Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

The effect of organic and conventional management on the yield and quality of wheat grown in a long-term field trial

Bilsborrow, P., Cooper, J., Tétard-Jones, C., Średnicka-Tober, D., Barański, M., Eyre, M., Schmidt, C., Shotton, P., Volakakis, N., Cakmak, I., Ozturk, L., Leifert, C. & Wilcockson, S.

2013

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Summary

This paper reports findings from a long-term field trial comparing organic and conventional wheat production systems, examining trade-offs between yield and nutritional or compositional grain quality. Published in the European Journal of Agronomy, the study draws on a multidisciplinary author team with expertise in agronomy, soil science, and plant nutrition, and is likely associated with the Newcastle University long-term Nafferton Factorial Systems Comparison (NFSC) trial. The work contributes to the evidence base on whether organic management can sustain acceptable yields while delivering quality advantages in cereal crops.

UK applicability

The study is almost certainly conducted in the UK, most likely at Nafferton Farm in Northumberland, and is therefore directly applicable to UK arable farming conditions, variety selection considerations, and policy debates around organic support schemes and grain quality standards.

Key measures

Grain yield (t/ha); grain protein content (%); mineral concentrations (mg/kg); potentially breadmaking quality parameters

Outcomes reported

The study measured wheat grain yield and quality parameters under organic and conventional management systems over multiple growing seasons in a long-term field trial. Key quality indicators likely included grain protein content, mineral concentrations, and breadmaking quality traits.

Theme
Farming systems, soils & land use
Subject
Arable farming systems & crop quality
Study type
Research
Study design
Field trial
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
UK
System type
Arable cereals
Catalogue ID
XL0682

Topic tags

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