Integrated Soil, Crop and Human Nutrition and Health Management in Organic Agriculture

Dear Colleagues,

The principles and standards of organic agriculture prohibit the use of synthetic chemical N, P, and KCl fertilisers and pesticides that are widely used for crop nutrition and protection in conventional farming systems. This is based on the hypothesis that these inputs reduce soil, crop, and human health via negative side-effects on (a) naturally occurring symbiotic and ecological mechanisms of crop nutrition and protection in the soil and above ground; (b) the expression of genetic resistance mechanisms in crop plants; and (c) the nutritional composition of crop plants.

Instead, the logical framework for integrated soil, crop, and human nutrition and health management is based on (a) the use of resistant and weed-competitive varieties; (b) botanically diverse rotations that include N-fixing legume crops; (c) regular inputs of animal manure and/or organic-waste-based composts; (d) the establishment of areas of biodiversity on farms; and (e) the integration of crop and outdoor grazing/foraging-based livestock production systems.

However, although there is increasing evidence of positive soil, crop, and human health impacts of organic farming practices, yields in organic farming systems are currently on average ⁓25% lower compared to intensive conventional farming systems.

This Special Issue aims to include studies that test the underlying hypotheses, compare the effects of organic and conventional soil and crop management practices, and/or improve the efficacy of integrated soil, crop, and human nutrition and health management in organic farming.

Prof. Carlo Leifert
Guest Editor

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