Issues Facing Organic Transplant Production in Europe

One of the first issue facing organic growers is the supplying of seeds organically certified according to the EU regulation for organic production (Reg. 834/2007). Growers should use certified organic propagation material, but failing to find it in the EU market, the Reg. EC 1452/2003 allows them to use uncertified material. This break did not encourage the development of a significant and reliable organic transplant production activity. The numerous varieties cultivated in small scale, the high damping-off of organic seedlings, the poor availability of registered products to favor uniform seed germination and seedling stand establishment, the lack of production scheduling, the need for large spaces in the nursery plantation for splitting organic and conventional nursery production, and the inadequate availability of organic seeds are technical issues limiting and making expensive the organic transplant production. Small organic producers are still the main core of the entire organic business, but they often fail the modern approach of the annual transplanting scheduling. Thus, seed companies are hardly interested in organic seed production because there is not an efficient transplant production and there are many local and diverse varieties for various niche markets. The creation of a standardized organic chain, starting from transplant production, improving scheduling and logistics, and the introduction of organic varieties are the present pressing goals to be achieved. Here we present the current regulations and the major critical points ( e. g. seed production, containers, substrates, fertilizers, environmental conditions) that the organic transplant production is facing.