Organic Friends' E‑zine: February 2017

The clock is ticking! We invite you to participate in the 2016-2017 Canadian Organic Research Needs and Priorities Assessment before the February 28 deadline!

We want your input! Have your say in guiding research priorities for Canada’s organic sector. Collect your thoughts with a group of peers and participate in the 2016-17 assessment of organic research needs and priorities. A clear list of research priorities is needed to guide provincial and national funding initiatives and inform researchers as to where they should direct their efforts. The Research Needs Task Force of the Organic Value Chain Roundtable is leading this initiative; data is being collected and summarized by the Organic Agriculture Centre of Canada, Dalhousie University.

See below or visit the OACC website for more details, videos to inspire and instruct you through the process, and forms to submit with your input by February 28, 2017.

• PDF Template [PDF - 386 kB]
• Fillable PDF Template [PDF - 717 kB]
• If you would like a Word version of the template, please send an email to  joanna.white@dal.ca. 
  
• These files are also available in French at www.oacc.info/besoins

In this issue:

• Organic Science Cluster II
  
• Practical Resources
• Scientific Results
• Organic in Canada
• News & Articles of Interest
• Events

Organic Science Cluster II

• High Tunnels Can Promote Growth, Yield, and Fruit Quality of Organic Bitter Melons (Momordica charantia) in Regions with Cool and Short Growing Seasons
  • HortScience (2017) 52: 65-71

Practical Resources

Soils and Fertility

• The Basics of Soil Fertility [PDF – 3.8 MB]
  • The Organic Research Centre and FiBL. 2017
• High soil test phosphorus and potassium levels on a long-term organic farm: trends, causes, and solutions
  • eOrganic. 2017
• Nutrient Deficiency Guide [PDF – 4.5 MB]
  • Perennia. 2016

Horticulture

• Hulless Pumpkin Seed: A New Crop for Organic Production in Québec
  • IRDA. 2017
    
  • Part 1: Cultivars and Planting Methods [PDF – 2.0 MB]
  • Part 2: Weeding Strategies [PDF – 1.7 MB]
  • Part 3: Economic Feasibility [PDF – 1.3 MB]
     
• Management Options for Striped Cucumber Beetle in Organic Cucurbits
  • eOrganic. 2017

Field Crops

• Guidelines for Estimating Organic Crop Production Costs in Manitoba 2017 [PDF – 698 kB]
  • Manitoba Agriculture. 2017

Crop Rotation

• Intercropping: Increasing Crop Diversity [PDF – 812 kB]
  • Prairie Organic Grain Initiative. 2016
• Rotations: Designing a System that Works for You [PDF – 577 kB]
  • Prairie Organic Grain Initiative. 2016

Pest Management

• Creeping thistle: Successful control in organic farming [PDF – 2.6 MB]
  • The Organic Research Centre and FiBL. 2017
• Cultural Practices to Give the Crop Advantage [PDF – 1.7 MB]
  • Prairie Organic Grain Initiative. 2016
• Living with Weeds: Putting Weeds into Ecological Context [PDF – 625 kB]
  • Prairie Organic Grain Initiative. 2016

Scientific Results

Horticulture

• Cover Crops as an Agroecological Practice on Organic Vegetable Farms in Wisconsin, USA
  • Sustainability (2017) 9: 55

Field Crops

• Competitive ability of rotational crops with weeds in dryland organic wheat production systems
  • Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2017) 32: 57-68
• Field-scale experiments reveal persistent yield gaps in low-input and organic cropping systems
  • Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (2017) 114: 926-931

Crop Rotation

• Achieving Diverse Cover Crop Mixtures: Effects of Planting Date and Seeding Rate
  • Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 259-271
• Cover Crop Termination Timing is Critical in Organic Rotational No-Till Systems
  • Agronomy Journal (2017) 109: 272-282
• Impact of preceding crop on alfalfa competitiveness with weeds
  • Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2017) 32: 28-32

Pest Management

• Long-Term Management Affects the Community Composition of Arable Soil Seedbanks
  • Weed Science (2017) 65: 73-82
• Suitability of Biodegradable Plastic Mulches for Organic and Sustainable Agricultural Production Systems
  • HortScience (2017) 52: 10-15

Seed Production and Plant Breeding

• Concepts and Strategies of Organic Plant Breeding in Light of Novel Breeding Techniques
  • Sustainability (2017) 9: 18
• Mapping QTLs Controlling Agronomic Traits in the ‘Attila’ × ‘CDC Go’ Spring Wheat Population under Organic Management using 90K SNP Array
  • Crop Science (2017) 57: 365-377

Livestock

• Insect and legume-based protein sources to replace soybean cake in an organic broiler diet: Effects on growth performance and physical meat quality
  • Renewable Agriculture and Food Systems (2017) 32: 21-27

Ecology and Environment

• Soil organic matter, greenhouse gases and net global warming potential of irrigated conventional, reduced-tillage and organic cropping systems
  • Nutrient Cycling in Agroecosystems (2017) 107: 49-62

Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods

• Does Organic Wine Taste Better? An Analysis of Experts' Ratings
  • Journal of Wine Economics (2016) 11: 329-354

Food for Organic Thought

• Mass Releases of Genetically Modified Insects in Area-Wide Pest Control Programs and Their Impact on Organic Farmers
  • Sustainability (2017) 9(1): 59
• Should Organic Agriculture Maintain Its Opposition to GM? New Techniques Writing the Same Old Story
  • Sustainability (2016) 8: 1105

Organic in Canada

• Two public comment periods are now underway for the Standards Interpretation Committee's Questions and Answers Regarding the National Standards for Organic Agriculture
  
  • Comment period open until February 17, 2017 [PDF - 692 kB]
  • Comment period open until March 6, 2017 [PDF - 563 kB]

News & Articles of Interest

• Another record year for organic agriculture worldwide - 50.9 million hectares of organic agricultural land – organic market grows to more than 80 billion US Dollars
  • FiBL and IFOAM – Organics International. 2017
    
    
• Can Recirculation Aquaculture Systems be Organic?
  IFOAM – Organics International is launching a global consultation on organic aquaculture systems.  Supported by the IFOAM Aquaculture Working Group, this consultation seeks your views on whether and/or how recirculation aquaculture systems (RAS) can be adapted to integrate organic practices.
  
  
• Solution Search Contest  - Farming For Biodiversity
  Do you have or know of a biodiversity-friendly solution that can reduce biodiversity loss, prevent soil degradation and feed a growing population? This contest, launched at the UN Convention on Biodiversity, runs in direct partnership with Rare and IFOAM - Organics International, with additional partners from around the world. The grand prizewinner will receive $30,000, and there will be four category prizes of $15,000. Learn more here.

Events