Screening for endophytic nitrogen-fixing bacteria in Brazilian sugar cane varieties used in organic farming and description of Stenotrophomonas pavanii sp. nov. (1/36)

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Pollen-mediated gene flow in flax (Linum usitatissimum L.): can genetically engineered and organic flax coexist? (2/36)

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Fruit and soil quality of organic and conventional strawberry agroecosystems. (3/36)

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Mineral composition of organically grown wheat genotypes: contribution to daily minerals intake. (4/36)

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Organic farming and soil carbon sequestration: what do we really know about the benefits? (5/36)

Organic farming is believed to improve soil fertility by enhancing soil organic matter (SOM) contents. An important co-benefit would be the sequestration of carbon from atmospheric CO2. Such a positive effect has been suggested based on data from field experiments though many studies were not designed to address the issue of carbon sequestration. The aim of our study was to examine published data in order to identify possible flaws such as missing a proper baseline, carbon mass measurements, or lack of a clear distinction between conventional and organic farming practices, thereby attributing effects of specific practices to organic farming, which are not uniquely organic. A total of 68 data sets were analyzed from 32 peer-reviewed publications aiming to compare conventional with organic farming. The analysis revealed that after conversion, soil C content (SOC) in organic systems increased annually by 2.2% on average, whereas in conventional systems SOC did not change significantly. The majority of publications reported SOC concentrations rather than amounts thus neglecting possible changes in soil bulk density. 34 out of 68 data sets missed a true control with well-defined starting conditions. In 37 out of 50 cases, the amount of organic fertilizer in the organic system exceeded that applied in the compared conventional system, and in half of the cases crop rotations differed between systems. In the few studies where crop rotation and organic fertilization were comparable in both systems no consistent difference in SOC was found. From this data analysis, we conclude that the claim for beneficial effects of organic farming on SOC is premature and that reported advantages of organic farming for SOC are largely determined by higher and often disproportionate application of organic fertilizer compared to conventional farming.  (+info)

Simple techniques to increase the production yield and enhance the quality of organic rice bran oils. (6/36)

This study develops simple techniques for increasing production yield and refining of crude RBO (CRBO). It was found that pre-heating of rice bran by hot air oven to reach 60 degrees C before being extracted by screw press machine increased the yield from 4.8 to 8.3%w/w. This paper suggested three simple steps for refining of organic CRBO: (1) filtering using filter papers (2) sedimentation by adding 4%w/v fuller's earth and (3) bleaching by running through a packed column of activated carbon. These steps significantly enhanced the qualities of RBO when compared to CRBO before treatment. It was found that the lightness of oil as indicated by color value (L*) increased from 22.8 to 28.7, gum and wax decreased from 3.6 to 1.3%w/w. However, the simple refining method had no effect on peroxide value and free fatty acid content. Moreover, it slightly induced the loss of oryzanol content from 2.8 to 2.2%w/w.  (+info)

Functional and structural microbial diversity in organic and conventional viticulture: organic farming benefits natural biocontrol agents. (7/36)

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Parasitoid diversity reduces the variability in pest control services across time on farms. (8/36)

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