The 2nd International Symposium for Organic Greenhouse Horticulture was held in Avignon (France) during the last week of October. It was organised by the International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS), the COST Action FA1105 BioGreenhouse, as well as ITAB and GRAB, two major institutes for organic horticulture research in France. Over 120 people from various countries all over the world attended this symposium which discussed the main aspects of organic protected cropping such as propagation material, soil health, plant nutrition or water management, as well as composting, management of diseases and pests, plant resilience and robust systems, energy saving and the standards of organic greenhouse production.
One of the aims of the COST Action BioGreenhouse is to develop a common research and innovation agenda for organic greenhouse horticulture; therefore, additionally to the over 50 oral and 80 poster presentations during the symposium, two workshops were held in collaboration with TP Organics, the European Technology Platform for Organic Food & Farming, to identify new subjects for the European R&D agenda. Here the main focus areas and key challenges were: zero fossil fuel input farming, ecological support functions (focus on pests and disease control and focus on soil fertility & soil health), water use and nutrient efficiency, urban horticulture and sustainable, safe and healthy food and diets. Ideas about new research goals were discussed, collected and prioritised for each of these focus subjects by Bram Moeskops (IFOAM EU-group) and will now be integrated in the new strategic research agenda of TPorganics
More information about the symposium and selected presentations/summaries can be found here.
