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Many microorganisms such as arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), plant growth promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and Trichoderma spp. can form a symbiotic association with host plants, which can have a significant impact on plant growth and yield. In two years experiment, we investigated the possible role of seven different treatments of microbial inoculates to improve the potato tubers production and quality under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. Potato cultivar "Desiree" was used with seven treatments of mixture of microbial inoculates including AMF, PGPR and Trichoderma spp. in 64 experimental parcels. The results indicated that the mycorrhizal colonization intensity and mycorrhizal frequency were increased in non-irrigated treated and the control plants over the two years. Most of the treatments did not show arbuscular abundance in both the years except the mixture of Rhizophagus irregularis MucL41833+Pseudomonas brassicacearum (41%), R. irregularis MucL41833+ Paraburkholderia phytofirmans (24%) and Trichoderma asperelloides A (33%). Starch content was similar between different treatments in both the years, without significant differences with control plants. In 2020, the highest starch value was found in P. phytofirmans PSJN treatment with (17.16%) mean under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. In 2021, the highest starch value among the irrigated parcels was found in R. irregularis MucL41833 treatment (12.29%). In terms of total phosphorus content, the control treatment in the second year (2021) gave the highest total phosphorus content in the irrigated conditions (0.69 mg kg-1) followed by the mixture treatment of the microbial inoculates treated plants R. irregularis MucL41833 and P. phytofirmans (0.68 mg P kg-1). For the tubers yield, the treated plants under irrigated conditions gave the highest mean. In the first year, P. phytofirmans PSJN gave the highest yield (15.21 kg/m2) under irrigation conditions, while in the second year, R. irregularis MucL

Agriculture can benefit from crop diversification to facilitate its transition to more sustainable agrifood systems. However, these practices remain rare in Europe. One major barrier is the existence of sociotechnical lock-ins. To clarify the dynamics at work, we analyzed the relationships between actors involved in 23 crop diversification experiences across 11 European countries. The novelty of this paper lies in the systemic analysis of the network of actors involved in crop diversification experiences. Using data from qualitative interviews and cognitive mapping approaches, we identify and describe the role of actors and the key relationships in crop diversification and detect relationships that are currently missing. Our study shows that in the different European countries, similar relationships act as levers or barriers to crop diversification, with farmers and researchers playing a crucial role. The most important cognitive factors that influence the choice of farmers to diversify are environmental and health concerns and the desire to make profit and innovate. We relate the cognitive factors to organizational, technical, economic, and political factors and suggest levers for crop diversification based on successful crop diversification experiences.

The European Commission recently set a target of increasing the area of organic agriculture to 25% by 2030. To achieve this, it is imperative to understand current nutrient use patterns and identify sustainable nutrient supply opportunities. To that end, this study assessed the sustainability of the current nutrient origin and supply of 71 arable organic farms in 8 European regions. Defcient nutrient supply was found on 24%, 66%, and 56% of farms for nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, respectively. On average, we show a moderate surplus for nitrogen (28 kg ha−1), while phosphorus and potassium balances were close to zero (−1 and 2 kg ha−1, respectively). Large variation between countries and farm types shows a divide between more intensive systems relying on external inputs, and less intensive systems facing nutrient defcits and lower outputs. We show, for the frst time, the extent of current use of external input types, where conventional manures supplied 17–26% of external nutrients and inputs from non-agricultural origin supplied 31–41%. A large proportion of nutrient sources within the last group are materials derived from urban wastes. The sustainable expansion of the organic sector will require increased use of locally available recycled fertilizers from urban wastes, and acceptance of such sources by organic farmers is shown to be high, provided they are considered safe.

The aim of the research is to assess the behaviour of the consumers of organic products, witha particular focus on the frequency of consumption, the groups of purchased products,the preferred sales channels, the consumer motivations, and the impact of the COVID-19pandemic on the market development. The data from the online questionnaire survey wereanalysed by descriptive statistical and relationship analysis methods. In 2020 and 2021,the frequency of purchase of organic products increased. The regular customers are mainlymiddle-aged, highly educated women with higher incomes, who mostly buy fruit andvegetables, mainly in discount stores. The respondents with relatively low frequency buydirectly from organic producers, although the use of short supply chains could bea remarkable price-reducing factor.

Seit Beginn leitet Dóra Drexler das ÖMKi in Ungarn. Mit Praxisforschung hat sich das FiBL-Schwesterinstitut im eigenen Land etabliert. Aber auch international ist es zunehmend aktiv.

Dóra Drexler dirige depuis le début l’ÖMKi en Hongrie. L’institut frère du FiBL s’est établi dans son pays avec de la recherche pratique, mais il est aussi actif internationalement.

Dóra Drexler dirige sin dall’inizio l’ÖMKi in Ungheria. La filiale del FiBL si è affermata nel Paese grazie alla ricerca pratica ma è sempre più attiva anche a livello internazionale.

