Urs Niggli del FIBL Svizzero illustra le ricerche scientifiche di lungo corso sull'agricoltura biodinamica e i risultati osservati alla sessione plenaria ALLEANZE PER ALIMENTAZIONE E SALUTE del 33° Convegno Internazionale di Agricoltura Biodinamica il 21 febbraio 2015 presso l'Università Bocconi.

1. Research Institute of Organic Agriculture
Forschungsinstitut für biologischen Landbau
90 years of bio-dynamic agriculture –
from a scientific perspective
Urs Niggli
Institut de recherche de l’agriculture biologique

2. www.fibl.org
Talk is about:
› Conceptual background of organic farming and
role of bio-dynamic agriculture.
› Bio-dynamic – organic – integrated and
conventional farming: environment and
productivity.
› Influence of bio-dynamic agriculture on
agricultural research.
› Limitations of bio-dynamic farming with regards
to global food security.

3. www.fibl.org
Conceptual background of organic farming
› A new paradigm in agriculture and agricultural research
(Kuhn, 1962: The structure of scientific revolutions).
› «The whole is more than the sum of its parts». Aristoteles.
› The concept of a farm as an organism of Steiner.
› Subjectivity as element of scientific insight and progress.
› Interactions between partial systems are important in agriculture.
› Contextualizing of analyses and solutions (farm, landscape,
economy, ethic, culture).
› (Agro)ecosystems: homeostasis, self-correcting systems with
positive and negative feedback loops.
Gregory Bateson, † 1980,
English anthropologist, social scientists and cyberneticists.
*

4. www.fibl.org
90 years of research in
bio-dynamic farming
› Steiner to Lili Kolisko: „Studieren Sie die
Gestaltungskräfte!“
› She spent her entire life on the
experimental research of the bio-dynamic
preparation and their potential effect on
the growth and health of plants and
animals.
› In 1923 development of the paper chromatography
method (‚Steigbildmethode‘).
› ‚Agriculture of the future’ Eugen Kolisko und Lili Kolisko, 1953
(German translation).

5. www.fibl.org
Long-term agronomic experiment since 1978
The DOK farming system comparison
N M
D1 D2
O1 O2
K1 K2
N M
D1 D2
O1 O2
K1 K2
D1 D2
N M
K1 K2
O1 O2
O1 O2
K1 K2
N M
D1 D2
D: Bio-dynamic
O: Bio-organic
K: Integrated
1: low input (0.7 LSU/ha)
2: standard input (1.4 LSU/ha)
Control treatments:
M: Integrated no manure
N: unfertilized
8 treatments
3 crops
4 replicates
96 plots at 100m2
Maize
Soybeans (catch crop)
Winter wheat I (catch crop)
Potatoes
Winter wheat II
Grass-clover
Grass-clover
Mäder, Fliessbach, …., Niggli (2002), Science 296

6. www.fibl.org Mäder, Fliessbach,..., Niggli (2002), Science 296
DOK trial in CH, since 1977: Organic yields 83 %, excellent
input/output ratio
Parameter Unit Organic
farming
Integrated
farming (IP)
with FYM
Organic
in %
of IP
Nutrient input kg Ntotal ha-1 yr-1 101 157 64 %
kg Nmin ha-1 yr-1 34 112 30 %
kg P ha-1 yr-1 25 40 62 %
kg K ha-1 yr-1 162 254 64 %
Pesticides applied kg ha-1 yr-1 1.5 42 4 %
Fuel use L ha-1 yr-1 808 924 87 %
Total yield output
for 28 years % 83 100 83 %
Soil microbial
biomass as „output“ tons ha-1 40 24 167 %
InputOutput

7. www.fibl.org
PGPR (Plant growth-
promoting rhizobacteria)
Mycorrhizal fungi
Ground beetles
(Carabides)
Manifold effects on soil biology and physics
Has become the number 1 research field in
modern agricultural research.

