Organic Research at the University of Saskatchewan

Dr. J. Diane Knight

Dept. of Soil Science

Organic Industry Needs Assessment (SAF)

• Barriers to Industry Growth

• Marketing

• Production Research & Development

Barriers to Industry Growth

• Lack of an internationally recognized accreditation/certification system

• Lack of marketing information

Organic Trade and Marketing Analyst

Dept. of Agricultural Economics

• Organic Certification/ Accreditation in Canada

• USDA-National Organic Program (NOP)

• Organic Marketing and Supply Chain Analysis

Production Research & Development

Three priority areas identified:

• Managing soil fertility and quality

• Crop rotations in relation to soil, weeds, insects, and diseases

• Managing weeds

Variety Development/Assessment

Variety Trials: Durum, oats, barley, wheat

Identification of crop varieties that are the highest yielding under low input conditions

- Heritage varieties

- Modern high input varieties

- Modern low input varieties

Knight & Shirtliffe

Flax

Evaluation of early flowering flax varieties for organic production

- Flax is typically seeded late to enable control of the first weed flush with harrowing

- Can result in late maturity, hence, reduced yield and seed quality

Rowland et al.

Oats

Comparison of oat cultivars for competitive-ness with weeds– Forage varieties most competitive, demi-dwarf

varieties least competitive

Shirtliffe

Weed Control

Bacterial Controls

Development of bacterial control agents for control of wild oats and green foxtail– Native bacteria isolated from Saskatchewan

soils– Lines identified that display moderate control– Development of carrier system for applying

inoculants to soils

Boyetchco, AAFC

Mechanical Weed Control

• Mowing barley at 2 to 3 leaf stage for in-crop control – faster recovey of barley than weeds

• Deep seeding of peas for protection against post-seeding harrowing

• Comparison of harrowing implements – small plot scale and field scale (Frick)

Johnson, AAFCFrick, OACC

Spray Technology

• Vinegar and Pine oil as organic herbicides

• First indications are it is not economically nor technically feasible for most producers

Wolf, AAFC

Soil Fertility

Soil Survey of Organic Fields

- 76 fields soil sampled and analysed for macronutrients and various soil chemical and physical characteristics

- Overall, soils were:- moderately to severely deficient in P,

- slightly deficient in N,

- optimum for K and S (some localized S deficiency)

Knight

Green Manuring (Plough Downs)

• Evaluation of a variety of green manure crops for supplying Nitrogen and Phosphorous, and for competitiveness with weeds

• Investigation of optimal seeding rates for legume green manure crops for weed control and Nitrogen supply

Knight & Shirtiffe

Organic Fertilizers/Ammendments

• Examining ways of improving P fertility– Composted livestock manures– Fungal inoculants for solubilizing P– Green manures

Knight

Cropping systems

• Long-term crop rotation study comparing:– High input – low diversity

– High input – high diversity

– Low input – low diversity (organic)

– Low input – high diversity (organic)

• So far weeds are still manageable, organic high diversity system – among most economically viable

Brandt, AAFC

Summary

• Addressing issues identified by organic producers as important

• Cooperation between organic producers, U. of S. researchers, provincial and federal research institutes