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Soil health on Swiss arable farms: data covering soil management practices, farm characteristics and decision drivers
No full textSoil health is the cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, directly influencing agricultural production, climate resilience and Agri-ecosystem service provision, but studies have shown that agricultural soils degrade over time due to inadequate soil management practices. Remediation of soil management is hampered by an insufficient understanding of the drivers of soil management behaviour. To understand the status quo and develop insights for improving and maintaining soil health, we surveyed 2,728 Swiss arable farms in 2024. The survey aimed to capture the soil management practices use alongside the decision-making surrounding their implementation in the 2022/2023 production season. The dataset comprises four core components: (1) farm and farmer characteristics, including gender, age, management experience, labour availability, farm size and participation in agricultural environmental schemes (AES); (2) detailed records of twelve arable soil management practices, including uptake extent, number of years used, perceived knowledge and peer adoption; (3) farmers' priorities for soil health and their assessment of key agricultural challenges; and (4) production data for a subset of farms cultivating milling wheat, including wheat area, wheat yield and input application rates. We enriched the survey data with secondary plot level census data covering weather, soil type and crop rotation. This combined dataset provides a comprehensive resource that enables the analysis of current farming practices, knowledge gaps and challenges to maintain and improve the health of arable soils
Wheat (Triticum aestivum) fertilization trials under organic management from 2008 to 2017
No full textThis database originates from field trials conducted between 2007 and 2017 by CREABIO at the La Hourre experimental site (southwestern France) and was compiled by ITAB. These trials aimed to evaluate the effect of fertilization on soft wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivation under organic management. A total of 37 treatments were tested. Each treatment corresponded to a combination of a fertilizer dose (in nitrogen unit), fertilizer type (ex. Bone meal), application timing (wheat development stages, ex. Ears 1cm), and application method (hoeing versus non-hoeing).
The trials were conducted using a split-plot design with 4 replicates.
The database includes information on:
- Field operations: sowing, fertilization, weed control, and harvesting
- Production performance: grain yield, specific weight and protein content
- Yield components: plants density (plants/m²), ears density (ears/m²) and grains density (grains/m ²)
- Growth monitoring: aboveground residue biomass quantity and nitrogen content, wheat dry biomass quantity and nitrogen content at different stages: ears 1cm, flowering
- Soil mineral nitrogen content at different horizons
Additionally, the database contains daily meteorological data (minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures, as well as precipitation) recorded at the on-site weather station throughout the trial period.
This dataset is part of the database compiled as an outcome of Work Area 1 in project OrganicYieldsUP. Variable definitions can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15276082
ID abbreviations:
FERT-N: nitrogen fertilization
Nxx: treatment number
Example: « FERT-N_N36 » correspond to nitrogen fertilization treatment number 36
Publications based on this dataset (Frensh):
Essai Test de fertilisants organiques sur blé tendre biologique :
– Campagne 2008 – 2009
– Campagne 2009 – 2010
– Campagne 2010 – 2011
– Campagne 2011 – 2012
– Campagne 2012 – 2013
– Campagne 2013 – 2014
Synthèse des essais fertilisation organique de printemps sur blé biologique – Période 2008 à 2012
Essai Test de l’effet de l’enfouissement du fertilisant sur blé tendre biologique :
– Campagne 2014 – 2015
– Campagne 2015 – 2016
– Campagne 2016 – 201
Effect of undersown legumes cover crops on winter wheat (Triticum aestivum) under organic management from 2013 to 2021
No full textThis database originates from field trials conducted between 2013 and 2021 by CREABIO at the La Hourre experimental site (southwestern France) and was compiled by ITAB. These trials aimed to investigate the effect of establishing legume cover crops within a soft wheat (Triticum aestivum) crop, as well as the after-effects on a subsequent soybean (Glycine max) crop in the following season. The cover crops were sown in March, inter-row within the standing cereal crop and were terminated by mowing in April of the following year, prior to soybean establishment.
Each treatment corresponded to a different legume cover crop species. A total of 6 treatments were implemented, involving 5 cover crop species (including alfalfa - Medicago sativa, white clover - Trifolium repens, red clover - Trifolium pratense, Lotus corniculatus and Onobrychis viciifolia). All treatments were compared against monocropping wheat control.
The trials were conducted using a split-plot design with 3 replicates.
The database includes information on:
- Field operations: sowing, fertilization, weed control, and harvesting
- Soft wheat production performance: grain yield, protein content, specific weight, grain nitrogen and phosphorus total content, aboveground residue biomass quantity, nitrogen and phosphorus total content
- Cover crop production performance: aboveground residue biomass quantity, nitrogen and phosphorus total content
- Soybean production performance: grain yield, protein content, grain nitrogen and phosphorus total content, aboveground residue biomass quantity, nitrogen and phosphorus total content
- Soft wheat yield components: plants density (plants/m²), ears density (ears/m²) and grains density (grains/m ²)
- Soybean yield components: plants density (plants/m²), pods density (ears/m²), grains density (grains/m ²) and thousand seed weight
- Weeds biomass: total weed biomass
- Soil mineral nitrogen content at different horizons at different dates.
