Soil fertility management in organic greenhouse: An analysis of the European context

Soil fertility management systems in organic greenhouses are quite diversified within Europe. The challenge is to identify and implement strategies which are in agreement with the organic principles stated by (EC) Reg. 834/2007 and (EC) Reg. 889/2008 as well as environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. In this paper, written by a group of scientists of different geographical origin and with different background, the state of the art of the sector and the main characteristics of the European greenhouse cropping systems are described. The main bottlenecks and constraints are discussed with a particular reference to the regulatory framework in force. The more relevant issues that may influence the enforcement and future development of the sector have been identified as specific knowledge gaps. For each of them, the appropriate research needs were elaborated in a multidisciplinary perspective as forthcoming challenges for the whole sector. Far to be exhaustive, given the wide heterogeneity of the implemented systems, this paper is able, for the first time, to give a structured outlook, on soil fertility in protected organic condition at an European scale.     «

Soil fertility management systems in organic greenhouses are quite diversified within Europe. The challenge is to identify and implement strategies which are in agreement with the organic principles stated by (EC) Reg. 834/2007 and (EC) Reg. 889/2008 as well as environmentally, socially and economically sustainable. In this paper, written by a group of scientists of different geographical origin and with different background, the state of the art of the sector and the main characteristics of the...     »