Research 2013 - 2014 Research Organic Food and Farming in Flanders Editor: Lieve De Cock Digital version: www.nobl.be Merelbeke, April 2015 ISBN number: 9789040303654 EAN: 9789040303654 Limitation of liability: This publication has been prepared by the editor with the utmost care and accuracy. However, there is no guarantee about the accuracy or completeness of the information in this publication. The user of this publication renounces any complaint against the editor, of any kind, regarding the use of the information made available through this publication. Under no circumstances shall the editor be liable for any adverse consequences arising from the use of the information made available through this publication. Organic Food and Farming in Flanders Research 2013-2014 Content Organic Food and Farming in Flanders: Research 2013-2014 Organic agriculture in Flanders 11 • Organic agriculture in Flanders in 2014 12 Research organisation 15 • Government of Flanders supports research for organic agriculture 16 • Organic farmers’ networks (Biobedrijfsnetwerken) 18 • CCBT vzw – Coordination of applied research on organic farming 20 • NOBL: Reflecting together on research about organic food and farming in Flanders 22 • The Flemish Organic Research and Knowledge network: Bridging research and practice 24 • The Research strategy for organic food and farming Flanders 26 • Organic agriculture as teacher for and student of conventional agriculture 28 • Agro-ecology: a new perspective on agriculture 30 Robust organic production systems – arable crop and vegetable production 33 Soil and soil management 34 • Soil management and soil quality in organic cropping systems: a matter of combination, observation and quantification 34 • Is soil microbiology a good indicator of soil quality? 36 • Non-inversion tillage, compost and biochar applications as soil improving practices 38 • Good practices for sustainable soil management: performance and applicability 40 • Limiting nutrient losses and improving product quality during storage of cattle manure by composting and ensiling 42 • Waste as a soil improver: use of biochar in composting and during compost application 44 • GeNeSys: Valorising agricultural byproducts by composting 46 • Effect of farm compost application and crop rotation on soil quality and crop yields in Flanders 48 • Manures and MAP4 throughout the Flemish organic sector 50 • Which green manure to plant, when? 52 • Nitrogen dynamics in relation to soil condition 54 • Soil P availability and P leaching risk in long term compost and farmyard manure amended soils 56 • Fertilisation in organic vegetable cultivation in 2014 58 4 • Monitoring nitrate nitrogen in organic fruit orchards 60 • Different types of fertilisers to be compared in an organic Conference pear orchard 62 • Potential uses for mycorrhiza in apple orchards 64 • Optimising fertilisation for organic berries 66 • Lowering the soil pH in organic growth of berries by using pine forest sod 68 • Fruit vegetables in greenhouses: fertilisation strategy and needs 70 Crop protection 72 • Controlling plant diseases and pests by using beneficial organisms 72 • Non-chemical control of plant diseases and pests: a search for a “coalition” of measurements 74 • Integrated management of the invasive tomato leaf miner Tuta absoluta in Flanders 76 • Management of wireworms and leatherjackets in organic crops 78 • Parasitoids as a biological control agent against aphids in fruit tree crops (BIOCOMES) 80 • Rational and orchard specific management of scab on apple 82 • Investigation of alternative beneficial arthropods for the suppression of pear suckers. 84 • Epidemiology study of phytoplasmas in pome fruit (‘apple proliferation’ and ‘pear decline’) 86 • Insights into stink bug related problems and their control in organic pear growing 88 • The use of predatory mites for the control of spider mites in raspberries 90 • Bumblebees as fire blight fighters: Protecting apple and pear blossoms using biological control organisms (BCOs) applied via bumblebees 92 • The use of flowering borders as a potential attractant and safe haven for beneficial insects in pear orchards 94 • Use of functional agro-biodiversity (FAB) for pest control in organic strawberry growth 96 • Opportunities for the prevention of thrips in strawberry 98 • Flowering borders and hedgerows. Do they have an impact on conservation biological control in tree nurseries? 100 • Precision biocontrol and enhanced pollination of crops by bumblebees 102 • Soil quality and weed control in tunnels 104 • Weed control using soil cover materials in organic raspberry cultivation 106 5 Cultivation techniques and systems 108 • Legumes in cattle husbandry? 