Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
physical and cultural methods including mechanical and
heat-producing weed control equipment.
There are many organizations that provide support for
those wishing to succeed with an 'organic' approach to
gardening. Notably there is 'Organic Growing', formerly
the Henry Doubleday Research Association (HDRA),
which promotes organic methods of gardening through
their advisory and education work. They also have
demonstration gardens open to the public.
The European Community Regulations (1991) on the
'organic production of agricultural products' specify
the substances that may be used as 'plant-protection
products, detergents, fertilizers, or soil conditioners'.
Those intending to sell produce with an organic
label need to comply with the standards set by
the International Federation of Organic Agricultural
Movement (IFOAM). These standards set out the
principles and practices of organic systems which,
within the economic constraints and technology of a
particular time, promote broadly:
X
the use of management practices which sustain
soil health and fertility
X
the production of high levels of nutritious food
X
minimal dependence on non-renewable forms of
energy and burning of fossil food
X
the lowest practical levels of environmental pollution
X
enhancement of the landscape and wild life habitat
X
high standards of animal welfare and contentment.
Certification is organized nationally with a symbol
available to those who meet and continue to meet
the 'organic standards' overseen by a recognized
organic body with whom, by law, the grower must
be registered. In Britain and Ireland, the Department
for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and
the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine
(An Roinn Talmhaíochta, Bia agus Mara) approve the
Organic Control Bodies (CBs) who license individual
organic operators. Control Bodies include the 'Organic
Farmers and Growers', 'Irish Organic Farmers and
Growers Association', 'Scottish Organic Producers'
Association', 'Quality Welsh Food Certification Ltd'
and the 'Soil Association'. See 'Organic Growing' on
the companion website.
2
1
Figure 1.14
Millenium seedbank at Wakehurst Place
In situ
conservation
involves the creation of natural
reserves to protect habitats, and the wild species
they contain. Sometimes cultivated plants are also
conserved
in situ
- for example, the East of England
Apple and Orchards Project is one of numerous local
initiatives protecting orchard fruits and their habitats.
Ex situ
conservation
includes whole plant collections
in botanic gardens, arboreta, pineta and genebanks
where seeds, vegetative material and tissue cultures
are maintained - for example, the Millenium Seedbank
of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew at Wakehurst,
Surrey (see Figure 1.14). The botanic gardens are
coordinated by the Botanic Gardens Conservation
International (BGCI), which is based at the Royal
Botanic Gardens, Kew in London and are primarily
concerned with the conservation of wild species.
For cultivated species, large national collections
include the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale,
Kent which holds over 3,500 nut and fruit cultivars
in its orchards and the Warwick Genetic Resources
Group which collects, conserves, documents and
researches into a wide range of vegetable crops and
their wild relatives. The Garden Organic Heritage Seed
Library conserves old varieties of vegetables which
were once commercially available, but which have
been dropped from the National List (and so become
illegal to sell), operating a seed exchange programme.
Plant Heritage (formerly the National Council for the
Conservation of Plants and Gardens (NCCPG)) was
set up by the Royal Horticultural Society at Wisley
in 1978 and is a excellent example of professionals
and amateurs working together to conserve stocks of
garden plants threatened with extinction. The aim is to
ensure the availability of a wider range of plants and to
stimulate scientific, taxonomic, horticultural, historical
and artistic studies of garden plants. There are over
600 collections of ornamental plants encompassing
400 genera and some 5,000 plants. A third of these
Conservation
Conservation is the management of animals, plants and
other organisms to ensure their survival as a resource
for future generations. It focuses on reducing threats
to biodiversity in the wild but is also concerned with
conserving cultivated plants and their wild ancestors.
These are the gene pool on which future plant breeders
can draw for further improvement of plant species.
