Green Manure: Environmental Measure for Sustainable Fruit Production
Among the agronomic practices used to increase fertility, improve soil structure, enhance biodiversity and reduce the environmental impact of agricultural systems, green manure plays a key role. It is referred to as green manure because it can replace animal waste in the organic fertilization of cultivated land. This practice is widely used in horticulture to counteract the deterioration of soil fertility.
Green manure involves sowing specific intercalary herbaceous plants in rotation with high-income crops. The goal is to bury these plants to improve the productive performance of the next horticultural crop, orchard, or vineyard. However, its primary function is to increase organic matter in the soil by incorporating the plant mass, with all the resulting benefits.
The maximum benefit of this practice is achieved by using legumes, grasses, or buckwheat, which effectively absorb nitrogen. Ideal seed mixtures should have biological cycles of similar duration to ensure uniform flowering. Additionally, mixtures with coarse shredding should be used, with residues left to dry in the field before burial, maximizing the organic matter contribution to the soil.
Following these simple guidelines, combined with careful planning, allows farms to add large quantities of high-quality organic material to the soil. This enriches the soil with key biological fertility factors, benefiting farms by providing a more productive substrate.
A carefully chosen green manure composition also helps prepare a more favorable growing environment for the next crop, ensuring better agricultural results.
Climate Farm Demo
Ongoing | 2022-2029
- Main funding source
- Horizon Europe (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, Switzerland, Serbia