Ireland
June 27, 2007
The full spectrum of crop
production research is on display at
Teagasc Crops Research
Centre in Oak Park, Carlow, today, Wednesday 27 June. From
organic farming to the latest and most innovative use of
biotechnology in agriculture, this major Teagasc tillage crops
open days gives visitors the opportunity to evaluate the
research results on display.
Some of the most exciting developments from the Crops Research
Centre include the two new potato varieties, Setanta and Orla,
which are extremely suitable for production on organic farms.
Setanta and Orla are just two of eight new varieties that have
been bred and released for commercial production on farms in the
last five years. Both Setanta and Orla have higher levels of
resistance to potato blight and storage diseases. Teagasc has a
long tradition in plant breeding with the hugely successful and
well known variety Rooster, also developed and bred in Oak Park.
The organic research facility at Oak Park has evaluated organic
crop production since 1999. Results from the trial involving a
seven-year stockless rotation show that good grain and potato
yields were achieved. Organically grown winter wheat yielded 7.2
tonnes per hectare in 2006 with winter oats yielding 6.2 tonnes
per hectare. The early potato variety Orla yielded 21.2 tonnes
per hectare while maincrop variety Setanta yielded 32.6 tonnes
per hectare. In this stockless organic rotation, a two-year
break crop of grass/clover, which is cut and mulched, is crucial
to building up soil fertility. Cover crops are also used to
prevent nitrates leaching into the subsoil.
The potential to increase the area of organic tillage in Ireland
has been identified due to strong demand. Teagasc researchers
estimate that there is a potential annual demand for at least
20,000 tonnes of organically produced cereals within the next
five years compared to the 2,200 tonnes currently produced
annually. |
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