Themes and discussion
Find out more about organic arable farming and organic livestock husbandry, join the discussions, and exchange ideas and information with colleagues and scientists.
Soil quality and fertility
Sustainable crop production is dependent on maintaining and improving soil quality and fertility, which are in turn dependent on organic matter in the soil and its impact on the soil’s chemical, biological and physical properties. Organic matter is the source of life for the immense variety of soil microbes and soil fauna that make nutrients available and build soil structure. Therefore, crop rotations should always include a phase that allows organic matter in the soil to build up i.e. through incorporating perennial grass-clover leys or catch crops during autumn and winter. To protect soil life, the input of nutrients via manure, crop residues or other fertilisers should be well-balanced. Compaction by heavy machinery should be avoided for the same reason.
On this page, you can find tools and resources to help you improve soil quality and fertility, and you can discuss the topic with others.
Recommended tool
Mechanical Weed Control in Maize
The video shows a demonstration of new, powerful and relatively expensive machines (therefore suitable for joint use or contractors) that are doing…
Most popular toolHow to successfully convert to organic arable farming
The leaflet addresses farmers who are interested in conversion to organic arable farming. Information includes contact points for workshops and…
Latest toolCultivation in rows – Nitrogen fixation by catch crops and their effect on yield
Row cultivation in cereals with nitrogen-fixing crops can improve nitrogen supply in the crop rotation, while reducing nitrogen leaching.…
Tools
| Title | Issuing organisation | Year of release | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| A farmer’s guide to organic fruit and vegetable production | Organic Centre Wales | 2008 | 3.5 (2) |
| Advanced system in wheat: Combination of agronomical levels: The French... | PURE | - | |
| Aerated compost tea (ACT) to improve soil biology and to act as a... | Organic Research Centre ORC, Elm Farm | 2017 | 4.7 (3) |
| Assessing soil structure with two simple methods : Spade Test and mini 3D soil... | ARVALIS - Institut du végétal | 2017 | |
| Autumn cover crops | Associazione Italiana Agricoltura Biologica AIAB | 2018 | 3 (4) |
| Bringing the dirt to your doorstep: organic no-till weed management | Rodale Institute, Kutztown | 2014 | 2.8 (4) |
| Catch crop in maize | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4 (1) |
| Cereal Disease Encyclopaedia | Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board... | 2008 | |
| Challenges of Organic Arable Farming 1st module: Strategies to enhance soil... | Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari CIHEAM... | 2017 | |
| Challenges of Organic Arable Farming 2nd module: Fertilization strategies to... | Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari CIHEAM... | 2017 | |
| Challenges of Organic Arable Farming 4th module: Technical tools, strategies... | Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari CIHEAM... | 2017 | |
| Challenges of Organic Arable Farming - 6th module: Recovery and final synthesis | Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari CIHEAM... | 2017 | |
| Choosing cover crops for arable crop rotations | French Research Institute for Organic Farming ITAB | 2018 | |
| Commercial organic fertiliser as supplementary fertilisers in potato crop... | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4 (1) |
| Composting leaflet – agroecological approach at your farm | Bioforum Vlaanderen vzw | 2013 | 4.5 (2) |
| Control of creeping thistle by stubble cultivation | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4.5 (2) |
| Controlled traffic farming: A new track for soil and weed control in organic... | INAGRO | 2018 | |
| Controlling docks by stubble cultivation | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4.5 (2) |
| Cover Crop (Rye) and No-Till System in Wisconsin | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 5 (3) |
| Cover crop and living mulch toolbox | Technical University of Munich TUM, School of Life... | 2014 | 3.4 (10) |
| Cover crop management and termination | Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education SARE | 2014 | |
| Cover crop mulches and no-till maize | Associazione Italiana Agricoltura Biologica AIAB | 2018 | 1 (1) |
| Cover crop mulches and no-till soybean | Associazione Italiana Agricoltura Biologica AIAB | 2017 | |
| Crop rotation and its ability to suppress perennial weeds | SEGES | 2017 | 4.5 (2) |
| Crop rotation and its ability to suppress perennial weeds | SEGES | 2016 | 3 (1) |
| Crop Rotation in Organic Systems | Dalhousie University, Organic Agriculture Centre... | - | |
| Crop rotations on diversified farms | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2013 | |
| Cultivating a diverse wheat population suitable for low-input and organic... | Organic Research Centre ORC, Elm Farm | 2017 | |
| Cultivation in rows – Catch crops - tolerance and regrowth | Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug , SEGES Økologi Innovation | 2018 | |
