The success of organic farming results from the need to produce top-quality food and, additionally, to protect the natural environment by applying eco-friendly agricultural practices and abandoning synthetic fertilizers and chemical pesticides. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of organic and conventional production systems on the content of minerals and fatty acids in grain of oat, wheat and hulled and naked barley. Wheat grain from organic farming was characterized by a higher content of Mn and by significantly higher content of Fe, Zn, Ca and Mg when compared to grain originating from conventional farming. The increased availability of potassium in soil, caused by the applied potassium salt fertilization, was reflected in a higher content of this macronutrient in grain of all cereals from conventional cultivation. The tillage system was found not to exert the same effect on the content of Ca and Mg in all the cereals examined. Lower content of iron and zinc was determined in organic grains of barley and oat. Grain from the conventional cropping system (except naked barley) proved to be richer in lipids. Crude oil of organic cereals was richer in the most valuable polyunsaturated fatty acids than that of the conventionally-grown crops The study demonstrated a stronger dependency between the level of the elements examined and cereal species than between the level of elements and cultivation system.

The aim of the work was to evaluate the impact of use of conventional and organic cultivation systems on selected parameters of microbial activity in the soil under wheat, barley and oat cultivation. Microbiological, biochemical, enzymatic and metabolic activities were analyzed during three seasons over 3 years in soil. The more beneficial effect of organic cultivation was reflected in the increase in bacterial growth, the intensification of the nitrification and higher activity of all analyzed enzymes. The conventional system was more favorable for the development of fungi. The assessment of the metabolic profile of soil microorganisms demonstrated clear differences between the activity of microorganisms in the organic and conventional systems. The results indicate that cultivation of soil in the organic system is more conducive to the environment. The authors conducted research, because there is no unambiguous answer to the question which growing system is more beneficial for soil biological life, i.e., the basis for food production. Microorganisms that are the object of these studies form the basis for the fertility of all soil ecosystems. Graphic abstract

Direct drilling is one of the methods to reduce tillage costs. Low labor intensity of this system also makes it possible to grow crops in locations where it is a problem to maintain optimal sowing time. However, the use of no-tillage can cause increased weed infestation of crop plants and as a consequence a decline in crop yields. The present study investigated the effect of two tillage systems, plough tillage and direct drilling, on the species composition, density and air-dry weight of weeds in crops of two soybean cultivars (‘Aldana’ and ‘Augusta’). A three-year field experiment was set up on loess-derived gray-brown podzolic soil. The study showed that the use of direct drilling for soybean cropping resulted in a significant increase in the density and dry weight of weeds relative to plough tillage. The study also found richer floristic composition of weeds and an increase in the numbers of dominant species under no-tillage conditions. <em>Elymus repens</em>, <em>Echinochloa crus-galli</em> and <em>Chenopodium album</em> were dominant weed species in all experimental treatments. <em>Chenopodium album</em> and <em>Galinsoga parviflora</em> were characterized by the highest constancy (constancy classes V and IV) in crops of both soybean cultivars, whereas <em>Echinochloa crus-galli</em> showed the highest constancy value in the ‘Aldana’ crop. Under direct drilling, most weed species were found to exhibit higher constancy compared to plough tillage.

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