Straw mulch is best weed control for peaches (#journal)

Mulching and herbicides in peach: Weed biomass, fruit yield, size, and quality

An experiment  studied the effect of mulches and herbicides on weed population, fruit yield, and quality in peach trees. Covering soil with black polythene resulted in 100% control of weeds at six weeks after treatment (WAT) during both the years of study. Weed control efficiencies with treatments having diuron herbicide did not differ significantly from black polythene at 6 WAT. Atrazine and pendimethalin were the next most efficient and did not differ significantly from each other. Application of straw mulch (8 cm, 15.5 t ha^− 1) resulted in high weed control efficiencies at 6 WAT, decreasing somewhat at 12 WAT.  In both years highest fruit yield (69.3 and 67.9 kg tree^− 1, respectively) was recorded with straw mulch (8 cm). Conclusively, plastic and straw mulches can be used as an effective chemical-free alternative to manual or chemical weed control in peach.

Guardian newspaper features permaculture (on-line)

The benefits of alternative farming methods

An introductory level article discussing the role of permaculture in the majority world, which nicely contrasts the problems of commercial mono-cropping with the benefits of agro-ecology and permaculture.

Celebrate International Permaculture Day! (on-line)

International Permaculture Day

International Permaculture Day is a day where a range of Permaculture events occur across Australia and around the globe. All activities are held on the first Sunday in May unless specified otherwise. This year it is May 5th. At this site you will find a mammoth list of activities going on all around the globe to celebrate the day, mostly linked directly to project websites. Hopefully there is an event happening near you...

Monthly water reports for England (on-line)

Water situation report for England

The Environment Agency's monthly water situation report for England routinely measures and reports on a range of hydrological parameters to assess the water situation across England. This is done using their own hydrometric data, together with data provided by the Met Office and water companies.

They do this for:

• the amount of rain that falls
• how dry the soils are and how much rain they can soak up
• the amount of water flowing in rivers
• the amount of water stored below ground in aquifers and above ground in reservoirs
• the outlook for river flow and groundwater over the coming months

Regional water reports are also produced on the 10th of each month.

Sustainable Intensification in Africa (#journal)

Special Issue of Agricultural Sustainability Considers Sustainable Intensification in Africa

Thirty articles consider a huge range of examples of sustainable intensification from right across Africa, including agro-forestry, integrated aquaculutre, biological controls, conservation agriculture and seed sharing.

Soluble compost has dramatic effect on red peppers (#journal)

90 % yield increase of red pepper with unexpectedly low doses of compost soluble substances

Composts are commonly applied to soil at high dose, e.g. from 20 to 30 t (dry matter) per ha each year. Recently, soluble substances from urban compost at a much lower dose of 1.55 t per ha enhanced tomato productivity much more than the compost itself. Here, we studied the effect of soluble substances at 0–700 kg per ha on red pepper. We measured productivity, chlorophyll, and soil chemical composition. The most remarkable result is an observed maximum productivity for only 140 kg per ha of compost soluble substances. The increases amounted to 90 % for the precocious crop yield, to 66 % for the total crop production, and to 17 % for the per fruit weight. That the highest effects occur at such low treatment dose is very promising to enhance crop productivity in a sustainable way. No detectable change of soil chemical composition was observed.

Using group work to redesign livestock farms (#journal)

Participatory modelling with farmer groups to help them redesign their livestock farming systems

Participatory modelling with livestock farmers to help them remodel their farms is an original approach in livestock farm modelling.  Two causal maps of livestock farming system operation were built, each with a group of five farmers including both those converting and converted to organic farming. The paper assesses the method’s strengths and weaknesses. One of its main advantages lay in its collective dimension: sharing, comparing and questioning interested the participating farmers greatly; however, it requires good facilitation skills and suitable group composition. Analysis of map structures identified similarities and differences between the two groups that were discussed with them; this continued farmers’ self-reflection about their systems, which may help lead to innovative and more sustainable livestock farming systems.