A meta-analysis of 115 studies by UC-Berkeley researchers finds the yield gap between organic and conventional agriculture is smaller than thought, around 19 percent. In a paper, the researchers say two management practices, multi-cropping and crop rotations, narrow the difference to around 8 percent. “Our study suggests that through appropriate investment in agro-ecological research to improve organic management and in breeding cultivars for organic farming systems, the yield gap can be reduced or even eliminated for some crops or regions,” says Lauren Ponisio, the lead author of the report, in a release.
The report found no difference in yields of organic and conventional legumes such as beans, peas and lentils. Researchers said the yield gap for many crops was smallest when organic farms used multi-cropping or crop rotations and conventional farms were monocultures, growing the same crops repeatedly. The gap was larger when both groups used the same practices. “Those results…suggest that polyculture and crop rotations increase yields in both organic and conventional farming systems,” says the report.