As a critical component to the sustainability of both transitioning and organic citrus orchards it is important to understand the impact of foliar dust deposits on the survival of insectary reared Aphytis melinus and Metaphycus helvolus used respectively for the biological control of California red scale and black scale.
Previous research (with the support of OFRF) has been done with coastal apple growers in support of pheromone-based codling moth management and organic growers have now accepted and are using this method of pest control. However, in some orchards, mating disruption and other organic methods cannot alone keep codling moth damage at a manageable level. The addition of a locally-adapted egg parasitoid released at egg-laying of the first codling moth generation could make an economic difference for local organic apple growers in terms of lowered codling moth infestation at harvest.
This project will assess the impact of perennial flowering habitat plantings on biological control of several insect and mite pests of apples. This document reports our progress during 1995, the first year of this 3 to 4 year study. During 1995, plant species were chosen and the habitat plantings were established at two commercial apple orchards in Wisconsin; one orchard is certified organic and the other is managed using conventional IPM practices. To date, no insect sampling has been conducted.
The advantages of practicing integrated pest management (IPM) with a "Plant Positive" rather than a "Pest Negative" perspective are becoming increasingly clear. As outlined by Eliot Coleman and many other capable deep agricultural thinkers, this Plant Positive perspective allows us to approach pest outbreaks with an emphasis on their basic causation, instead of simply treating the same old symptoms.
From September of 1994 through June of 1995, with the financial assistance of OFRF, Organic Ag Advisors and Aptos Berry Farms conducted research on the biological, nutritional and cultural control of Botrytis and Powdery Mildew an Raspberries at the Aptos Berry Farm on Thompson Road in Watsonville CA The research took place in a raspberry operation that uses an integrated organic and conventional farming system, on a raspberry variety chosen because of it's history of trouble with these plant and fruit pathogens, These raspberries bear fruit in fall and spring, thus giving the opportunity t
An organic lamb producer evaluated four substances that had been suggested by articles or by other producers to serve as possibly effective anthelmintics in lambs. Although the producer utilized grazing management and other measures to manage internal parasites, she found that parasite load was high in ewes during lambing and lactation, as well as in offspring, and was looking for effective worming methods to complement other management strategies.
The survey was undertaken to obtain information for a publication on organic livestock management. Canadian Organic Growers wanted to base the book on farmers' experience as much as possible, to make sure it addressed the issues being faced by organic producers in Canada as well as providing useful practical information for those who want to convert from a conventional to an organic livestock operation. The main purpose of the survey was to identify theconstraints to organic livestock production and the methods used successfully to overcome these problems.
In this project, we finished Texas longhorn beef cattle on the Sunshine Farm by using polywire (temporary electric fence) to break-feed crop residues and forages in a narrow strip cropping system without supplemental feed. To close the nutrient cycle between cattle and crops, the project was recommended February 1995 by the seven-member Farmer Advisory Committee for the Sunshine Farm.
An assessment of the quantity of nutrients entering, leaving and remaining on a farm is the starting point for understanding nutrient cycling. When nutrient flows are documented for the entire rotation cycle, the resulting net balances can be used as a tool to help with soil management decisions and in the interpretation of soil tests.
Organic vegetable growers regularly use sea-based products, such as seaweed extracts and fish emulsions, as foliar fertilizers. The effective use and the economic value of these products in organic agriculture have yet to be verified by scientific research. In these studies, we examined the effects of foliar applied seaweed and fish products on sweet bell peppers grown at three different soil fertility levels