Scientists and farmers are joining forces to promote further development of environmentally friendly and labour-saving methods for growing organic carrots. I

n contrast to regular farmers, organic farmers do not use chemical plant protection. As a consequence, weeds and plant diseases pose a problem in organic farming and there are insufficient effective solutions to the problems.

A group of scientists, agricultural advisors and cash crop farmers aim to change that situation. They plan to find a new and efficient growing method that can make production of organic carrots more profitable and more environmentally friendly.

Scientists from the Department of Integrated Pest Management at the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, head the project, which is in collaboration with the Danish Research Institute of Food Economics at the University of Copenhagen, Danish Agricultural Advisory Services and two cash crop farmers.

The new carrot growing strategy will combine row steaming with biological activation of the soil. Row steaming is a new method for fighting weeds in row-planted crops without using chemical plant protection. However, there is still uncertainty as to the effect of the method on the microbiological life in the soil and the technology still requires a rather high energy input. The aim of the project is therefore to develop and optimize the row steaming technology.

Conventional farmers can also be expected to take advantage of the new method. An analysis of the production economics will elucidate the potential of the strategy for conventional, non-organic carrot production. This can lead to a reduction in the use of pesticides in non-organic farming and to more environmentally friendly agriculture.

- Organic farming is on the increase. The market demand for organic products is so strong that it is difficult for the farmers to keep up. Therefore, development of methods for more environmentally friendly growing of, for example, organic vegetables is an important initiative that can support the positive direction in which organic farming is heading, says the Minister for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries Hans Christian Schmidt.

The Ministry for Food, Agriculture and Fisheries is supporting the project with DKK 1.9 million from the Ministry’s Innovation Law. The project is expected to have a commercial effect at the latest five years after its completion.

For more information please contact: Senior scientist Bo Melander, Department of Integrated Pest Management, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, University of Aarhus, telephone: +45 8999 3593, e-mail: Bo.Melander@agrsci.dk

Text: Janne Hansen

Photo: Jens Kristian Kristensen