Lehrveranstaltung: Organic Plant Production (3401-461)

Personen:

• (verantwortlich)
• Prof. Dr. Wilhelm Claupein (verantwortlich)

Lehrform:

Vorlesung mit Seminar, Praktikum und Exkursion

SWS:

4

Inhalt:

Functions of the soil in Organic Plant Production
- Physical soil properties: texture, structure, temperature
- Water supply
- Biological soil properties: earthworms, micro-organisms, humus
- Soil-plant interactions: soil fertility, rooting, tilth, effects of soil
properties on seeding, irrigation, erosion and timing of tillage
Organic cropping systems
- Crop rotations, rotation design, relevance of animal husbandry, clover-grass,
cover crops, catch crops, green manure, cash crops, forage crops
- Comparison of organic vs. conventional crop rotations
- Intercropping in various climates: types, sustainability
- Effects of cropping systems on weeds, pests, diseases, nutrients
Soil tillage
- Intensity of tillage systems: reduced tillage, ploughing vs. non-inversion,
mulch
- Effects of tillage on soil properties
- Effects of tillage on weeds, pests and diseases
- Typical tillage systems and implements for organic farming
Plant nutrition
- Nutrient cycling and nutrient budgets
- Organic fertilization: legumes, manure, compost, plant residues, humus
- Nutrient supply: mineralization, micro-organisms, mycorrhiza, earthworms,
N-fixation, subsequent delivery of nutrients
- Nitrate and groundwater
Organic plant protection
- Weed management: ecology of weeds, direct and indirect control strategies,
soil seed bank
- Control of pests and diseases: preparations, cropping system
- Specific problems in organic plant protection
- Organic plant breeding: ideotyping, local varieties, resistance
Practice in the field and excursion
- Crops: development stages, yield assessment
- Weed, pest and disease diagnosis in the field
- Visual soil assessment by spade diagnosis
- Biological activity
Selected current topics and problems, e.g.
- Stockless organic farming
- Conservation tillage
- Organic farming and co-existence with GMO's
- Organic oil crops

Lecture: beamer and slide presentation, blackboard; hand-outsSeminar: self-study and preparation of short talks by the students based e.g. on publications; supported by lecturerPractices: supervised practical work in small groups of studentsExcursion: demonstrations in the field .

Literatur:

Lampkin, N. (1999): Organic Farming. Farming Press.

Veranstaltungsort:

Hohenheim

Modul:

• 3401-460 Organic Plant Production (Pflicht)

eLearning:

Veranstaltung im ILIAS