1. Design and multicriteria assessment of low-input cropping systems based on plant diversification in southwestern France
- Author
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Didier Raffaillac, Philippe Debaeke, Noémie Gaudio, André Gavaland, Laurent Bedoussac, Eric Justes, Magali Willaume, Jacques-Eric Bergez, Lionel Alletto, Catherine Bonnet, AGroécologie, Innovations, teRritoires (AGIR), Institut National Polytechnique (Toulouse) (Toulouse INP), Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Université Fédérale Toulouse Midi-Pyrénées-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), Domaine expérimental d'Auzeville (UE AUZEVILLE), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), École Nationale Supérieure de Formation de l'Enseignement Agricole de Toulouse-Auzeville (ENSFEA), Département Performances des systèmes de production et de transformation tropicaux (Cirad-PERSYST), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), ONEMA SYSTEM-Eco-4, and ANR-09-STRA-0006,MicMac Design,Conception et évaluation par expérimentation et modélisation de prototypes de systèmes de culture intégrés à bas niveaux d'intrants(2009)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Environmental Engineering ,Rotation culturale ,F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture ,Grain legume ,agroécologie ,[SDV.SA.AGRO]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences/Agronomy ,Agricultural engineering ,Triticum turgidum ,Species diversification ,01 natural sciences ,Crop rotation ,Species mixture ,Culture en mélange ,Cultivar ,Cropping system ,Cover crop ,Agroecology ,Mathematics ,2. Zero hunger ,Agriculture faible niveau intrants ,business.industry ,Input reduction ,Helianthus annuus ,04 agricultural and veterinary sciences ,15. Life on land ,Agriculture ,Diversification ,Sustainability ,040103 agronomy & agriculture ,0401 agriculture, forestry, and fisheries ,Système de culture ,business ,Agronomy and Crop Science ,Cropping ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
International audience; Lengthening and diversifying crop rotations is an efficient strategy to reduce the use of fertilizers and pesticides, thereby improving the sustainability of cropping systems. To test this assumption, six innovative cropping system prototypes were designed, each introducing one or more agroecological practices, as alternatives to the 2-year sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.)-durum wheat (Triticum turgidum L. subsp. durum) rotation widespread in southwestern France. Two 3-year rotations were implemented at INRAE, Toulouse, from 2011 to 2016. The six prototypes were composed of two low-input cropping systems (with/without cover crops) and four very low-input cropping systems (including cultivar or species mixtures, each with/without cover crops). As compared to the sunflower-wheat rotation, the prototypes aimed at reducing the use of N fertilizers by 25% (low-input) and 50% (very low-input) and pesticides by 50%. A set of agronomic, environmental, technical, and socio-economic indicators was calculated to assess the different components of sustainability. The introduction of agroecological principles resulted in a clear reduction of the use of synthetic inputs as compared to the sunflower-wheat rotation. The treatment frequency index was decreased by 56, 18 and 39% for the low-input cropping systems, very low-input cropping systems with cultivar mixtures, and very low-input cropping systems with species mixtures, respectively. However, the profitability decreased with the diversification of cropping systems as the semi-net margin decreased for the three previous cropping systems (745, 696, and 438 euro center dot ha(-1), respectively, vs. 963 euro center dot ha(-1) for the sunflower-wheat rotation). Despite the costs of inputs, the short rotation remained the most profitable. Agroecological practices succeeded in reducing the dependence of cropping systems on synthetic inputs, but their implementation needs to be improved to achieve better economic performance, using both scientific knowledge and know-how of innovative farmers.
- Published
- 2021