Conventional vs. Organic Agriculture–Which One Promotes Better Yields and Microbial Resilience in Rapidly Changing Climates?

Abstract

In recent years, agricultural productivity has been affected dramatically by climate-related events such as drought. On the other hand, agricultural intensification is expected to increase to satisfy the need for increased global food production. Microbes associated with soil and plants produce a range of bioactive natural products that significantly contribute to crop stress tolerance. Therefore, a better understanding of the parallel effects of agricultural management (conventional and organic croplands) and climate conditions on soil-microbe-plant interactions is crucial to maximizing the effort in engineering a plant microbiome that can better support productivity in agroecosystems. This paper provides a general overview of the major current debates on conventional and organic farming performance regarding yields, particularly under ambient and future climate conditions. With the main focus on cropland, the effect of agricultural management on soil and plant microbiomes is discussed. In addition, the advantage of incorporating microbiome-based approaches into current farming practices to ensure agricultural productivity with less adverse environmental impacts is highlighted. To enhance crop production under organic farming without massive land-use changes and expansion of farmland, the microbial-based approach can be used to ensure higher productivity, particularly under a rapidly changing climate.

Organic Farming Allows Balanced Fungal and Oomycetes Communities

“…Previous studies have demonstrated that organic practices positively affect soil quality by increasing organic matter and carbon levels compared with conventional farming [1][2][3][4][5] and enhance microbial richness and diversity [6,14,15,39]. The tomato farms investigated in this study have different histories and stand ages, as reflected in their soil profiles.…”

“…In addition, organic farming practices, such as reduced tillage, cover cropping, and intercropping, can improve soil structure and increase soil organic matter content, creating a favorable environment for soil microbes. Therefore, organic farming practices lead to higher microbial biomass and activity, as well as a greater diversity of microbial communities, compared to conventional farms [ 6 , 14 , 15 ], and thus can contribute to a healthy and more sustainable soil ecosystem.…”

Microbial resistance and resilience to drought under organic and conventional farming

“…improved soil structure and moisture retention) and enhanced microbial diversity and abundance might have the potential to increase microbial resistance and resilience towards drought [31,32]. However, it is not well understood to which extent organic and conventional cropping systems differ in their capacity to increase microbial resistance and resilience under drought [33].…”

Biological and experimental factors that define the effectiveness of microbial inoculation on plant traits: a meta-analysis

“…Inoculation of plants with single or multiple strains of beneficial microbes has been widely used to enhance plant growth traits, especially for crop plants. Depending on the extent to which the inoculants are efficient, the use of microbial inoculants can contribute towards agricultural productivity with less adverse environmental impacts through the reduction or even elimination of chemical and synthetic fertilizers [18, 19]. However, manipulation of plant microbiomes often does not result in the enhancement of plant traits, and the widespread application of this approach is limited by various biological and experimental factors that affect its efficiency [20].…”