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In organic agriculture the availability of N to plants depends on mineralization rates of soil organic matter, which are hardly predictable under field conditions. Therefore, timely supply of sufficient amounts of plant-available N is a challenge for organic agriculture. Within the frame of this case study will focus on improving N supply via alternative renewable organic sources in non-legume crops grown organically through combining cultivation of non-legume crops with appropriate legume plants in a crop rotation scheme. The focus will be on measures to facilitate the rapid transfer of biologically-fixed N from the legume crop to the following non-legume vegetable crop by testing the efficiency of the system in terms of biological N2-fixation (BNF) and its contribution to the total N needs of the tested non-legume vegetable crop. The purpose of this Case study is the identification of wider environmental effects such as carbon sequestration and greenhouse gas emissions when legumes are used inn rotation schemes. Therefore, greenhouse gas (GHG) samples will be collected in order to measure emissions of CO2, N2O and CH4.

More information:

• Blog post: "Legumes are the key!"
• Blog post: "Rhizobia are key partners for an eco-friendly agriculture"
• Video on Case Study 22