It can̢۪t be seen, tasted, touched, smelled or heard, but the difference between Fresno State horticulture̢۪s greenhouse one and the seven greenhouses surrounding it is representative of a growing trend in agriculture.

Though organic practices have been gaining national attention, organic growing has been limited on Fresno State̢۪s campus.

“Organic farming is about working as partners with nature; not as if we were in battle with it,â€Â said Calliope Correia, a nursery technician at Fresno State’s horticulture department and a graduate of Fresno State’s plant science major.

Correia said that organic growing, though often controversial, has a place in agricultural education.

“Although all may not agree with organics, I think it’s important to educate about the realities of it,â€Â she said. “There are both similarities and differences between organics and conventional and students should be exposed to both sides.â€Â

According to California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF), an organic certification agency that works with the USDA’s organic program, organic food is produced without using most conventional pesticides.

“A product labeled certified means the grower has gone through a certifying agency and is being monitored on their growing practices,â€Â Correia said. “A grower may also become ‘organic’ through the county agriculture department, but the inspection is far less stringent.â€Â

She added that the latter method of organic growing requires profits to be below a set figure.The certification process is a rigorous one.

“Absolutely everything that goes into an organic crop has to be recorded and accepted by the certifying agency,â€Â Correia said.

Correia said the certification of Fresno State̢۪s greenhouse had been pursued partly for the marketing value of the organic label. The greenhouse will focus on producing vegetable transplants, herbs and perennials. She said the hope is to be able to transfer the vegetable transplants to the farm̢۪s organic plot, eventually producing organic vegetables for the Farm Market and outside businesses.

The certifying agency must inspect the facilities annually to assure that guidelines are being followed and that only approved materials are being used.

Dr. Sajeemas Pasakdee, a research scientist in the agriculture department said that some of the faculty in the agriculture department are working to expand organic practices on campus.

“Right now we have a good crop of all sorts of tomatoes coming on, heirlooms and such,â€Â Correia said. “We are also doing herbs, lemon balm, sage, rosemary, parsley, basil and oregano.â€Â

However, difficulties face operations that grow both conventionally and organically. Correia said that once plants become large enough, they are moved from the greenhouse to the outdoors. To prevent the contamination of the organic crops by prohibited chemicals, the nursery has greatly reduced the use of those chemicals and is experimenting with using predatory insects instead of pesticides.

“There will always be challenges in organic farming with the neighboring conventional farms, however, with constant monitoring and inspecting we can co-exist,â€Â Correia said, continuing that conventional growers have to stop using prohibited materials, such as synthetic fertilizer and pesticides for three years before they can use the organic label.

“However, farming organically is more than that,â€Â Pasakdee said.â€Â It has to involve sustainable agroecosystems and environmental health.â€Â

Correia agreed, saying that as far as nutritional value and physical characteristics go, a conventionally produced fruit is not much different from an organically produced one.

“It is the production of that product where the difference occurs,â€Â she said. “Sure, an organic tomato may cost more in the end, but what exactly went into the production of it? A certified organic tomato has no residue of toxic insecticide, fungicide or herbicide on it. The growing of it probably did not put any of the farm workers at risk to exposure of toxic chemicals, nor did it dump any pesticide into the water supply or into the environment.â€Â