| Cultivation in rows – cereals with catch crops | SEGES Økologi Innovation , Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug | 2018 | |
| Cultivation in rows – Nitrogen fixation by catch crops and their effect on yield | SEGES Økologi Innovation , Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug | 2018 | |
| Cultivation in rows – Sowing time for catch crops | Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug , SEGES Økologi Innovation | 2018 | |
| Cultivation in rows – Weed control between stubble rows | Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug , SEGES Økologi Innovation | 2018 | |
| Cultivation in rows – Weed control in spring cereal grains | Aarhus University , Copenhagen University , AgroIntelli , Økologisk VKST , Barritskov Land- og Skovbrug , SEGES Økologi Innovation | 2018 | |
| Demonstration of Hoeing Machines in Arable Farming | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2011 | |
| Demonstration of Plough Dethatchers | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 4.5 (2) |
| Determine compost quality using the cress tests | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) | 2018 | |
| Direct drilling of winter cereals | Associazione Italiana Agricoltura Biologica AIAB | 2018 | |
| Direct Sowing of Maize | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2015 | |
| Direct sowing with green manure | Foundation for organic agriculture Bioselena , IFOAM EU | 2018 | |
| Diverse fertility building leys in arable rotations | Organic Reserach Centre ORC, Elm Farm | 2017 | 3.5 (2) |
| DSS "Weed Control in Organic Winter Wheat Production" | University Bonn, Institute of Organic Agriculture | 2004 | |
| Earthworms: architects of fertile soils | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 3.6 (11) |
| ECOPHYTOPIC – The portal for integrated crop protection of arable crops | Les Instituts Techniques Agricoles ACTA | - | 3.3 (3) |
| Efficient nitrogen use from livestock manure | SEGES | 2016 | |
| Efficient use of nitrogen from livestock manure | SEGES | 2017 | 4 (2) |
| Friedrich Wenz on Soil Fertility and Reduced Tillage | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 5 (1) |
| Getting your land ready to grow organically – certified or not | Michigan State University | 2016 | |
| Grain legumes and soil fertility - Strategies for a successful cultivation | Federal Agency for Nature Conservation BfN | 2014 | 3.5 (2) |
| Green manure and cover crops in organic agriculture: general introduction | French Research Institute for Organic Farming ITAB | 2012 | |
| Green manure and cover crops in organic agriculture: guide to the choice of the... | French Research Institute for Organic Farming ITAB | 2012 | 4 (3) |
| Growing cover crops in organic arable crop rotations: Best practices from... | SEGES | 2017 | 4 (2) |
| Growing cover crops in organic arable crop rotations: best practices from... | SEGES | 2016 | |
| Hairy Vetch – an Excellent Green Manure for Dry Conditions | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 4 (2) |
| Healthy Grassland Soils Pocketbook | Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board... | 2015 | |
| How to successfully convert to organic arable farming | Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut Österreich LFI | 2017 | 5 (2) |
| Incorporating Green Manures | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2013 | 4.5 (2) |
| Inter-row cultivation for mechanical weed control in winter oilseed rape | PURE | - | |
| Intercropping grain peas with barley | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2015 | |
| Knowledge exchange platform for agroecology | SOLAGRO | - | 3.2 (6) |
| LeNiBa - the KTBL / isip app for nitrogen balancing of legumes | Kuratorium für Technik und Bauwesen in der... | - | |
| Ley Destruction with Shallow Ploughing or Cultivators | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2016 | |
| Living mulch in vegetables | Associazione Italiana Agricoltura Biologica AIAB | 2015 | |
| Managing for Soil Health on an Organic Farm - A Farmer's Perspective | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2014 | |
| Mechanical Weed Control in Maize | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2013 | |
| Mechanical weeding in arable crops | French Research Institute for Organic Farming ITAB | 2012 | 4.6 (9) |
| Monitoring and comparing cover crop performances | French Research Institute for Organic Farming ITAB | 2018 | |
| Multispectral remote sensing in participatory on-farm variety trials | Hungarian Research Institute of Organic... | 2018 | |
| NDICEA - Nitrogen Planer – version 6.2 | Louis Bolk Institute | 2014 | 4 (4) |
| New ways of stubble cultivation | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2010 | |
| Nitrogen budget calculator. A tool to calculate N-budgets in organic forage... | Leibniz-Zentrum für Agrarlandschaftsforschung... | 2013 | 3.8 (4) |
| No-till cultivation of maize in rolled forage peas | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) | 2017 | |
| Nutrient Budgeting: Organic Considerations for Implementing NRCS CPS 590 | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2014 | |
| Nutrient management in farms in conversion to organic | Sächsische Landesanstalt für Umwelt,... | 2008 | |
| Nutrient supply | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2011 | 2 (1) |