108 • Towards a better protein supply for organic cattle 110 • Solitary bees and their role in the pollination of apple 112 • An approach to replant problems in new plantings in organic fruit growing 114 • Possibilities to obtain organic plant material for the Flemish strawberry grower 116 • Towards sustainable and productive EU organic greenhouse horticulture 118 • Research on crops grown under protected conditions 120 • Possibilities for the cultivation of herbs 122 • Agroforestry in Flanders: A profitable way to implement agro-ecological production 124 Varieties and breeding 126 • Composite cross populations: an alternative breeding concept in cereals? 126 • Evaluating disease tolerance during the admission of new varieties to the national catalogue 128 • A new generation of late blight resistant potato varieties 130 • Search for resistant and/or less susceptible apple varieties 132 • British strawberries are top three varieties, led by Elegance 134 • Everbearers that even taste good? 136 • Variety trials in organic strawberry production: june bearers and everbearers 138 • Variety trials with floricane-fruiting and primocane-fruiting raspberries under organic growing conditions 140 • Pink rot in celery: developing resistant cultivars 142 Technology 144 • Insect parasitic nematodes as organic insecticide in leek and cauliflower: field application not yet ready for practice 144 • Nebulisation of Biological Control Organisms (BCOs) in cold storage to control postharvest diseases 146 • Energy efficient heating with long term heat storage in organic protected horticulture 148 6 Robust organic production systems – Animal production 151 Animal welfare and health 152 • Improving the health and welfare of organic laying hens in Europa – “HealthyHens” 152 • Development and application of a welfare evaluation instrument on organic dairy goat herds 154 • Early growth in goat kids improves subsequent milk production 156 • Native plants as anthelmintics in organic goat farming Animal feed 160 • Sulphur supply for cattle, plant and soil 160 Production systems 162 • Improving free range use of chickens housed in mobile stables combined with production of short rotation coppice 162 • When do laying hens use the free range area and the nest site? 164 • Closing cycles in organic poultry 166 Flexible organic chain systems 169 • FOOD4SUSTAINABILITY 170 • The performance of local and global food systems: a multidimensional approach 172 • Short and strong: cooperation for logistics in short supply chains 174 • Delicacy vegetables: growers and chefs meet at the PCG 176 • Networks are essential for innovation 178 • Increasing the competitiveness of low input and organic dairy farms through strategy development 180 • Critical success factors for a successful organic farming system 182 High quality food 185 • What determines the taste of organically produced tomatoes? 186 • Modelling cadmium uptake by leaf and root crops 188 • Controlling yeasts and mould in food using alternative (natural) preservatives 190 • Fibre and bio-actives in fruit- and vegetable-based by-products for food and feed applications with the development of A pectin production chain 192 Addresses research institutes and organisations 194 7 Dear reader, Publishing an overview of research for organic food and farming in Flanders is becoming a tradition. We now present our third edition, with a growing number of contributions. People have been working hard on research and knowledge exchange for the development of the organic sector in the past years! 2014 was a milestone year for NOBL (the Network for Organic Food and Farming Research). Together with its partners in the Flemish Organic Research and Knowledge network, CCBT (Coordination Centre for Applied research and Extension for Organic Production) and Biobedrijfsnetwerken (Organic Farmers’ Networks), NOBL published the first joint ‘Research strategy for organic food and farming Flanders 2013-2017’. This research strategy describes thematically which research efforts can contribute to the further development of the organic agriculture as an agro-ecological production model and to the further development of the principles of organic farming systems. Ensuring that research results reach those who need them remains a challenge. We try to achieve this by actively involve farmers and other chain actors in the planning and implementation of research but also through broad dissemination of the results in ready-to-use and comprehensible language available via our websites (www.nobl.be, www.ccbt.be), newsletters (the NOBL-berichten, the Biopraktijk), and short leaflets (the Biokennisberichten, www.bioKennis.org). To everyone who has contributed to this overview, thank you! To all taking this publication in hand, enjoy your reading! Lieve De Cock, Coordinator of NOBL 9 Organic agriculture in Flanders 11 Organic