A comparision of GHG emissions from UK field crop production under selected arable systems with reference to disease control

Crop disease not only threatens global food security by reducing crop production at a time of growing demand, but also contributes to greenhouse
gas (GHG) emissions by reducing efficiency of N fertiliser use and farm operations and by driving land use change. GHG emissions associated with adoption of reduced tillage, organic and integrated systems of
field crop production across the UK and selected regions are compared with emissions from conventional arable farming to assess their potential for climate
change mitigation. The reduced tillage system demonstrated a modest (<20%) reduction in emissions in all cases, although in practice it may not be suitable
for all soils and it is likely to cause problems with control of diseases spread on crop debris. There were substantial increases in GHG emissions associated
with the organic and integrated systems at national level, principally due to soil organic carbon losses from land use change. At a regional level the integrated
system shows the potential to deliver significant emission reductions. These results indicate that the conventional crop production system, coupled to reduced
tillage cultivation where appropriate, is generally the best for producing high yields to minimise greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to global
food security, although there may be scope for use of the integrated system on a regional basis. The control of crop disease will continue to have an essential role
in both maintaining productivity and decreasing GHG emissions.