8. www.fibl.org
0
50
100
150
Percolation
stability
Aggregate
stability
Bulk
density
A Physical
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
CONMIN
100
200
Microbial
biomass
Dehydro-
genase
Protease
Phosphatase
Saccharase
Mycorrhiza
C Microbial
0
50
100
150
pH
Organic
carbon
Phosphorus
Potassium
Calcium
Magnesium
B Chemical
0
0
100
200
Earthworm
biomass
Earthworm
abundance
CarabidsStaphilinids
Spiders
D Faunal
Mäder, Fliessbach, Niggli (2002), Science 296
Soil properties in the DOC experiment (year 24)

9. www.fibl.org
DOK: Soil microbial biomass
Long-term average (1995-2002)
Calculated for 0-20cm at an average density of 1.4 g cm-3
Mäder et al., 2006, ISOFAR
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
Soilmicrobialbiomass
(kgCmicha-1
)
NOFERT
CONMIN
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
a
b
c
d d

10. www.fibl.org Fließbach et al., 2000a
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
0 100 200 300 400 500 600
Soil microbial biomass (mg Cmic g
-1
soil)
Soilaggregatestability
(%stableaggregates>250mm)
NOFERT
CONMIN
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
y=0.24ln(x) - 0.77
r2
=0.46
Correlation between soil aggregate stability – soil
biomass

11. www.fibl.org
Biodynamic farming (BIODYN) Conventional mineral fertilizers
(CONMIN)
Soil structure in the DOC experiment (year 24)

12. www.fibl.org
Bio-dynamic with
composted manure
Conventional, mineral
fertilizer
Fotos:FliessbachNov.2002Soil properties in the DOC experiment (year 24)

13. www.fibl.org Mäder et al., 2002: Science 296, 1694
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
1978-1984 1985-1991 1992-1998
BIODYN
BIOORG
CONFYM
CONMIN
Winter wheat grain yield (t DM ha-1
)
Yields of winter wheat
trend organic

14. www.fibl.org
Frick soil tillage field experiment (since 2002)
Plough vs. reduced tillage system.
Slurry vs. composted manure + slurry top.
+/- biodynamic preparations.
Berner et al., 2008, Soil & Tillage Research
Stagnic Eutric Cambisol
2.2% organic carbon
45% clay
7.0 pH
1000 mm precipitation

15. www.fibl.org
Equipment
Chisel plough
Depth 15 cm
Mouldboard plough
Depth 15cm
Reduced Tillage Conventional Tillage (plough)
WeCo-Dyn-System
EcoDyn, Schwanau, Germany
Rotary harrow (Rototiller)
Rau, Weilheim, Germany
Rototiller
Depth 5cm

16. www.fibl.org
Mouldb
plou
Reduced
tillage

17. www.fibl.org
Microbial biomass in soil (year 2008)
763
1049
900
899
913
914
0 500 1000 1500
mg Cmic /kg Boden TS
Ohne Präparate
Mit Präparaten
Pflug
Reduzierte
Bodenbearbeitung
Vollgülle
Mistkompost / Gülle
n.s.
***
n.s.
Berner und Gadermeier 20091
) Tiefe 10-20cm: +9% *
+37%
1
)
Soil depth 0-10cm
Without biodynamic preparations
With biodynamic preparations
Plough
Reduced tillage
Slurry
Composted manure + slurry top
1) Depth of 10-20 cm: + 9 % Berner and Gadermeier, 2009
soil TM

18. www.fibl.org
Development of carbon concentration
Soil depth 0-10 cm
Gadermaier et al., 2011: Renewable Agriculture & Food Systems
+17%Reduced tillage
Plough

19. www.fibl.org
Abundance and biomass of earthworms (g/m2)
Treatment All Juvenile Cocons
Weight Number Weight Number Number
Plough 56.1 156.5 11.2 103.8 21
Reduced 83.3 261.8 18.8 187.0 113
Red/Plough +48% +67% +68% +80% +438%
20

