Deviation From the Regression of Yield on Nitrogen Fertiliser Rate as a Tool for Detecting Fraud in Organic Banana Production
Benzing, Albrecht, Piepho, Hans Peter, Orr, Ryan, and Ullauri, Juan Carlos (2025) Deviation From the Regression of Yield on Nitrogen Fertiliser Rate as a Tool for Detecting Fraud in Organic Banana Production. Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science, 188 (4). pp. 604-615.
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Abstract
Background and aims: Bananas are demanding in nitrogen (N) input; therefore, there is a temptation for organic farmers for using synthetic N fertilisers, which are not allowed under organic standards. The aim of our study was to develop a tool that identifies high banana yields obtained with suspiciously low organic N input. Methods: We systematically reviewed literature from experimental studies on N fertilisation in bananas from all over the world. We also developed a simplified N balance model for organic bananas. Furthermore, N fertilisation and banana yield data from organic and conventional farmers in different countries were collected. From these, a subset of trustworthy organic farms was identified, as a reference concerning plausible ratios of yield versus fertilisation. A model was developed to estimate the deviation from the regression of trustworthy farms and thus identify suspicious cases. Results: Neither literature nor the N balance led to a meaningful benchmark for differentiating plausible from non-plausible yields. The regression of yield on N fertiliser rate from the trustworthy organic farmers, however, turned out to be a helpful reference, and the deviation from this regression helps to achieve our aim. Depending on the alert limit, that is, the probability of obtaining false positive results, 4, 6, or 9 out of 157 data-pairs from organic farmers turned out to be suspicious. Conclusion: Measuring deviation from the regression of the trustworthy farms is a useful tool for identifying organic banana farmers suspected to be using synthetic N fertilisers but is not in itself a proof of fraud. The model will improve as more data becomes available.
| Item ID: | 87870 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 1522-2624 |
| Keywords: | certification, detection of suspicious yields, fraudulent use of synthetic nitrogen fertilisers, organic farming |
| Copyright Information: | © 2025 The Author(s). Journal of Plant Nutrition and Soil Science published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
| Date Deposited: | 05 Mar 2026 04:05 |
| FoR Codes: | 30 AGRICULTURAL, VETERINARY AND FOOD SCIENCES > 3004 Crop and pasture production > 300411 Fertilisers (incl. application) @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 26 PLANT PRODUCTION AND PLANT PRIMARY PRODUCTS > 2605 Horticultural crops > 260516 Tropical fruit @ 100% |
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