Research Institute of Organic Agriculture Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau 90 years of bio-dynamic agriculture – from a scientific perspective Urs Niggli Institut de recherche de l’agriculture biologique
Jul 18, 2015
Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau
90 years of bio-dynamic agriculture –
from a scientific perspective
Urs Niggli
Institut de recherche de l’agriculture biologique
www.fibl.org
Talk is about:
› Conceptual background of organic farming and
role of bio-dynamic agriculture.
› Bio-dynamic – organic – integrated and
conventional farming: environment and
productivity.
› Influence of bio-dynamic agriculture on
agricultural research.
› Limitations of bio-dynamic farming with regards
to global food security.
www.fibl.org
Conceptual background of organic farming
› A new paradigm in agriculture and agricultural research(Kuhn, 1962: The structure of scientific revolutions).
› «The whole is more than the sum of its parts». Aristoteles.
› The concept of a farm as an organism of Steiner.
› Subjectivity as element of scientific insight and progress.
› Interactions between partial systems are important in agriculture.
› Contextualizing of analyses and solutions (farm, landscape,
economy, ethic, culture).
› (Agro)ecosystems: homeostasis, self-correcting systems with
positive and negative feedback loops. Gregory Bateson, † 1980,
English anthropologist, social scientists and cyberneticists.
*
www.fibl.org
90 years of research in
bio-dynamic farming
› Steiner to Lili Kolisko: „Studieren Sie die
Gestaltungskräfte!“
› She spent her entire life on the
experimental research of the bio-dynamic
preparation and their potential effect on
the growth and health of plants and
animals.
› In 1923 development of the paper chromatography
method (‚Steigbildmethode‘).
› ‚Agriculture of the future’ Eugen Kolisko und Lili Kolisko, 1953
(German translation).
www.fibl.org
Long-term agronomic experiment since 1978
The DOK farming system comparison
N M
D1 D2
O1 O2
K1 K2
N M
D1 D2
O1 O2
K1 K2
D1 D2
N M
K1 K2
O1 O2
O1 O2
K1 K2
N M
D1 D2
D: Bio-dynamic
O: Bio-organic
K: Integrated
1: low input (0.7 LSU/ha)
2: standard input (1.4 LSU/ha)
Control treatments:
M: Integrated no manure
N: unfertilized
8 treatments
3 crops
4 replicates
96 plots at 100m2
Maize
Soybeans (catch crop)
Winter wheat I (catch crop)
Potatoes
Winter wheat II
Grass-clover
Grass-clover
Mäder, Fliessbach, …., Niggli (2002), Science 296
www.fibl.org Mäder, Fliessbach,..., Niggli (2002), Science 296
DOK trial in CH, since 1977: Organic yields 83 %, excellent
input/output ratio
Parameter Unit Organic
farming
Integrated
farming (IP)
with FYM
Organic
in %
of IP
Nutrient input kg Ntotal ha-1 yr-1 101 157 64 %
kg Nmin ha-1 yr-1 34 112 30 %
kg P ha-1 yr-1 25 40 62 %
kg K ha-1 yr-1 162 254 64 %
Pesticides applied kg ha-1 yr-1 1.5 42 4 %
Fuel use L ha-1 yr-1 808 924 87 %
Total yield output
for 28 years % 83 100 83 %
Soil microbial
biomass as „output“ tons ha-1 40 24 167 %
Inp
ut
Ou
tpu
t
www.fibl.org
PGPR (Plant growth-
promoting rhizobacteria)
Mycorrhizal fungi
Ground beetles
(Carabides)
Manifold effects on soil biology and physics
Has become the number 1 research field in
modern agricultural research.
www.fibl.org
0
50
100
150
Percolation stability
Aggregate stability
Bulk density
A Physical
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
CONMIN
100
200
Microbial biomass
Dehydro-genase
Protease
Phosphatase
Saccharase
Mycorrhiza
C Microbial
0
50
100
150pH
Organic carbon
Phosphorus
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
B Chemical
0
0
100
200
Earthworm biomass
Earthworm abundance
CarabidsStaphilinids
Spiders
D Faunal
Mäder, Fliessbach, Niggli (2002), Science 296
Soil properties in the DOC experiment (year 24)
www.fibl.org
DOK: Soil microbial biomass
Long-term average (1995-2002)
Calculated for 0-20cm at an average density of 1.4 g cm-3
Mäder et al., 2006, ISOFAR
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
So
il m
icro
bia
l b
iom
ass
(kg
Cm
ic h
a-1
)
NOFERT
CONMIN
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
a
b
c
d d
www.fibl.org Fließbach et al., 2000a
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Soil microbial biomass (mg Cmic g-1
soil)
So
il a
gg
reg
ate
sta
bil
ity
(% s
tab
le a
gg
reg
ate
s >
250 m
m)
NOFERT
CONMIN
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
y=0.24ln(x) - 0.77
r2=0.46
Correlation between soil aggregate stability – soil
biomass
www.fibl.org
Biodynamic farming (BIODYN) Conventional mineral fertilizers
(CONMIN)
Soil structure in the DOC experiment (year 24)
www.fibl.org
Bio-dynamic with
composted manure
Conventional, mineral
fertilizer
Fo
tos:
Fli
essb
ach
No
v. 2
002
Soil properties in the DOC experiment (year 24)
www.fibl.org Mäder et al., 2002: Science 296, 1694
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1978-1984 1985-1991 1992-1998
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
CONMIN
Winter wheat grain yield (t DM ha-1)
Yields of winter wheat
trend organic
www.fibl.org
Frick soil tillage field experiment (since 2002)
Plough vs. reduced tillage system.
Slurry vs. composted manure + slurry top.
