Effect of Organic Agronomic Practices On Crop Health, Productivity and Nutritional Components.

Results from the long-term, Nafferton Factorial Systems Comparison (NFSC) trial at Newcastle University’s Nafferton Experimental Farm, Northumberland, UK will be presented. The trial consists of 5 experiments in which the effect of contrasting (a) crop varieties/cultivars, (b) crop rotation, (c) tillage, (d) fertilisation and (e) crop protection  regimes (used in commercial organic and conventional production in the UK) on soil, crop and environmental parameters is investigated. The presentation will focus on results obtained for winter wheat where fertilisation regimes used in organic production were shown to (a) reduce the severity of mildew and lodging to below the threshold at which fungicide/growth regulator applications would be commercially viable in conventional production systems and (b) increase concentrations of phenolic compounds that may be linked to both crop resistance and nutritional quality of wheat. Effects of fertilisation regimes on other nutritionally relevant compounds in wheat (e.g. heavy metals, mycotoxins) and interactions between fertilisation regimes and other agronomic factors with respect to crop health and composition will also be presented. Results will be discussed in the context of resource use efficiency and carbon footprints  and robustness of cereal production against the impact of global climate change.