Although input use in organic agriculture is strictly regulated, and significantly less contentious inputs are applied in organic than in conventional farming systems, copper, mineral oil, external nutrient input, anthelmintics, antibiotics and vitamins are still commonly used among organic farmers in the EU, partly due to the scarce availability of alternative products and the difficulty of implementing preventive strategies. Moreover, besides the direction set by the European Commission’s organic regulation, only a handful of policy instruments exist at national levels to reduce the use of these contentious inputs. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the results of the RELACS EU-funded project about the current use of copper, mineral oils, external nutrient inputs, anthelmintics, antibiotics and vitamins in organic farming in the EU. The paper is based on six internal reports developed in RELACS which relied on international surveys, in-depth interviews, multiple case study methods, database-based calculations, secondary data sources, plus a survey independent from the reports to map existing policy instruments and voluntary initiatives in the EU aiming to reduce the use of the six input categories. As a result, the paper gives a comprehensive overview of the current consumption of the six contentious inputs within the organic sector, highlighting potential alternative strategies in the pipeline, available preventive measures and the willingness of farmers towards adopting these solutions. It also informs about specific policy instruments already in force, as well as about ongoing voluntary initiatives to reduce contentious inputs. Due to the current dependence of organic farming systems on the six categories of contentious inputs, any sudden phase-out or ban on their usage would do more harm than good to the organic sector. Therefore, gradual, data-driven reduction measures are needed, which require significant further investments in targeted research, and in

Plant genetic resources (PGRs) serving as a wide genetic pool of tomato germplasm can provide a solid base for recent breeding efforts to increase consumer acceptance towards the taste and the phytonutrient properties of novel tomato varieties. Old varieties and landraces were abandoned by producers due to unfavorable phenotypic characteristics; however, their high adaptability and nutritional properties are inevitably valuable. This study aims to investigate the impact of open-field vs. protected production on various bioactive compound parameters and on the antioxidant status of seven indeterminate-type tomato PGRs in an organic production system for two years (2015–2016). Genotype main effect plus genotype × environment interaction (GGE) biplots were created for visualizing the which-won-where concept of the PGRs investigated. The GGE analysis revealed that the phytonutrient content of certain PGRs is less dependent on location and more influenced by differences in microclimatic conditions. “Balatonboglár”, “Mátrafüred” and “Fadd” PGRs performed better in a polytunnel, while Tarnaméra provided better results in an open field. “Máriapócs” and “San Marzano” showed a relative independence from production location in terms of their measured phytonutrient values. These findings enrich the nutritional datasets of tomato landraces, which support the in situ conservation and utilization of PGRs in breeding programs.

Heutzutage hört man immer mehr über die Gesundheit des Bodens. Dabei wird die Rolle der Nematoden oftmals unterschätzt. Die Fadenwürmer sind jedoch unentbehrliche Mitglieder der Lebensgemeinschaft Boden, weisen eine überraschend hohe Artenvielfalt auf und kommen zahlreich vor (van den Hoogen et al., 2020). Im Folgenden werden wir auf Nematoden eingehen, die für uns aus Sicht der Pflanzenproduktion von Interesse sind.

Introduction Mixed cropping, i.e. mixing different crops in the same field, provides agronomic advantages as increased productivity under low inputs conditions (e.g. for organic farming: Bedoussac et al. 2015) and higher yield stability (Raseduzzaman and Jensen 2017). In mixed cropping, choosing the right cultivars is critical for the performance of the mixture, as shown for pea-barley mixtures (Hauggaard-Nielsen and Jensen 2001) and maize-bean mixtures (Hoppe 2016). As performance in pure stand can strongly diverge from performance in mixture, estimating the ability of a cultivar to be mixed with another crop is therefore of utmost importance. For this purpose, concepts of General and Specific Combining Ability in hybrid breeding (Griffing 1956) have been adapted to cultivar and crop mixtures. Thus, these effects are called General Mixing Ability (GMA) and Specific Mixing Ability (SMA) (Federer 1993). In contrast to intraspecific mixtures, interspecific mixed cropping experiments often provide additional information, since harvested lots can be separated into their different grain fractions. Until now, statistical developments mobilizing the additional information provided by separated harvest lots to estimate mixing abilities in intercropping experiments have been neglected. The concept of Producer- and Associate-effects (abbreviated Pr and As, respectively) describes interactions between varieties sown in alternate row trials (Forst 2018). The producer effect Pr is the average performance of a cultivar grown in mixture with other crop-species, whereas the associate effect As is the average effect of a cultivar on the performance of the mixing partner. We used the fraction yields of a spring-pea (Pisum sativum L.) and spring-barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) mixed cropping experiment to determine Pr and As effects of different pea genotypes. The additional information provided by this approach is biologically more informative than GMA/SMA estimates, since it better refl

Results from an expert survey about existing crop diversification experiences help focus on key issues when planning diversification strategies, taking into account the different needs of various actors, or geographical regions of Europe. This knowledge can help new diversification initiatives achieve their goals.

Hazai szőlőültetvényeinkben szemlélődve, a korábbi évtizedekben megszokott „tisztán tartott”, mechanikai művelésű sorközök helyett egyre többször látunk olyan parcellákat, ahol valamilyen sorköztakarást alkalmaznak.

