Rittmo

I. DETAILS & DEFINITIONS :

Like all human activities, agriculture impacts on the Environment. Today, agricultures needs new practices enabling the reduction of negative impacts. In the framework of regional, national or European research programs, RITTMO AgroEnvironnement developed tools to measure impacts of agricultural practices on soils and especially organisms living in soils. You can use our services to drive studies and identify impacts of various practices (fertilisation, soil tillage, and so on…) on soils and crops.

II. Developing tools for characterisation :

Tools developed by RITTMO are :
 methode for measuring the impact of agricultural practices on specific biological soil activities linked to plant nutrition,
 methode for measuring the impact of agricultural practices on biodiversity of soil microbial population,
 methode for measuring the impact of agricultural practices on soil properties (microbial activity, cationic exchange capacity, agregates’ stability, …).

You can have an overview of bio-assays presently proposed (either by RITTMO or by other institutes) by ordering the guide of bio-assays.

III. Presentation of competences

Development of methodological tools :
 Rhizobium
 Nitrifying activity
 Glomus mosseae
 genomic biodiversity (TTGE)

Study of the impact of sewage sludge after different processes of transformation (EU BIOWASTE project).

IV. SPECIFIC EQUIPEMENTS :

In order to drive these studies, RITTMO agroenvironnement uses :
 laboratory of microbiology for studying the impact on soil microbial population,
 lysimeters to perform studies under outdoor condition without impacting on the Environment,
 laboratory of molecular biology to study the impact on soil microbial diversity,
 laboratory for bio-assays to study the impact on soil chemical and physical properties.

V. Examples OF STUDIES :

Studies financialy founded by public money :

Development of a bio-assay aiming at measuring the efficiency of organic soil improver through their impacts on soil physical, chemical and biological properties. This study was founded by the French Ministry in charge of agriculture.

BIOWASTE : this research project was founded by the 5th Framework Research Program of the European Union. It was realised in collaboration with the Danish Technical University (DTU), the University of Patras (Greece), the Randa Group (Spain) and INRA (French National Institute of Agronomic Research located in Narbonne and Versailles). The objective was to study the impact of composting and / or anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge on agronomical properties of treated sludge. In this framework, RITTMO agroenvironnement developed methods for evaluation of sewage sludge impact on soil microbial populations and measured the impact of different treated or non treated sludge on quantity and quality of agricultural production (carrots and wheat).

ALTER : ALTER project, "Alternatives to herbicides", aims at testing different innovative vegetation management before plantation (extensive vs intensive soil tillage, seedling a vegetal cover…) using no herbicides. The objective is to compare and analyse the efficiency for trees establishment, with more usual pratices including heavy materials and herbicides.

Studies conducted for private customers :

To respect the confidentiality due to our customer, their names cannot be given :
 study the impact of vegetal cover on aggregates stability of vineyard’s soils,
 study the impact of wine production on soils microbial diversity assessed through genomic measurements,
 study the impact of bioenergy plantation (SHORT ROTATION COPPICE) on the Environment,
 study the impact of various practices of fertilisation in forest.

VI. CONTACTS :

Questions dealing with microbial activities : Dr Najat NASSR

Questions dealing with plants stimulation  : Dr Ludovic FAESSEL