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Ensuring of the yield potential of lucerne-clover-grass-mixtures by improving the current sulphur availability on ecologically managed areas – situation and importance under practical conditions
Project
Project code: 2810OE104
Contract period: 01.10.2011
- 31.12.2015
Budget: 307,183 Euro
Purpose of research: Applied research
The aim of the project was to assess the demand for sulphur fertilization in organic arable farming in Germany. Sulphur availability impacts on biological nitrogen fixation in legume stands, which is the basic principle of nitrogen management in organic farming. In former times, considerable amounts of sulphur have been supplied by atmospheric deposition, but immissions decreased due to advances in industrial smoke gas filtering in the last decades. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the demand for sulphur fertilization to crops in organic farming, and perennial fodder legumes in particular. Further, applicable indicators of sulphur demand of organic fodder legume stands have to be developed as well as recommendations for sulphur fertilization to these crops.
An on-farm survey in 2012 to 2014 showed that >70% of sites had S contents below 30 kg S ha-1 in 0-60cm soil depth, indicating a potential limitation of crops with a high S demand, as fodder legumes. Supplementary analyses of S and N contents in plant biomass supported this assumption, as contents and total yields of both elements were lower up to 50% with sulphur limitation compared to well-supplied sites. The relation between S availability and N yields was further examined.
Based on the survey we defined threshhold values for sulphur availability and specified recommendations for S fertilizaton to organic fodder legumes in the different soil-climate-regions of Germany. Still, the survey showed that other nutrients could be limiting growth and yields of fodder legumes in organic farming, and micro nutrients in particular. There is a clear demand for further research in that field.
Section overview
Subjects
- Plant Nutrition
- Organic Farming
Framework programme
Federal Organic Farming Scheme and other forms of sustainable agriculture (BÖLN)