This booklets presents policy recommendations to embed crop genetic diversity in five areas of action.

Őszi tönke és alakor fajták és tájfajták alkalmazhatóságának vizsgálata ökológiai gazdálkodásban – extenzív termesztési tapasztalatok

On the one hand, through the analysis of remote sensing images, it was possible to determine weed infestation, field heterogeneity and NDVI values/pixel (app. 1 cm per pixel). In some cases, we even discovered previously unknown underground field objects (e.g. a drainage system from the 70s). On the other hand, NDVI data did not correlate with traditional sampling results (SPAD values and yield estimations), probably because the multicopter covered 100 % of the large plot area, while sampling only provided data from specific points (50 SPAD points/plot and three yield sampling quadrats/plot). We can thus assume that for large plot variety trials, remote sensing can give substantially more precise results than traditional sampling methods. Further tests are needed to prove this assumption. Practical recommendations • A multicopter with a RGB and NIR camera was tested on four organic on-farm research sites in Hungary. Farm-scale plots (cc. 120 m2 per variety) were set up with 8 to 15 winter wheat varieties per farm. • Data collection was performed at flowering/anthesis, on a sunny day, between 11 am and 1 pm (sun position, wind and clouds can highly affect image capturing). • Ground data validation (chlorophyll readings (SPAD) from 50 randomly selected flag leaves/plot), phytopathology and weed bonitation were performed at the same time as image capturing (<1 cm resolution). • 3 x 1 m2 yield sampling squares per plot were collected at harvest for quantitative and qualitative yield estimation. • Validation sample numbers (SPAD, squares) were most probably too small to assess field heterogeneity correctly and to validate remote sensing (NDVI-Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) results.

Due to the overlap of many disciplines and the availability of novel technologies, modern agriculture has become a wide, interdisciplinary endeavor, especially in Precision Agriculture. The adoption of a standard format for reporting field experiments can help researchers to focus on the data rather than on re-formatting and understanding the structure of the data. This paper describes how a European consortium plans to: i) create a “handbook” of protocols for reporting definitions, methodologies and parameters measured/calculated; and ii) how a data-template for field data was created and will be linked to the “handbook”. The overall goal of the EU-funded project Solutions for Solutions for improving Agroecosystem and Crop Efficiency for water and nutrient use (SolACE) is to help European agriculture face major challenges, such as increased rainfall variability and reduced use of N and P fertilizers in order to satisfy both economic and ecological goals. The “Handbook of Protocols” and the “Data Template” have been created to achieve a flexible, standard, and clear documentation linked with the data itself to facilitate interchange of data among project’s partners and any statistical analysis and modelling of different datasets.

The presentation is related to the results of a survey conducted i the frame of the project DiverImpacts. It concerns Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple Cropping in arable production. The aims of the analyse is a) to list the success and failure factors of experiences b) to understand connections between these factors and the main characteristics of Crop Diversification Experiences

Practical recommendations: 1) Researchers, breeders with the national authority should organise organic variety trials with farmer field days to showcase the advantages of organically produced seeds adapted to organic conditions, triggering organic seed production and use. 2) With the coordination of the Organic Agriculture Research Institute ÖMKi, involving all relevant stakeholders of the sector, a working group on organic seed should be established to facilitate strategic planning and harmonise actions. 3) Researchers should organise farmer trainings and capacity building in producing high quality seed. 4) Policy makers should establish incentives for organic seed use and organic seed production.

Intensive mechanical soil cultivation and herbicide treatment was often the preferred technology in vineyards in the second half of the 20th century. In the last decades we increasingly experienced the disadvantages of these technologies: soil degradation, erosion and deflation damages. The use of well-adapted cover-crop mixtures could be an alternative. In 2012 we started to study three different species-rich cover crop mixtures (Biocont-Ecovin, Legume mixture, Grass-herb mixture) in Hungarian vineyards. For 2013 we detected lower weed coverage in the inter-rows sown with the Grass-herb and Legume mixtures, while in control and Biocont-Ecovin inter-rows we detected increasing weed coverage. In the third year (2014) we found in case of every plot that the grass-herb mixture-covered inter-rows were the least weedy. The most successful species in the inter-rows are: Coronilla varia, Lotus corniculatus, Medicago lupulina, Onobrychis viciifolia, Plantago lanceolata, Trifolium repens, Trifolium pratense.

Re-introducing einkorn varieties and landraces, and turning them into new food products such as beer, bread, biscuits, pasta for the organic market.

A cseresznyelég ismertetése valamint az ÖMKI on-farm cseresznye kutatásainak bemutatása

Due to its high (40%) protein content the global significance of soybean has been constantly growing in food and feed production alike. The manual consists of relevant up-to-date information of production, processing and marketing of soybean in Europe and can be used by organic producers, processors, traders, policy makers and other stakeholders as well. Its aim is to provide basic yet comprehensive guidelines for the development of the European production and market.