Agroforestry: integrating apple and arable production as an approach to reducing copper use in organic and low-input apple production

Smith, J., Girling, R. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8816-8075, Wolfe, M. S. and Pearce, B. (2014) Agroforestry: integrating apple and arable production as an approach to reducing copper use in organic and low-input apple production. In: Agriculture and the Environment X: Delivering Multiple Benefits from our Land: Sustainable Development in Practice, 15-16 Apr 2014, Edinburgh, Scotland, pp. 278-284.

Abstract/Summary

Integrating top fruit production into an agroforestry system, where trees are integrated with arable crop production may have a beneficial effect on the control of plant pathogens such as scab (Venturia inaequalis). Apple yields and pest and disease levels were assessed in a novel apple/arable agroforestry system in Suffolk, and compared with a modern local organic orchard in 2012. Despite 2012 being a very bad year for apple production in the UK, apple yields in the agroforestry system appeared to be comparable with standard figures when scaled up from 2.5% land area under apple production to 100% apples, and even at just 2.5% cover, outperformed the organic orchard used for comparison. Initial indications are that scab levels were over twice as high in the organic orchard than in the agroforestry, indicating that this approach may offer some potential in reducing copper use in organic apple production. However, further research will be required to confirm these early results.

Item Type	Conference or Workshop Item (Paper)
URI	https://reading-clone.eprints-hosting.org/id/eprint/39755
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	No Reading authors. Back catalogue items Life Sciences > School of Agriculture, Policy and Development > Department of Sustainable Land Management > Centre for Agri-environmental Research (CAER)
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