Methodology to design agroecological orchards: Learnings from on-station and on-farm experiences

Autor: Sylvaine Simon, Magalie Lesueur-Jannoyer, Pierre-Eric Lauri, Fabrice Le Bellec, Daniel Plénet
Přispěvatelé: Unité Expérimentale Recherches Intégrées - Gotheron (UERI), Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), Fonctionnement agroécologique et performances des systèmes de cultures horticoles (UPR HORTSYS), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad), Unité de recherche Plantes et Systèmes de Culture Horticoles (PSH), Fonctionnement et conduite des systèmes de culture tropicaux et méditerranéens (UMR SYSTEM), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Centre International de Hautes Etudes Agronomiques Méditerranéennes - Institut Agronomique Méditerranéen de Montpellier (CIHEAM-IAMM), Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Centre International de Hautes Études Agronomiques Méditerranéennes (CIHEAM)-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro), national Ecophyto programme, National Office for Water and Water Environment (ONEMA)
Rok vydání: 2017
Předmět:
[SDV.SA]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Agricultural sciences
0106 biological sciences
Agroecosystem
Citrus
Participatory research
F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture
agroécologie
Spatial design
Plant Science
01 natural sciences
F01 - Culture des plantes
Agriculture durable
2. Zero hunger
Agroforestry
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
Spatial heterogeneity
Geography
Agroécosystème
Malus
Food systems
Orchard
Soil Science
Fertilité du sol
Couverture végétale
Perennial crop
System experiment
Agroecology
business.industry
Verger
Apple
15. Life on land
Lutte biologique
Spatio-temporal framework
approches participatives
Agronomy
Agriculture
040103 agronomy & agriculture
0401 agriculture
forestry
and fisheries
Système de culture
business
Agronomy and Crop Science
Cropping
010606 plant biology & botany
Zdroj: European Journal of Agronomy
European Journal of Agronomy, Elsevier, 2017, 82 (part B), pp.320-330. ⟨10.1016/j.eja.2016.09.004⟩
ISSN: 1161-0301
Popis: International audience; Agricultural research has to tackle complex questions such as the design of sustainable cropping systems. System experiments are innovative approaches to address this challenge and a framework to iteratively design annual cropping systems has been proposed by Debaeke et al. (2009). However, specificities of some other cropping systems are not considered. Orchards are complex perennial agroecosystems formed of grass and tree layers aiming at the production of fresh fruit that require specific design and management over space and time. To identify orchard specificities and adapt the design framework to such perennial systems, we used two case studies of orchards aiming at decreasing pesticide use in temperate (apple, system experiment) and tropical (citrus, on-farm network) fruit productions. Specificities to take into account in the design framework are: (1) the spatial heterogeneity of the orchard with grass and tree layers, and tree rows and alleys; (2) the succession and interrelations among a young unproductive and then a productive stage; (3) the permanency of the fruit-tree crop constraining the management of soil fertility, (4) ground cover and (5) pest control, especially for pests that complete their lifecycle in the orchard and can build up important populations or inoculum across years. This is especially true in tropical areas where there is no dormant season. (6) Conversely, the permanency of the orchard habitats facilitates the sowing, planting or conservation of plant assemblages (e.g., ground covers, lining hedgerows) to enhance conservation biocontrol and/or compete weeds, provided non-disruptive practices are applied. Because of their longevity, orchards contribute to foster both plant-mediated (e.g., bottom-up) and natural enemy-mediated (e.g., top-down) processes in the foodweb to avoid direct measures against pests. Interactions among the orchard life stages, spatial and functional dimensions and practices need to be explicitly considered to optimize the efficiency of the system as a whole. Using the generic framework proposed by Debaeke et al. (2009) to design annual cropping systems, our framework includes adaptations to account for orchard specificities: (i) Agronomic objectives have to be fixed for each orchard stage; (ii) The cultivar choice and the composition and spatial arrangement of plants within the orchard are key elements to provide the expected services in the long term. This entails to include an additional step of perennial spatial design; (iii) Within-time and −space interactions have to be considered in the decisional system; (iv) Evaluation has to consider all the orchard stages in the global impact or performance, to account for carry-over effects and possible ‘paybacks’ of a given stage or period to the orchard whole lifetime. Last, to handle such complex interactions, design needs knowledge from many stakeholders in the food system (growers, advisors, scientists etc.) and requires more and renewed interactions among those stakeholders in a co-design process.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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