Biof orsk, the extension service (NLR), Hedmark Univ. College, SLU and Aarhus Univ. will collaborate to do the research, and companies within the cereal industry and the waste sector are also partners in the project.