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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