One of the main challenges to interpreting comparisons of organic and inorganic food production systems is the high heterogeneity arising from combinations of (1) crops, crop types and/or crop-based foods, (2) countries, and/or (3) pedo-climatic and agronomic background conditions.
The six catchments have different land use compositions with functional combinations of crop, grassland, shrubland, secondary forest, and plantations.
Then, the effect of cropping systems was studied by simulating rape evolution for 100 000 randomly chosen combinations of crop succession and cultivation techniques.
A farmer's participatory research trial was conducted in Karnal, India to evaluate 8 combinations of cropping systems, tillage, crop establishment method and residue management effects on key soil physico-chemical and biological properties.
Based on the agronomic and economic performances best combinations of crop and land preparation method were: lentil sown on broad bed and furrow, and wheat and tef sown after reduced tillage.
The experimental design provided the four combinations of crop protection and fertility (CON-CP CON-FM, CON-CP ORG-FM, ORG-CP CON-FM and ORG-CP ORG-FM) to evaluate their effects on yield, quality (protein content and hectolitre weight) and disease levels during the period 2004 2008.
Land use activities resulted from systematic combination of crops and inter-crop activities into crop rotations, different crop management techniques (i.e., mechanisation, irrigation and crop protection) and animal production.
The typology forgoes the detection of fixed defined crop rotations but has its focus on crop sequence properties and a consideration of the main characteristics of crop rotation practice: i) the transition frequency of different crops and ii) the appropriate combination of crops with different physical properties (e.g. root system, nutritional needs) and growing seasons.