Additionally, the database contains daily meteorological data (minimum, maximum, and mean temperatures, as well as precipitation) recorded at the on-site weather station throughout the trial period.
Crop succession:
Year n || Year n+1 || Year n+2
This dataset is part of the database compiled as an outcome of Work Area 1 in project OrganicYieldsUP. Variable definitions can be found here: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15276082
ID abbreviations:
CC: cover crops
CC-S: spring cover crops
NO: without cover crops
WC: white clover as cover crop
RC: red clover as cover crop
AF: alfalfa as cover crop
LC: Lotus corniculatus as cover crop
OV: Onobrychis viciifolia as cover crop
Publications based on this dataset (Frensh):
Résultats de l’essai test de couverts végétaux en agriculture biologique :
– Campagne 2014
– Campagne 2015
– Campagne 2016
– Campagne 2017
– Campagne 2018
– Campagne 2019
– Campagne 2020
– Campagne 202
Les polygonacées, des plantes utiles pour la santé animale
Full text linkRenouée des oiseaux, grande oseille et sarrasin: certaines espèces de la famille des polygonacées peuvent renforcer la santé animale, tout en diminuant les émissions de méthane et en améliorant la mise en valeur des fourrages
Breeding for species mixtures: 50 Years, One Key Metric - Exporting Switzerland’s Competitive-Ability Approach from Pasture to Arable Systems?
Full text linkCrop associations (CAs), the cultivation of multiple crop species together as intercrops, offer significant benefits for sustainable agriculture, especially for organic farming where external inputs are limited. However, a major bottleneck for broader adoption is the lack of CA-oriented cultivar testing and breeding.
For more than fifty years in Switzerland, varieties have undergone testing not only in pure but also in mixed stands, and thus provided a rare example of integrating CAs in an official variety testing scheme. The primary objective is to gain insights into the competitive strength of the tested varieties. This information holds particular significance in the formulation of clover-grass mixtures, as over 90% of cultivated fields in Switzerland, dedicated to meadows and pastures, have traditionally been sown with clover-grass mixtures. This longstanding practice reflects the agricultural importance attached to understanding the interplay between different varieties in mixed cropping systems. As part of a mini paper on “Cultivar testing as a key to boost uptake of crop associations in breeding and farming” (see related EU CAP Focus Group output at https://eu-cap-network.ec.europa.eu/focus-group-crop-associations-including-milpa-and-protein-crops_en), an interview with Dr. Daniel Suter, Head of Variety Testing for Forage Crops in Switzerland, delved into the intricacies of forage crop variety testing and its implications for agricultural practices and breeding strategies. The purpose of this interview is to provide valuable information that might help to transfer this successful application of CA cultivar testing to forage crop testing schemes in other countries and possibly extrapolate insights to other cultivation systems such as arable farming
Artikel i Landbrugsavisen: EU har åbnet vinduet for mere marknatur for bestøvere og fugle
No full textTreparten skal redde fjordene, men kan paradoksalt nok være den største fare for en manglende indsats for marknaturen. Større samlede udtagninger vender nemlig ikke tilbagegangen for arter i og omkring de dyrkede marker.
Artikel af Bent Rasmussen, Innovationscenter for Økologisk Landbrug, skrevet som led i EcoMetric projektet (også bragt i Magasinet MARK)
Alternative landwirtschaftliche Produktionssysteme: Organisation und Betriebsstruktur verschiedener Schweizer Microfermes
No full textDie Porträts von Microfermes liefern erste Daten zu diesen landwirtschaftlichen Strukturen in der Schweiz. Die Beispiele veranschaulichen die Realität der Kleinstbetriebe in strategischer, technischer, sozialer und wirtschaftlicher Hinsicht
Culture biologique du soja
No full textLa fiche technique traite tous les aspects importants de la culture biologique du soja en Suisse
Variétés exemptes de fusion cellulaire pour la culture maraîchère biologique 2025/26
No full textLa liste contient toutes les variétés de crucifères, de chicorée et de persil tubéreux actuellement disponibles qui ne sont pas basées sur une stérilité mâle cytoplasmique (CMS) transmise par fusion cellulaire
Report on financing and governance models for organic breeding initiatives
Full text linkThe “Report on financing and governance models for organic breeding initiatives” provides a comprehensive overview of governance and financing models used by Organic Plant Breeding Initiatives (OPBI) across Europe and strategic options to enhance their long-term financial sustainability. Achieving funding stability remains a key challenge for the sector due to the long-term, capital-intensive endeavour - often requiring 10 to 15 years - to bring a new cultivar to market