Constraints and feasibility of organic Tahiti lime in Martinique

Organic production of citrus in Martinique seems to be a challenge because of the strong parasitic pressure existing in wet tropical zone. The producers were thus brought to use huge amounts of numerous chemicals. The purpose of this trial is to test the feasibility and the profitability of a Tahiti lime orchard managed according to the European requirements for organic farming. A comparison between standard and organic practices of Tahiti lime grafted onto Citrus volkameriana shows that the yield cumulated over 6 years is similar for both farming systems. The constraints of the organic farming come partly from the high price of the authorized inputs which are imported, but mainly from the difficulty to control weeds in the orchard. Without irrigation, the chosen cover crop, Arachis pintoi, becomes strongly competitive with the tree for water during dry periods. A mulch of sugar cane bagasse placed under the canopy of the tree does not suppress this competition, because of the cover crop aggressiveness with its powerful reticulum of stolons. The selection of the cover crop which will be associated to the orchard is thus of prior importance. It must be competitive enough against weeds, but not against the main crop. To refine our choice, we built up an evaluation grid for various methods of weed control to select grasses with weak vegetative growth, similar to lawn, which seem less competitive than legumes and more easily controlled by mulching. Introduction of animals in the orchard for the maintenance of the cover crop is also under study. [résumé d'auteur]

Bibliographic Details

Main Authors:	Lavigne, Christian, Pancarte, Clovel, Bertin, Yves, Ducelier, Daniel, Jannoyer, Magalie
Format:	conference_item biblioteca
Language:	eng
Published:	s.n.
Subjects:	F08 - Systèmes et modes de culture, agriculture biologique, étude de faisabilité, Citrus volkameriana, plante de couverture, Arachis pintoi, pratique culturale, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_15911, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_26781, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_33329, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_1936, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_33617, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_2018, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_4635, http://aims.fao.org/aos/agrovoc/c_3081,
Online Access:	http://agritrop.cirad.fr/543349/
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