Volume 208, 29 August 2016, Pages 3–12
Recent advances in organic horticulture technology and management - Part 1
- a Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources, Washington State University, Wenatchee, WA 98801, United States
- b Harold Ostenson Consulting, Wenatchee, WA 98801, United States
- c Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL), Frick, Switzerland
- Received 16 June 2015, Revised 29 November 2015, Accepted 7 December 2015, Available online 18 December 2015
Highlights
- •
- Consumer demand for organic tree fruits is increasing globally.
- •
- Organic apple and banana have the largest production area of these tree fruits.
- •
- Global area of organic temperate tree fruits expanded 109% from 2008 to 2013.
- •
- Lower yields, higher costs, but higher net returns are common.
- •
- New tools like as pheromone mating disruption have enabled organic production to grow.
Abstract
Consumer
demand for organic tree fruit products in Europe and North America, the
dominant organic food markets, has spurred increases in organic area
and production globally. From 2008–2013, the area of production grew
109%, 42%, and 53% for organic temperate tree fruits, citrus, and
tropical/subtropical fruits, respectively, with much lower growth for
total area (non-organic plus organic) in these categories. Most organic
tree fruits represent approximately 1–2% of total production area for a
specific fruit; avocado is the exception, with 8% of avocado area
worldwide under organic management. Mexico, Italy, and China are the top
three countries in terms of organic tree fruit area, but not all
countries segregate tree fruit crops in the organic statistics they
report. Organic standards are not identical among countries, although
over 90% of organic sales are in the USA and EU where standards are
harmonized. Published data on the relative yield of organic to
conventional tree fruits are scarce and range from 42% to 126% of
conventional yields. Reported production costs for organic tree fruits
were generally higher than conventional, with higher cost for
fertilizers a frequent reason. Higher selling prices for organic tree
fruits were able to compensate for lower yields and higher costs in most
cases, leading to a higher net return under certified organic
management. Key technological advances, such as pheromone mating
disruption, have been critical to the expansion of organic tree fruit
production, and more innovation will be needed in the future to address
new challenges involving invasive pests and climate change, as well as
disease-resistance cultivars and new pest control tools to enable
production in areas not currently involved in the organic market.
Keywords
- Organic agriculture;
- Tree fruit;
- Apple;
- Yield;
- Economics
© 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
