The project purpose is to develop strategies to balance P cycles in organic farming with recycling fertilizers. The background is that many long-term organic managed farms show a strong decrease in soil P levels. The main regions of investigation are Central and Northern European countries.
Benefits of the project The main impact of the project will be the improved cycling of P at a regional scale which is (in principle) in full accordance with the goals of organic farming Furthermore, the long term P status of organic farming soils will be improved by the implementation of management measures aimed at balancing P budgets. This project will address farmer concerns about the agronomic and economic viability of optimized systems that ensure efficient P recycling back to agriculture through the use of alternative P fertilizers (APF). Moreover, P nutrient use efficiency will be increased through stimulating biological soil processes. In addition, potential environmental issues arising from the use of APF will be assessed. Recommendations about the suitability of improved crop production practices and the use of APF will be formulated based on a broad base of stakeholder input. Farmers will get benefits from information about APFs and their agronomic efficiency, the organic movement will get tools to increase their credibility and consumers/ politicians a compilation of information assessing the potential benefits and risks of their use.
Main activities
- Compilation and evaluation of the current knowledge on P management in organic farming and alternative P fertilizer
- Experiments about the P efficiency of alternative P fertilizers
- Experiments about the impact of agronomic and biological means to improve plant P efficiency
- Evaluation of stakeholder perceptions in the participating countries
