Das Projekt

Since organic farming does not use mineral fertilizers or pesticides are available, but the demand for products is constantly increasing, the OG pursues ecological approaches, which will increase the resilience and profitability of the crops.

An economic approach is pursued that is both sustainable and economically sensible: the development and use of bio-based smart liquid and solid fertilizers, some of which also act as plant strengtheners. These approaches include the practical experience of the LWK's fruit research institutes.

On the one hand, a long-term solid fertilizer/soil improver is to be further developed and tested in a practical manner at SeedForward, which is added to the basic substrate (e.g. peat, sawdust, etc.) when planting new plantations (field or container culture). For the production of the solid fertilizer, agricultural manure or harvest residues such as manure, straw or clover are treated with mycorrhiza spores and bacteria as well as with organic acids (also from residues from the agricultural and food industry) and then pelleted and dried if necessary. The special fertilizer should offer the activation of soil life, soil loosening and promotion of humus formation, increased water storage, improved nutrient availability and more resistance for the plants.

The liquid fertilizer is formulated in cooperation with the Bielefeld University of Applied Sciences and is intended to release ammonium slowly and in line with plant growth. In addition, the fertilizer should lower the pH value of the soil or keep it between 4.5 - 5 and enable iron mobilization through the organic acids contained or formed at the site of action and, if necessary, reduce the outgassing of ammonia. As with the solid variant, raw materials and residues from the agricultural industry as well as other industrial sectors are used as a liquid fertilizer basis, e.g. organic fertilizers such as horn meal, liquid manure, fermentation substrates, guano, poultry manure, feather meal, fish emulsion, press and spring water, mixtures of these, extracts and hydrolysates are produced. The liquid fertilizer should then be added to the irrigation water as required.

In addition, both fertilizer variants are to be supplemented with specially tested plant extracts as plant strengtheners in order to increase resistance to pests and diseases.

All polymers and formulation aids used by the project partners were/are evaluated by the LWK Fertilizer Ordinance or by the LAVES EU-Öko-VO) for the admissibility of their use. Only substances that have been approved in consultation with the responsible authorities are used.

The various fertilizers as well as the active mycorrhization (erricoid mycorrhiza) and the effectiveness of plant-strengthening Bacillus subtilis are to be tested initially in the production of Piccoplant Mikrovermehrungen GmbH. At Piccoplant Mikrovermehrungen GmbH, the soft fruit required for the project is cultivated in their in vitro laboratories. For this purpose, the company has a biotechnical laboratory with a capacity of 26 sterile bench spaces. Also in the laboratory are three breeding rooms with culture-specific LED lighting and a media kitchen. The "cuttings" grown in the laboratory are then transferred to the company's own greenhouse and, after a certain period of maturation, to the company's own tree nursery. The company is therefore in a position, both technologically and in terms of know-how, to bring a plant from an early stage to market maturity.

Plant physiological parameters such as growth, nutrient supply, disease infestation, etc. are examined. After the end of this project, the products will be tested on other conventional and organic blueberry farms in the region. LOIs corresponding to the application can be displayed here. In addition, "Best Practices" around the cultivation of blueberries at the LOI companies are to be promoted. This includes the creation of habitats for pollinators and antagonists as well as an improved mulch system and undercropping - to increase biodiversity and mitigate insect problems in pollination.