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Biological Crop Production and Horticulture

Course developers

Prior knowledge

Biol1001, Botany

Biol3014, Plant Physiology I

LauZ2046, Agricultural Resources

LauZ3175, Agroecology and environmental protection

Course abstract

Importance of ecological crop production systems and individualities of crop production systems in biological agriculture. Situation in the world and European Union in organic farming. Latvian and EU regulatory requirements set out in the documents. Crop production technology peculiarities of integrated and organic farming. Conversion to organic farming systems. Theoretical foundation of crop rotation, tillage, and weed control techniques. Biological systems for different crop production. Crop breeding for biological farming. Importance of perennial grasses in organic farming systems for soil fertility maintenance and forage.
Characterisation and advantages of biological horticulture, favourable conditions and problems. Preconditions for establishment of biological horticulture farm, conception, motivation, skills. Planning in biological horticulture. Biological production systems for vegetables, fruits, and berries.
Biological seed production. Special requirements for cultivars for biological crop production systems. Latvian Plant cultivar catalogue. Organic seed production system and its tasks.

Importance of bee keeping in national economy and ecology, biological bee keeping in Latvia and world-wide. Honeybee products. Management of honey and other bee products production in biological bee keeping. Organisation of apiary and bee feeding base, nectar plants. Control of diseases and enemies of honeybees in biological bee keeping.

Learning outcomes and their assessment

Knowledge about the nature of organic farming, common and diverse with integrated production method, about transitional period towards organic farming, organic production of arable crops, vegetable and fruits, about seed cultivation and honeybee production in organic bee keeping conditions.
Skills: to develop plan of measures for the transitional period to organic farming method, plan for arable crop rotation and cultivation of horticultural plants under organic conditions. To equip, maintain and improve bees in accordance with biological principles. To select suitable for organic farming varieties and seed of good quality.
Students are competent to apply and evaluate the conformity of cultivation technologies of the arable and horticultural crops including conformity of pedigree seed and bee keeping principles of the organic farming system.
1. Is able to prepare plan for changes in the farm during the transitional period to biological agriculture – test.
2. Students are familiar with crop-growing technologies in the organic farming system – quiz 1.
3. Students demonstrate skills in planning arable crops and grassland crop rotation – practical work
4. Students are able to evaluate suitability of variety for use in organic farming and conformity of seed to demands of normative acts: – two practical works and quiz 2.
5. Students demonstrate skills in the preparation of a technological map optional for one fruit plant in the organic farming system – home work
6. Garden building and maintenance system in an organic garden – quiz 3

7. Students are familiar with characteristics of apiary in organic beekeeping – quiz 4.

Course Content(Calendar)

1. Significance of environmentally friendly field-crop cultivation technologies. The essence of the organic farming method. 2 h
2. Measures to be taken in the farm while introducing the organic farming method. 2 h
Test: changes in the farm during the transitional period to biological agriculture. 2 h
3. Criteria of soil health. Tasks of soil cultivation in organic agriculture. 2 h
4. Significance of crop root system and meteorological conditions in providing soil looseness. 2 h
5. Possibilities to provide plant nutrient elements in organic agriculture system. 2 h
6. Weed distribution and control measures for the most important crops in rotation. Measures for soil cultivation and weed control and their coordination. Preventive control measures for weed distribution, their significance. 2 h
7. Drawing up of technological schemes for growing diverse crops in organic farming systems. 2 h
8. Growing of leguminous plants, rotation crops and green manure crops. 2 h
Practical work: Planning field crop rotation in the system of biological agriculture.
9. Peculiarities of crop-production technologies in organic agriculture. 2 h
10. Drawing up of technological schemes for growing diverse crops in organic farming systems. 2 h
Quiz 1 – technological schemes for growing diverse crops in organic farming systems.
11. Concept of organic seed; variety as the main object of pedigree seed production. 2 h
12. Characteristics of varieties important in organic agriculture; 2 h
Practical work: familiarization with the normative acts: organic seed as the basis for organic product; Seed and variety circulation law; availability of organic seed in Latvia (VAAD portal).
13. Pedigree seed production, its tasks, pedigree seed production system. 2 h
14. Breeding of varieties for organic farming; 2 h
Practical work: circulation of seeds and varieties in organic farming system (Plant variety protection law; Cabinet Regulations for seed production)
Quiz 2. – Seed production in organic farming system (topics 11–14).
15. Characterization of organic horticulture, advantages, conditions favouring development and problems. 2 h
16. Biological properties of vegetables. Use of vegetable ecological factors in organic horticulture. 2 h
17. Vegetable seeds, their pre-sowing treatment, sowing seeds, seeding time, distance, densification of crops. 2 h
18. Growing vegetable seedlings. 2 h
19. Growing field vegetables, herbs, site selection, soil preparation. 2 h
20. Vegetable crop rotations. Mixed sowings, plantations. Compatible companion plants. 2 h
21. Vegetable growing technologies in organic and biodynamic horticulture. 2 h
Practical work: field vegetable crop rotations.
22. Preparation of covered areas for vegetable growing in organic horticulture. Plant rotations, their maintenance work. 2 h
Practical work: plant rotations in covered areas.
23. Fruit plant growing in organic orchard. 2 h
24. Identification of fruit-plant allelopathy in monoculture cenosis, polyculture cenosis, studying it and reducing traumatic factors. 2 h
25. Conditions for the selection of varieties and rootstocks in the organic system. 2 h
Quiz 3 – on the cultivation of vegetables, fruit plants and berry plants, the maintenance systems, varieties and rootstocks in the biological garden
26. Significance of bees in ecosystem, their role in plant pollination, production of specific products a. o. 2 h
27. Organic apiculture in the world and perspectives in Latvia. 1 h
28. Tools used in apiculture and restrictions of tool usage in organic beekeeping. 2 h
29. Tending, reproduction of bee colonies. Difference between organic and standard apiary methods. 2 h
30. Disease control of bees in organic apiary. 2 h
31. Production of bee products. Primary treatment of the obtained products. 2 h
32. Fodder sources for bees. Nectar, factors favouring, influencing its formation and liberation. 2 h
33. Usage of bees for crop pollination – compulsory measure of agrotechnology. 1 h

Quiz 4 – characteristics of apiary in organic beekeeping

Requirements for awarding credit points

Test with a mark.
The counting task shall consist of:
• four quizzes on the theoretical substance of the study course;
• practical tasks on topics learned during the course;
• one test.
Quizzes, practical work and the test must be credited for receiving an accumulating rating.

