Sustainable Potato Production Worldwide: the Challenge to Assess Conventional and Organic Production Systems

Sustainable agriculture integrates environmental health, economic profitability as well as social and economic equity. Worldwide interest in potato as a valuable food security crop is increasing, because it is not globally traded, the prices are determined by local production costs and due to its beneficial impact on human nutrition. In the present review, organic and conventional potato productions were assessed by means of key indicators for sustainability. These indicators were fertility management and crop protection, yield level, tuber quality and environmental impact. The evaluation of several studies shows that each system has advantages and disadvantages. None of the production systems is per se more sustainable than the other. Each of them has potential for improvement of the system performance. In organic production, for example, by establishment of improved fertilization (e.g., application of more N-efficient base organic fertilizers) and crop management strategies (e.g., pre-sprouting of seed tubers, bio-based fungicides), in conventional farming by implementation of more target-oriented fertilization and pesticide spraying schedules. To meet the future challenges with increasing food demand while simultaneously decreasing its environmental impact, efforts on increasing the performance of both conventional and organic production systems, e.g., improving the nutrient use efficiency, are necessary.