Sustainable Potato Production Worldwide: the Challenge to Assess Conventional and Organic Production Systems

• Published in: Potato research Vol. 57; no. 3-4; pp. 273 - 290
• Main Authors: Pawelzik, Elke, Möller, Kurt
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Springer Netherlands 01.12.2014; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Agriculture; Biomedical and Life Sciences; conventional farming; Crop management; Crops; Economic equity; Economic indicators; Economics; Environmental health; Environmental impact; Farming; Fertility; Food security; Food supply; Fungicides; Human nutrition; Life Sciences; Natural & organic foods; nutrient use efficiency; Nutrition; Organic fertilizers; organic production; Pesticides; Plant Genetics and Genomics; Plant protection; Plant Sciences; Plant Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography; Potatoes; prices; Production costs; production technology; profitability; seed tubers; Solanum tuberosum; spraying; Strategic planning (Business); Sustainability; Sustainable agriculture; Sustainable development; Vegetable industry; Vegetables; Tuber quality; Yield variability; Crop protection; Nutrient use efficiency
• ISSN: 0014-3065; 1871-4528
• DOI: 10.1007/s11540-015-9288-2

Sustainable agriculture integrates environmental health, economic profitability as well as social and economic equity. Worldwide interest in potato as a valuable food security crop is increasing, because it is not globally traded, the prices are determined by local production costs and due to its beneficial impact on human nutrition. In the present review, organic and conventional potato productions were assessed by means of key indicators for sustainability. These indicators were fertility management and crop protection, yield level, tuber quality and environmental impact. The evaluation of several studies shows that each system has advantages and disadvantages. None of the production systems is per se more sustainable than the other. Each of them has potential for improvement of the system performance. In organic production, for example, by establishment of improved fertilization (e.g., application of more N-efficient base organic fertilizers) and crop management strategies (e.g., pre-sprouting of seed tubers, bio-based fungicides), in conventional farming by implementation of more target-oriented fertilization and pesticide spraying schedules. To meet the future challenges with increasing food demand while simultaneously decreasing its environmental impact, efforts on increasing the performance of both conventional and organic production systems, e.g., improving the nutrient use efficiency, are necessary.