Blog 11 - Organic Agriculture
Blog 11 - Organic Agriculture
What are the problems when moving from conventional to organic practices?
The most occurring problems when cultivating organic pecan
is found in weed and pest management. Weeds will limit growth, for the trees
will have to compete with the weeds. But perhaps most harmful will be plant diseases.
The most common pecan diseases are caused by fungal pathogens, such as scab, so
control is of upmost importance. (Texas A&M Agrilife Extension,
n.d.)
Aphids and weevil control is also an important factor to keep in mind. (Mizell, 2015) .
It takes 3 years of transformation to be able to get an
organic certification. if one plants new trees it can take 10 years before the
trees will bear nuts. (Mizell, 2015) .
Therefore, disease-resistant varieties have to be chosen. Also,
a lot of organically approved substances are used to control the fungi and
insects. The University of Florida has done research on organic production by
R. F. Mizell. This publication contains many details on organic IPM of pecans and
their outcomes. See the list of references to find this report.
What is the level of organic crop production of pecans is there in the US?
It has proven difficult to pinpoint
the level of organic pecan production in the US.
Since machinery is expensive, orchards
are large and there is little to no intercropping or polyculture. Sometimes a
farmer chooses to reserve a section of his orchard to grow organically specifically
at one place. (Mizell, 2015) .
How does organic certification work in the US?
In 1990 the US established national standard for organic
production. (Bear Buttle Gardens, n.d.)
In the United States organic certification is done by agents
certified by the USDA (US Department of Agriculture). They certified around 80
agents. (A list with the companies can be found on their website). The certifying
agent will inform the farmer on the regulations, then an on-site visit by the
certifier is done. The agent will determine whether the farm is compliant with
the organic regulations of the USDA. Last, the certifier will issue a organic
certificate. (USDA, n.d.) In figure 1 one can find
an example of an organic certification.
The National Organic Program (NOP) is the department of the
USDA that is responsible for making the regulations and standards for organically
produced products. This is determined for all disciplines: production, handling
and processing. (Bear Buttle Gardens, n.d.)
References
Bear
Buttle Gardens. (n.d.). Bear Butte Gardens is USDA Organic Certified!
Retrieved from Bear Buttle Gardens:
http://www.bearbuttegardens.com/about/bear-butte-gardens-usda-certified-organic.html
Mizell, R. (2015). IMPROVEMENT AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF ORGANIC PECAN SYSTEMS IN THE SOUTHEASTERN US. Gainesville: University
of Florida. Retrieved from USDA:
https://portal.nifa.usda.gov/web/crisprojectpages/1000583-improvement-and-implementation-of-organic-pecan-systems-in-the-southeastern-us.html
Texas A&M Agrilife Extension. (n.d.). Texas
Plant Disease Handbook. Retrieved from Texas A&M Agrilife Extension:
https://plantdiseasehandbook.tamu.edu/food-crops/nut-crops/pecan/
USDA. (n.d.). Becoming a Certified Operation.
Retrieved from USDA:
https://www.ams.usda.gov/services/organic-certification/becoming-certified
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