+/- biodynamic preparations.
Berner et al., 2008, Soil & Tillage Research
Stagnic Eutric Cambisol
2.2% organic carbon
45% clay
7.0 pH
1000 mm precipitation
www.fibl.org
Equipment
Chisel plough
Depth 15 cm
Mouldboard plough
Depth 15cm
Reduced Tillage Conventional Tillage (plough)
WeCo-Dyn-System
EcoDyn, Schwanau, Germany
Rotary harrow (Rototiller)
Rau, Weilheim, Germany
Rototiller
Depth 5cm
www.fibl.org
Microbial biomass in soil (year 2008)
763
1049
900
899
913
914
0 500 1000 1500
mg Cmic /kg Boden TS
Ohne Präparate
Mit Präparaten
Pflug
Reduzierte
Bodenbearbeitung
Vollgülle
Mistkompost / Gülle
n.s.
***
n.s.
Berner und Gadermeier 20091) Tiefe 10-20cm: +9% *
+37%1)
Soil depth 0-10cm
Without biodynamic preparations
With biodynamic preparations
Plough
Reduced tillage
Slurry
Composted manure + slurry top
1) Depth of 10-20 cm: + 9 % Berner and Gadermeier, 2009
soil TM
www.fibl.org
Development of carbon concentration
Soil depth 0-10 cm
Gadermaier et al., 2011: Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems
+17%Reduced tillage
Plough
www.fibl.org
Abundance and biomass of earthworms (g/m2)
Treatment All Juvenile Cocons
Weight Number Weight Number Number
Plough 56.1 156.5 11.2 103.8 21
Reduced 83.3 261.8 18.8 187.0 113
Red/Plough +48% +67% +68% +80% +438%
20
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Yields of tillage experiment (2003-2011)
Reduced
Tillage
in % of
plough
86% 105% 92% 129
%
123
%
135
%
122
%* 93% 113%
Average
yields
5.5 3.52 2.68 8.59 8.7 14.39 4.37 2.6 2.7
Unit t/ha with
15%
moisture
t/ha with
8%
moisture
t/ha with
15%
moisture
t DM /
ha
t DM /
ha
t DM /
ha
t/ha
with
15%
mois-
ture
t/ha
with
8%
mois-
ture
t/ha
with
15%
mois-
ture
Win
ter
wh
eat
2003
Su
nfl
ow
er
2004
Sp
elt
2005
Clo
ver
gra
ss
2006
Clo
ver
gra
ss
2007
Cro
p a
vera
ge
Ma
ize
2008
Win
ter
wh
eat
2009
Berner et al. 2008: Soil & Tillage Research
Krauss et al., 2010: Soil Use & Management
Su
nfl
ow
er
20
10
Sp
elt
20
11
* No harvest with plough
www.fibl.org
System comparison research in the
tropicsCentral Indian cotton belt (Madhya Pradesh)
Eco-zone: Semi-arid tropics
Fertile vertisols, high yield potential
www.fibl.org
LTE India: Results cotton yield
2007 2008 2009 2010
BIODYN
BIOORG
CON
CON-GM
Forster D, Andres C, Verma R, Zundel C, Messmer MM, et al. (2013) Yield and Economic Performance of Organic and
Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems – Results from a Field Trial in India. PLoS ONE 8(12): e81039.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081039
www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Animal welfare
Human – livestock interaction versus wild animal
behaviour studies (e.g. Stolba)
Reduktion von Antibiotika
Johanna Probst (2013) Stress reduction in slaughter cattle by
improving the human-anamial relationsship
www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Cattle breeding for longevity, robustness and roughage-
based feeding regimes.
www.fibl.org
“Rumiwatch”
Maulbewegungen beim Wiederkauen (Fotos: Roesicke)
Hightech to support breeding
Florian Leiber, Anet Spengler et al.
www.fibl.org
Correlation between the technical quality of
apples and the vital quality index of Ursula Graf
(pair comparison IP-Organic 1997, 1998, 1999)
40
45
50
55
60
tech
n.Q
uali
.Za
hl
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
BalzQualit
r2 = 0.68
Tech. Qual. Index’97
Vitality-Quality-Index
Kahl et al. (2014)Weibel et al. (2003)
Apples
Cereals
www.fibl.org
Weizenversuche in Mandori (State Haryana)
No inoculum AMF+PGPR inoculum
Mäder, P. ; Kaiser, F. ; Adholeya, A. ; Singh, R.; Uppal, H.S. ; Sharma, A.K. ; Srivasta, R. ; Sahai, V., Aragni,
M. ; Wiemken, A. ; Johri, B.N. and Fried, P.M. (2011) Inoculation of root microorganisms for sustainable
wheat-rice and wheat-black gram rotations in India. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 43, 609-619.
+ 15 %on richer soils
+ 41 %in average
+ 80 %on poor soils
Methodische Einflüsse auf die Forschung:
Bodenfruchtbarkeit und das ‚Feinstoffliche‘
www.fibl.org
Soil cultivation eliminates weeds and helps to keep the precious moisture in the soil.
Brazil: 84 % of all farmers manage 24 % of the total farm land
and produce on it the majority of foods.
Kenya: If all farmers produced the same yields as
the small holders do, the production would double.
Hungry for Land. GRAIN.
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4929-hungry-
for-land-small-farmers-feed-the-world-with-less-
than-a-quarter-of-all-farmland
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Each individual farmer is the key to success
www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Bio-dynamic farmers and breeders are the pioneer of
participatory breeding.
Different innovation pathways will be
need
Subsistence farmers, pastoralists, agrosylvicultural farmers
Intensive small holder farmers with mixed farms
Family farms with specialisation
Big farm entreprises