The experiment was established at the farm “Linde” of the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture (FiBL) in autumn 2002. The soil texture is a heavy clay loam and the soil type a Cambisol. The climate is continental with a MAP of 1033 mm and MAP of 10.5°C. The focus of the experiment is tillage, fertilization and biodynamic preparations.

Objectives

In this three factorial experiment, a reduced tillage system (mostly with a cultivator) is compared to conventional plowing to a depth of approx. 20 cm, a liquid manure system is compared to a compost manure system and the adding of biodynamic preparations is compared to none preparations. The fertilization intensity is 1.0 livestock units ha−1. The three factors – tillage, fertilisation and biodynamic preparations – are arranged in a strip-split plot design. The eight treatments are replicated four times to total 32 plots of 12 × 12 m size that allow for management with normal farm machinery. Block distribution accounts for the spatial gradient in clay content.

Local Focus

Comparison of reduced vs. conventional tillage, manure vs. slurry fertilisation and biodynamic preparations vs. no preparations.