Low impact approach in agriculture and in the management of urban parks and gardens are two issues we we pay great attention to in order to increase the sustainibility of that processes.

It is for this reason that Landlab, in collaboration with organic fertilizer producing companies (particularly ILSA) and Universities, carries on several studies concerning:

• the evaluation of nutritional efficiency of solid organic fertilizers in open field cereal productions (also combining a long-term crop rotation effect with different growing methods),

• the evaluation and improvement of the performances shown by organic fertilizers on turfgrass and on horticulture;

• the study and definition of biostimulant effects of protein and enzyme hydrolysates on different crops (i.e. maize, strawberry, salads varieties)

  Some examples of our tests:

Slow Release Fertilizer combined with crop rotation: in an open field trial, started in 2000 and ended in 2006, Landlab set up 3 plots where were experimented different crop rotations using organic fertilizer. The task was to evaluate the performances shown by each variety at different nutritional levels and with different application modalities. This experimentation confirmed that the crop pruductions obtained are comparable to conventional ones; moreover it has been observed that, using sod-seeding techniques, there are several problems in the weeds control. Therefore, organic fertilizer have been more efficent whether distributed directly on the strips during the seeding.

Liquid organic fertilizer in fertirrigation: Landlab has recently finished a 4-years trial in which has been testing several  enzymatic protein extracts on tomatoes. That products, which are liquid fertilizer admitted in organic agricolture by italian laws, have shown interest results: the productivity (700-800 q/ha), the health of the fruits (reject <3%) and of the plants have been the same of -and some times better than-  traditional horticulture. From 2006 the trial have been performed also in several location in the USA.

Organic Fertilizer in turfgrass nutrition: this has never been an extensively studied theme, and it was for this reason that Landlab in 1998 started a long-term evaluation, firstly by her own and than in collaboration with ILSA. The results of this trial have been published in 2003 to Acer, a technical magazine about parks design and environmental restoration. Presently, the experimentation is still going on and performed in two location in the USA too, confirming that it is possible to fertilize "organicly" turfgrass for urban parks and sport fields with satisfactory results and low inmpacts.

Above are shown the trials performed at California State University - Pomona - LA.