Horticultural Sciences

FiBL’s research division of Horticulture Science focuses on fruit crops (pome and stone fruits, wine and table grapes, strawberries and bush fruits), vegetables and ornamentals. The goal is to develop practical solutions to overcome key problems occurring in these crops, which are very capital intensive and often very difficult to grow organically. This involves the development of organic production systems for hort crops from field to shelf, including innovative marketing concepts, cultivar testing, evaluation of crop rotation strategies, cover crops, mineral and microbial fertilizers, and measures for improving yield and quality security, but also soil fertility and fruit quality issues.

Team

Team of the division Horticultural Sciences

Publications

Publications of the division in the Organic Eprints Database

Research areas

Problem-solving and innovation in the value chain of organic fruit
Optimizing production and quality in organic viticulture and vinification
Optimizing production systems and quality formation in organic vegetable and ornamental plant production

Problem-solving and innovation in the value chain of organic fruit

Fruit production has always been a technology-intensive industry requiring a great deal of auxiliary input. Despite this – or perhaps because of it – all-natural quality is in high demand. Already 11 % of the stone fruit sold by market leader Coop is organic, and they consider 20 % to be a realistic figure. The market for cherries, plums, pears, berries, grapes and nostalgic fruit varieties still holds untapped potential. The main obstacle facing the expansion of fruit cultivation is currently a lack of varieties which are economically viable for organic production. It is also vital that we reconsider our present methods of cultivation (plantations on dwarfing rootstock well suited to mechanization) and develop more natural fruit orchards with a greater capacity for self-regulation (up to and including agroforestry systems).

Our research projects concentrate on testing numerous new varieties and also old ones grown under organic conditions, improving yield security and economic viability with preventive and natural practices, carefully examining any weak points in transportability and shelf life, and optimizing the quality of the fruit in terms of content, taste and nutritional value.
Contact: Franco Weibel

Optimizing production and quality in organic viticulture and vinification

Organic wines are currently experiencing a positive change of image among consumers. In Europe biodynamic wines in particular are considered some of the highest quality wines available. Swiss organic production competes with good-quality, affordable wines from abroad. Top quality, specialty products and the reduction of production costs are possible strategies to cope with this situation. Organic production today is based on heritage varieties which are susceptible to disease and need a great deal of pest management. This is far from ideal, both from an ecological and an economic point of view. Fungus-resistant varieties (PIWIs) are an elegant solution, but their proportion on organic vineyards today is only 10%. Our research projects concentrate on questions surrounding the PIWI varieties: monitoring their suitability for cultivation, resistance and wine quality, adapting vinification to the new varieties and supporting their market introduction. The further development of an organic crop protection regime for traditional European varieties is constantly being advanced (new preparations, improved computerized forecast models). Furthermore, we are investigating the question of low-sulphite and sulphite-free organic wines and, in field and cellar trials, are analysing the question of whether and why organic – and in particular biodynamic – viticulture leads to a distinctive terroir quality.
Contact: Dominique Levite, Andi Häseli and Franco Weibel

Optimizing production systems and quality formation in organic vegetable and ornamental plant production

Growing organic vegetables and ornamentals is usually highly specialized and therefore prone to problems. The high expectations of the market as regards product appearance and quality require extensive research and development. Entirely new methods of cultivation must even be developed for certain crops such as green asparagus. On largely livestock-free vegetable farms, the level of self-sufficiency with nutrients is very limited. In theory green manuring with clovers could bring some improvement, but in practical terms there are still too many knowledge gaps. Organic seeds continue to be in short supply; enhanced development of organic seed dressing and ongoing testing of organic varieties are the most efficient methods of dealing with this problem. Consumers of organic vegetables expect great visual and sensory diversity (of nostalgic varieties, too); they want them to taste good, have a long shelf-life and promote their health. Organic vegetable growers can only satisfy such high expectations if they have the support of research. In addition to vegetables, we also address production and marketing matters concerning herbs and ornamentals.
Contact: Martin Koller

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