Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-9q27g Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-16T12:24:43.691Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

N, P and K on organic farms: herbage and cereal production, purchases and sales

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

S. M. Fowler ,
C. A. Watson  and
D. Wilman
S. M. Fowler
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
C. A. Watson
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
D. Wilman
Affiliation:
Department of Agricultural Sciences, University College of Wales, Aberystwyth, Dyfed SY23 3DD, UK
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Yields of dry matter, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium in herbage and cereals from fields representing different stages of the rotation were recorded on two organic farms in 2 years. Amounts of N, P and K purchased and sold were also recorded on these farms.

Some additional data was obtained from three other organic farms. Herbage production was very satisfactory, whether fields were grazed or cut. The proportion of clover in sown swards was, in most cases, satisfactory to high, but the clover content was very low in a few fields. The yields of cereals were about equal to or below the average obtained on farms using fertilizer and other agrochemical inputs. Manure was normally applied to the leys, which were the fertility-building part of the rotation, rather than to the cereal crops. Leaching of K from manure heaps was considerable.

Purchases of N, P and K (mainly in manure) seemed excessive on one of the farms. On one of the farms studied in less detail, less P and K were purchased than were sold. More attention could be given to the balance between purchases and sales of N, P and K and to the efficient conversion of N into saleable produce.

Type
Crops and Soils
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 120 , Issue 3 , June 1993 , pp. 353 - 360
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1993

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Agricultural Development And Advisory Service (1989). Survey of Fertiliser Practice: Fertiliser Use on Farm Crops England and Wales 1988. Agricultural Development and Advisory Service; ICI Fertilizers; Hydro Fertilizers Ltd; Kemira Ltd; UKF Fertilisers Ltd. Ripon, Yorkshire: Farm Research Limited.Google Scholar
Crompton, E. & Osmond, D. A. (1954). The Soils of the Wem District of Shropshire (Sheet 138). Memoirs of the Soil Survey of England and Wales, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Elm Farm Research Centre (1981). The research needs of biological agriculture in Great Britain: a report on the discussions of the Elm Farm Research Centre Colloquium, November 1980. Report No. 1. Hamstead Marshall, Berkshire: Elm Farm Research Centre.Google Scholar
Faithfull, N. T. (1971). Automated simultaneous determination of nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium on the same herbage digest solution. Laboratory Practice 20, 41–44.Google Scholar
Frame, J. (1981). Herbage mass. In Sward Measurement Handbook (Eds Hodgson, J., Baker, R. D., Davies, A., Laidlaw, A. S. & Leaver, J. D.), pp. 39–69. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Gregory, P. J., Crawford, D. V. & McGowan, M. (1979). Nutrient relations of winter wheat. 1. Accumulation and distribution of Na, K, Ca, Mg, P, S and N. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 93, 485–494.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoglund, J. H. & Brock, J. L. (1987). Nitrogen fixation in managed grasslands. In Ecosystems of the World 17B: Managed Grasslands: Analytical Studies (Ed. Snaydon, R. W.), pp. 187–196. Amsterdam, Oxford, New York, Tokyo: Elsevier.Google Scholar
Home-Grown Cereals Authority (1988). Cereals Statistics 1988. London: Home-Grown Cereals Authority.Google Scholar
Kaffka, S. & Koepf, H. H. (1989). A case study on the nutrient regime in sustainable farming. Biological Agriculture and Horticulture 6, 89–106.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lampkin, N. (1990). Organic Farming. Ipswich: Fanning Press.Google Scholar
Maynard, D. G. & Bomke, A. A. (1980). The response of a grass-legume sward to poultry manure. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 60, 451–459.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1967). Potential Transpiration. Technical Bulletin No. 16. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food (1988). Fertiliser Recommendations for Agricultural and Horticultural Crops 5th edn. Reference Book 209. London: HMSO.Google Scholar
Morrison, J. (1981). The potential of legumes for forage production. In Legumes and Fertilizers in Grassland Systems, papers presented at the British Grassland Society Winter Meeting 1981, 11–110.Google Scholar
Peel, S., Matkin, E. A. & Huckle, C. A. (1988). Herbage growth and utilized output from grassland on dairy farms in southwest England: case studies of five farms, 1982 and 1983. 1. Herbage growth. Grass and Forage Science 43, 61–69.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rudeforth, C. C. (1970). Soils of North Cardiganshire. Harpenden: Soil Survey of England and Wales.Google Scholar
Soil Association (1987). Standards for Organic Agriculture. Bristol: The Soil Association.Google Scholar
Soil Association (1989). Standards for Organic Agriculture. Bristol: The Soil Association.Google Scholar
Spedding, C. R. W. & Diekmahns, E. C. (Eds) (1972). Grasses and legumes in British agriculture. Bulletin no. 49, Commonwealth Bureau of Pastures and Field Crops. Farnham Royal: Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux.Google Scholar
Vereijken, P. (1986). Maintenance of soil fertility on the biodynamic farm in Nagele. In The Importance of Biological Agriculture in a World of Diminishing Resources (Eds Vogtmann, H., Boehncke, E. & Fricke, I.), Proceedings of the 5th IFOAM International Scientific Conference at the University of Kassel (Germany), pp. 23–30. Witzenhausen: Verlagsgruppe Weiland, Happ, Burkhard.Google Scholar
Whitehead, D. C., Garwood, E. A. & Ryden, J. C. (1986). The efficiency of nitrogen use in relation to grassland productivity. Annual Report 1985–86, Animal and Grassland Research Institute, Hurley, pp. 86–89.Google Scholar
Williams, W. (1970). White clover in British agriculture. In White Clover Research (Ed. Lowe, J.), pp. 1–10. Occasional Symposium No. 6, British Grassland Society. Hurley: British Grassland Society.Google Scholar
Wilman, D. (1975). Nitrogen and Italian ryegrass. 2. Growth up to 14 weeks: nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium content and yield. Journal of the British Grassland Society 30, 243–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar