As the ORFC - Oxford Real Farming Conference #ORFCGlobal continues this week, we are often asked why #biodynamic is refered to as #organicplus. Scientists quote the comparison trials between biodynamic, #organic and conventional growing carried out in the late 1990’s with winter rye by the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture in Switzerland (the so called DOK trials). The six sets of results were as follows:
Root penetration intensity (root length 0-55mm depth)
Organic: 3% more than conventional
Biodynamic: 57% more than conventional
Weight of earthworms (gram/m2)
Organic: 30% more than conventional
Biodynamic: 40% more than conventional
Activity of microorganisms
Organic: 43% more than conventional
Biodynamic: 61% more than conventional
Symbosis with root fungi (proportion of roots with arbuscular mycorrhizae)
Organic: 33% more than conventional
Biodynamic: 40% more than conventional
Nitrous oxide emissions (N2O measured throughout the crop rotation)
Organic: 25% less than conventional
Biodynamic: 43% less than conventional
Soil crumb stability (proportion of stable aggregates > 0.25mm)
Organic: 4% more than conventional
Biodynamic: 25% more than conventional