Organic Friends' E‑zine: April 2015

Photo of the Month, by Chantal Hamel
A spore of the arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus, Funneliformis mosseae, which Organic Science Cluster researcher Dr. Chantal Hamel has found to be particularly abundant in cultivated soils. For more information about Dr. Hamel's work, please read our new Q&A article, The People Behind the Research: An Interview with Dr. Chantal Hamel.

In this issue:

• Organic Science Cluster II
  
• Practical Resources
• Scientific Results
• Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities
• Events

Organic Science Cluster II

This month we begin a series of Question & Answer style articles with the lead researchers of Organic Science Cluster II. These articles capture conversations with the researchers about themselves, their research, and the potential impacts of their work.

The People Behind the Research:

• A Conversation with Dr. Chantal Hamel
• A Conversation with Dr. Martin Entz

Practical Resources

Soils and Fertility

• The Fundamentals of Soil Nutrient Management, Soil Testing and Fertiliser Recommendations [PDF - 783 kB]
  
  • Biological Husbandry Unit Future Farming Centre. 2015

Horticulture

• Carrot Improvement for Organic Agriculture Recorded Webinar
  • eOrganic. 2015
• Day-neutral Strawberry Season Extension Using Low-tunnel Organic Production Systems
  • Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs. 2015
• Do's and Don'ts of Pollinator Care in Blueberry Fields
  • Dan Woolley for Atlantic Farm Focus. 2015
    
• Late Blight Management in Tomato with Resistant Varieties
  • eOrganic. 2015
• Non-Antibiotic Control of Fire Blight: What Works As We Head Into a New Era Recorded Webinar
  • eOrganic. 2015
• Specialty Melon Production for Small and Direct-Market Growers
  • ATTRA. 2015
• Using Participatory Variety Trials to Assess Response to Environment in Organic Vegetable Crops Recorded Webinar
  • eOrganic. 2015

Field Crops

• Baking evaluation, sensory analysis, and nutritional characteristics of modern, heritage, and ancient wheat varieties - Recorded webinar
  
  • eOrganic. 2015

Crop Rotation

• Market Farming with Rotations and Cover Crops: An Organic Bio-Extensive System
  • The Kerr Center for Sustainable Agriculture. 2015
• A web-based cover crop decision tool for growers in Eastern Canada
  • Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Pest Management Centre. 2015

Pest Management

• Ecological Pest Management Tutorial
  • ATTRA. 2015

Ecology and Environment

• Promoting Native Bee Pollinators in Organic Farming Systems Recorded Webinar
  • eOrganic. 2015

Marketing and Economics

• USDA National Retail Report – Local and Organic
  • United States Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Marketing Service. Updated weekly
    

Transition to Organic

• Transitioning to organic farming
  • Grainews. 2015
    

Scientific Results

Soils and Fertility

• Impact of conservation tillage and organic farming on the diversity of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi
  • Soil Biology and Biochemistry (2015) 84: 38-52
• Nutrient recycling in organic farming is related to diversity in farm types at the local level
  • Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment (2015) 204: 17-26
• The use of vermicompost in organic farming: overview, effects on soil and economics
  • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 1143-1156

Horticulture

• Delayed efficacy of Beauveria bassiana foliar spray applications against Colorado potato beetle: Impacts of number and timing of applications on larval and next-generation adult populations
  • Biological Control (2015) 83: 51-67
• Floor Management Systems in an Organic Apple Orchard Affect Fruit Quality and Storage Life
  • HortScience (2015) 50: 434-441
• Impact of crop protection strategies on natural enemies in organic apple production
  • Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2015) 35: 803-813
• Legume cover crop management and organic amendments application: Effects on organic zucchini performance and weed competition
  • Scientia Horticulturae (2015) 185: 48-58

Field Crops

• Evaluation of monocropped and intercropped grain legumes for cover cropping in no-tillage and reduced tillage organic agriculture
  • European Journal of Agronomy (2015) 65: 83-94
• The long-term effects of conventional and organic cropping systems, tillage managements and weather conditions on yield and grain quality of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) in the Mediterranean environment of Central Italy
  • Field Crops Research (2015) 176: 34-44
• Productivity, quality and sustainability of winter wheat under long-term conventional and organic management in Switzerland
  • European Journal of Agronomy (2015) 65: 27-39
• Tools for Optimizing Management of a Spatially Variable Organic Field
  • Agronomy (2015) 5: 89-106

Crop Rotation

• Weed suppressive ability in sole and intercrops of pea and oat and its interaction with ploughing depth and crop interference in organic farming
  • Organic Agriculture (2015) 5: 39-51

Pest Management

• Inorganic fungicides as routinely applied in organic and conventional agriculture can increase palatability but reduce microbial decomposition of leaf litter
  • Journal of Applied Ecology (2015) 52: 310-322

Livestock

• Cold-pressed rapeseed cake or full fat rapeseed to organic dairy cows—milk production and profitability
  • Organic Agriculture (2015) 5: 29-38
• Establishment of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) pastures on organic dairy farms in the Mountain West USA
  • Organic Agriculture (2015) 5: 63-77
• Water footprint accounting and scarcity indicators of conventional and organic dairy production systems
  • Journal of Cleaner Production (2015) 93: 299-307

Ecology and Environment

• Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. I. Herbaceous crops
  • Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2015) 35: 713-724
• Greenhouse gas emissions from conventional and organic cropping systems in Spain. II. Fruit tree orchards
  • Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2015) 35: 725-737

Nutrition, Safety and Health of Organic Foods

• The Growing Season, but Not the Farming System, Is a Food Safety Risk Determinant for Leafy Greens in the Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States
  • Applied and Environmental Microbiology (2015) 81: 2395-2407
• Occurrence and Antimicrobial Resistance of Enterococci Isolated from Organic and Conventional Retail Chicken
  • Journal of Food Protection (2015) 78: 760-766
• The use of infrared spectrometers to predict quality parameters of cornmeal (corn grits) and differentiate between organic and conventional practices
  • Journal of Cereal Science (2015) 62: 22-30
• Variation in bioactive content in broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) grown under conventional and organic production systems
  • Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture (2015) 95: 1163-1171

Marketing and Economics

• The green halo: Mechanisms and limits of the eco-label effect
  • Food Quality and Preference (2015) 43: 1-9
• How are organic food prices affecting consumer behaviour? A review
  • Food Quality and Preference (2015) 43: 10-20
• The role of consumers in transitions towards sustainable food consumption. The case of organic food in Norway
  • Journal of Cleaner Production (2015) 92: 91-99

Student, Job and Apprentice Opportunities

• M.Sc. in Agriculture Graduate Student Assistantship - Development of a New Soil Amendment Product - Dalhousie University [PDF - 225 kB]
  
• Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistantship: Interseeding cover crops in grain corn for improving soil health - Trent University [PDF - 135 kB]

Events