Students may, if they wish, sort out the credits for a higher rating.

Description of the organization and tasks of students’ independent work

Literature studies, preparation and presentation of results of practical works.
Group work during practice.

Preparing for quizzes.

Criteria for Evaluating Learning Outcomes

The assessment of the study course depends on the cumulative assessment of the quizzes, success of practical works and test of the study course.
Practical works must be carried out in accordance with the instructions;
All quizzes and practical works must be successfully completed.

Compulsory reading

1. Augļkopība (2015). Atb. red. L. Ikase. LV Augļkopības institūts, 544 lpp.
2. Bioloģiskās augkopības pamati (2007). Sast. I. Miške, D. Brutāne, I. Žola. Nordik, 254 lpp.
3. Biškopība (1970). Sast. J. Ārgalis. Rīga, Zvaigzne, 448 lpp.
4. Biškopja rokasgrāmata (1985). Sast. O. Malcenieks. Rīga, Avots, 304 lpp.
5. Dembovskis A., Drudze I., Gailīte M. u.c. (2007). Dārzeņkopība: lauka dārzeņu audzēšana: rokasgrāmata. Pūre: Pūres Dārzkopības izmēģinājumu stacija, 284 lpp.
6. Organic Farming. Global Perspectives and Methods. (2019). Ed. by: Sarath Chandran, M.R. Unni and Sabu Thomas. https://doi.org/10.1016/C2016-0-04227-4
7. Organic farming: the ecological system (2009). Ed. By Charles Francis. Madison, WI: American Society of Agronomy: Crop Science Society of America: Soil Science Society of America, p. 353. ISBN 9780891181736 (Ir FB lasītavā)
8. Praktiskā bioloģiskā lauksaimniecība I (1998) M. Vaivares red. Rīga, McĀbols, 96 lpp.
9. Praktiskā bioloģiskā lauksaimniecība II (1998). M. Vaivares red. Rīga, McĀbols, 120 lpp.
10. Praktiskā bioloģiskā lauksaimniecība III (2000). M. Vaivares red. Rīga, McĀbols, 111 lpp.
11. Praktiskā bioloģiskā lauksaimniecība Latvijā IV (2005). M. Vaivares red. Rīga, 132 lpp.
12. Rubenis J., Lapiņš D. (1992).Bioloģiskā zemkopība. Rīga, Latvijas Zinību biedrība, 42 lpp.

13. Vegetable Growing Handbook, Organic and Traditional Methods (1990). Walter E. Splittstoesser, Ph.D. New York, Copyright by Van Nostrand Reinhold.

Further reading

1. David V. Alford (2019). Beneficial Insects. CRC Press, p. 256. ISBN1482262614, 9781482262612Grosa I., Gross A., Dimza I. (1999).
2. Krūmogulāju mēslošana, augsnes uzturēšana un augu aizsardzība. Jelgava, LLU, Pūre, 53 lpp.
3. Kics A. (2001). Mūžīgais Mēness kalendārs. Saldus, Signe, 48 lpp.
4. Kōpf H., Schaumann W., Haccius M. (1996). Biologisch – dynamische Landwirtschaft: EineEinführung. 4. Auflage, Stuttgart, Ulmer , 376 S.
5. Lampkin N. (1990).Organicfarming. United Kingdom: Farming Press Books, 675 p.
6. Ritmanis Z. (1992). Bišu ceļi. Rīga, Zvaigzne, 400 lpp.
7. Štrols V. D. (2009). Kosmoss dārzā. Bioloģijas noslēpumi dārzkopībā – ceļš uz labāku ražu. No vācu valodas tulkojusi I. Žola. Nordik, 278 lpp.

8. Энциклопедияпчеловодства (1993). А.И. Рут и др., пер. с анг. Москва, Художественнаялитература, МП Брат, с. 367

Periodicals and other sources

1. Agro Tops. Rīga: Aģentūra Agro apgāds. ISSN 1407-5164
2. Integrated farming. https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/integrated-farmingg
3. Organics at a glance. European Commission. https://ec.europa.eu/info/food-farming-fisheries/farming/organic-farming/organics-glance
4. Profesionālā dārzkopība. APP “Dārzkopības institūts”, pieejams tiešsaistē: http://fruittechcentre.eu/lv/profesionala-darzkopiba
5. Saimnieks LV. Rīga: TEE BIO, 2004- ISSN 1691-1598.
6. Vides Vēstis. Latvijas vides aizsardzības fonds.
7. Valsts augu aizsardzības dienesta portāls: Augu šķirnes, sēklas sertifikācija. http://www.vaad.gov.lv/sakums/pakalpojumi/augu-skirnes.aspx

8. MK noteikumu Nr. 485 "Bioloģiskās lauksaimniecības uzraudzības un kontroles kārtība". Pieejams: www.likumi.lv/doc.php?id=193115

Notes

An optional course for the study program Professional Bachelor of Agricultural Sciences, for full-time and part-time students in semester 3rd or 5th