20. www.fibl.org
Yields of tillage experiment (2003-2011)
Reduced
Tillage
in % of
plough
86% 105% 92% 129
%
123
%
135
%
122
%
* 93% 113%
Average
yields
5.5 3.52 2.68 8.59 8.7 14.39 4.37 2.6 2.7
Unit t/ha with
15%
moisture
t/ha with
8%
moisture
t/ha with
15%
moisture
t DM /
ha
t DM /
ha
t DM /
ha
t/ha
with
15%
mois-
ture
t/ha
with
8%
mois-
ture
t/ha
with
15%
mois-
ture
Winterwheat
2003
Sunflower
2004
Spelt
2005
Clovergrass
2006
Clovergrass
2007
Cropaverage
Maize
2008
Winterwheat
2009
Berner et al. 2008: Soil & Tillage Research
Krauss et al., 2010: Soil Use & Management
Sunflower
2010
Spelt
2011
* No harvest with plough

21. www.fibl.org
System comparison research in the
tropics
Central Indian cotton belt (Madhya Pradesh)
Eco-zone: Semi-arid tropics
Fertile vertisols, high yield potential

22. www.fibl.org
LTE India: Results cotton yield
2007 2008 2009 2010
BIODYN
BIOORG
CON
CON-GM
Forster D, Andres C, Verma R, Zundel C, Messmer MM, et al. (2013) Yield and Economic Performance of Organic and
Conventional Cotton-Based Farming Systems – Results from a Field Trial in India. PLoS ONE 8(12): e81039.
doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0081039

23. www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Animal welfare
Human – livestock interaction versus wild animal
behaviour studies (e.g. Stolba)
Reduktion von Antibiotika
Johanna Probst (2013) Stress reduction in slaughter cattle by
improving the human-anamial relationsship

24. www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Cattle breeding for longevity, robustness and roughage-
based feeding regimes.

25. www.fibl.org
“Rumiwatch”
Maulbewegungen beim Wiederkauen (Fotos: Roesicke)
Hightech to support breeding
Florian Leiber, Anet Spengler et al.

26. www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Food quality research

27. www.fibl.org
Correlation between the technical quality of
apples and the vital quality index of Ursula Graf
(pair comparison IP-Organic 1997, 1998, 1999)
40
45
50
55
60
techn.Quali.Zahl
30 40 50 60 70 80 90
BalzQualit
r2 =0.68
Tech. Qual. Index’97
Vitality-Quality-Index
Kahl et al. (2014)Weibel et al. (2003)
Apples
Cereals

28. www.fibl.org
Weizenversuche in Mandori (State Haryana)
No inoculum AMF+PGPR inoculum
Mäder, P. ; Kaiser, F. ; Adholeya, A. ; Singh, R.; Uppal, H.S. ; Sharma, A.K. ; Srivasta, R. ; Sahai, V., Aragni,
M. ; Wiemken, A. ; Johri, B.N. and Fried, P.M. (2011) Inoculation of root microorganisms for sustainable
wheat-rice and wheat-black gram rotations in India. Soil Biology & Biochemistry 43, 609-619.
+ 15 %
on richer soils
+ 41 %
in average
+ 80 %
on poor soils
Methodische Einflüsse auf die Forschung:
Bodenfruchtbarkeit und das ‚Feinstoffliche‘

29. www.fibl.org
Soil cultivation eliminates weeds and helps to keep the precious moisture in the soil.
Brazil: 84 % of all farmers manage 24 % of the total farm land
and produce on it the majority of foods.
Kenya: If all farmers produced the same yields as
the small holders do, the production would double.
Hungry for Land. GRAIN.
http://www.grain.org/article/entries/4929-hungry-
for-land-small-farmers-feed-the-world-with-less-
than-a-quarter-of-all-farmland
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Each individual farmer is the key to success

30. www.fibl.org
Influences of bio-dynamic farming on research agenda:
Bio-dynamic farmers and breeders are the pioneer of
participatory breeding.

32. Different innovation pathways will be
need
Subsistence
farmers,
pastoralists,
agrosylvicultural
farmers
Intensive small
holder farmers with
mixed farms
Family farms with
specialisation
Big farm
entreprises