| Oregon Tilth 2017 WEBINAR SERIES | Oregon Tilth | 2017 | |
| Organic Cereals | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2010 | 4 (2) |
| Organic Cover Cropping and Intercropping | Washington State University - Puyallup | 2011 | |
| Organic cultivation in autumn 2016 - Varieties, Seeds and Crop management | Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut Österreich LFI | 2016 | |
| Organic Cultivation in Spring 2016 - Varieties, Seeds and Crop management | Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut Österreich LFI | 2016 | |
| Organic Field Crop Production | Dalhousie University, Organic Agriculture Centre... | - | |
| Organic no-till systems | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2013 | |
| Organic quality wheat production - Results of long-term field trials of... | Ländliches Fortbildungsinstitut Österreich LFI | 2016 | |
| Organic Small Grain Production | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2011 | |
| Organic Weed Management: A Practical Guide | Charles Merfield | 2000 | |
| Pest Management in Organic Cropping Systems | Dalhousie University, Organic Agriculture Centre... | - | |
| Pest Management in Organic Production Systems | Southern Regional Extension Forestry | 2011 | |
| Potato Crop Management | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2010 | |
| Practical advice for organic production of lupines | Landesforschungsanstalt für Landwirtschaft und... | 2014 | 4 (4) |
| Practice Abstract: Intercropping grain peas with barley | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4.3 (3) |
| Processing Quality of Organic Wheat | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2015 | |
| Quick test for infiltration of arable soils | Bioland , FiBL Projekte GmbH | 2018 | |
| Reduced Tillage | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) | 2014 | |
| Reduced Tillage Stubble Incorporation - Comparsion of Different Machine Types | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2013 | 4 (1) |
| Reduced Tillage Systems - Practical Recommendation | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2014 | 3.7 (3) |
| Regionally adapted humus balance in organic farming | Sächsische Landesanstalt für Umwelt,... | 2013 | 3.7 (3) |
| Results an lessons learnt from field vegetables activity - cabbage | PURE | - | |
| Results and lessons learnt from wheat-based cropping system activity | PURE | - | |
| Rolling of grains to prevent winter kill damage | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | |
| ROTOR: organic crop rotation planner | Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research... | 2007 | 4.6 (9) |
| Satellite based and camera-controlled steering systems | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2015 | 2 (1) |
| Shallow Ploughing of Leys – Comparison of Different Plough and Cultivator Types | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2015 | |
| Simple building blocks for improved soil fertility – Look and judge yourself | INAGRO | 2007 | |
| SmartSOIL Tool | Aarhus University | 2015 | 2 (3) |
| Soil and Fertility Management in Organic Systems | Dalhousie University, Organic Agriculture Centre... | - | |
| Soil fertility - manure treatment | Landwirtschaftliches Zentrum Liebegg | 2009 | |
| Soil protection and Crop Rotation | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2007 | |
| Soil quality test kit guide | United States Department of Agriculture USDA | 2001 | 3.1 (7) |
| Soil tillage | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2013 | |
| SOILapp | School of Advanced Studies Sant'Anna, Institute of... , Scuola Esperienziale Itinerante di Agricoltura... , The Greek Network for Biodiversity and Ecology in... | 2018 | |
| Sort Out Your Soil: A practical guide to green manures | Cotswold Seeds Ltd , Garden Organic | - | 4 (5) |
| Spade test | Institut supérieure d’agriculture Lyon ISARA | 2016 | |
| Testing peas for legume fatigue | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 5 (1) |
| The Basics of Soil Fertility | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2013 | 3.5 (2) |
| The Muencheberg Soil Quality Rating (SQR) | Leibniz Centre for Agricultural Landscape Research... | 2007 | 4 (4) |
| The Spade test - Visual soil assessment in the field | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2016 | 4.5 (2) |
| The use of legumes - Nature-compatible cultivation practices | Federal Agency for Nature Conservation BfN | 2014 | |
| Transition to organic production | Dalhousie University, Organic Agriculture Centre... | - | |
| Use of variety mixtures to reduce disease, increase resource-use efficiency... | PURE | - | |
| Using crop rotation to control wireworms | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4 (1) |
| Visual soil assessment: field guide for cropping | Landcare Research | 2000 | 4.4 (5) |
| Weed control in organic farming through mechanical solutions | University of Kassel, Agricultural Engineering | 2011 | 3.5 (4) |
| Weed control in soy with the finger weeder | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | |
| Weed harrowing in spring cereals | PURE | - | |
| Winter field peas as green manure before maize | Research Institute of Organic Agriculture FiBL | 2017 | 4.5 (2) |
Discussion forum
Here you can discuss your problems and solutions for this theme