Copper as Plant Protection Product with Special Regards to Organic Farming
Keywords:
Organic farming, copper, plant protectionAbstract
In this paper an appraisal on the copper use in different organic crops in Germany is given. Furthermore, it outlines the action needed and gives a concrete strategic perspective on how to further minimize the amount of copper used as a plant protectant in organic farming.
Over the past 15 to 20 years, there have been considerable efforts made by the organic farming sector both in the search for copper alternatives in crop protection as well as in minimizing the amounts of applied copper. However, so far, and in the near future, there are no active substances or methods in sight, that could serve as an equivalent replacement for copper. Irrespective of difficulties, the exploration of copper substitutes, the research for improved methods and agronomic copper minimizing measures need to be intensified in the coming years.
In the past, the organic farming sector showed that new opportunities for the reduction of copper in crop protection, such as the cultivation of fungus tolerant varieties, the use of improved forecast models, the priming of seed potatoes, the choice of varieties, new application techniques and the combined use of alumina preparations were quickly and successfully adopted in the organic farming practice and lead to a substantial reduction in the amount of copper used in organic farming.
With a waiver of copper as plant protectant in organic farming in the current state of technology and knowledge as well as under the local climatic conditions in middle Europe crop dependant high yield and quality losses to total failures would be inevitable. For example, proved yield and quality losses in organic farming are: in vegetable and ornamental crops 10 to 15 %, in organic potatoes 15 to 20 % and in organic hops, grape wine and fruits approximately 50 to 100 %. Thus, the possibility to use copper as a plant protectant in organic farming is of great economic importance. But even in the conventional cultivation, where there are synthetic alternatives the importance of copper as a means of avoiding resistances is very high.
DOI: 10.5073/JfK.2009.04.05, https://doi.org/10.5073/JfK.2009.04.05
