Different culture methods have been compared for almost 50 years out of 96 plots.
Keystone / Georgios Kefalas
Since 1978, research has taken place in Therwil, in the canton of Basel-Campagne to compare organic and conventional farming. At the key: important discoveries for the agriculture of tomorrow.
For almost 50 years, the Confederation (Agroscope) and the Organic Agriculture Research Institute (FIBL) have been carrying out long -term experience on agriculture in Therwil. On a hectare of land, we study how the methods of biological and conventional culture affect the yield, the quality of the soil and the climate.
The original SRF German television report (in German):
The project includes 96 plots. Currently, there are potatoes, wheat and clover. Jochen Meyer, scientist at Agroscope and co-director of the “Dok” experience, explains that the homogeneous quality of the soil is a rarity. “Here is a great arable ground, one of the best in Switzerland.”
In the plots, potatoes are cultivated side by side according to different methods. The test results are clear. “Biological systems produce around 85% of the yields of conventional systems,” explains Jochen Meyer. Although approximately a third of fewer nitrogen fertilizers are used and about ten times fewer phytosanitary products, the losses are relatively low on average.
“Biological systems produce around 85% of conventional systems yields. »»
Jochen Meyer-Scientist at Agroscope and co-director of the “Dok” experience
Organic is effective, but less constant
However, there are differences according to cultures. “If we look at the cultures that are relatively important for human food, namely cereals and potatoes, then the differences in yield are more important,” notes the researcher.
For potatoes, which are particularly demanding in plant protection, we can harvest on average about one third less. In addition, organic farming yields are less constant. “There are about 40% more variations compared to conventional cultivated areas,” says Jochen Meyer.
An international influence test
There are many other experiences comparing organic and conventional farming, recalls Jochen Meyer, “but none lasts as long as Swiss experience”. Else Bünemann du Fibl also underlines it: “No other experience also analyzes the impact of different methods of crop on yield and soil.”
One of the advantages of the test is the simultaneous observation of several cultures. “Each year, we have three different cultures at the same time, which allows us to constantly compensate for climatic variations and difficult years for a culture and to really arrive at a safe result,” explains Else Bünemann.
The “Dok” study of therwil has been underway since 1978 and is considered one of the longest comparative trials in the world. In the future, climate change should be at the center of research.
Keystone / Georgios Kefalas
The climate impacts are also at the center of attention. “If the system contains less nitrogen-that is to say, above all, less available nitrogen-then nitrogen oxide emissions are also reduced,” continues the researcher. And nitrogen oxide is a very, very powerful greenhouse gas. ” There is still a lot to look for on the climate crisis. But what is already clear is that organic farming has obvious advantages.
Look towards the future
To make organic farming even more effective in the future, new approaches are necessary, according to Jochen Meyer: “For example, the use of nitrogen from wastewater or directly from human urine.” And to add: “We could thus close the material cycles and have exactly the quantity necessary to fill the yield deviation.”
It is still music for the future. According to at least fifty years, the large experimental area of therwil should be operated for at least fifty years. Since 1978, experience has given rise to more than 140 scientific publications as well as many master’s and doctoral theses, according to Le Fibl and Agroscope.
Text translated from German using AI/OP
