Soils and cropping systems projects

Current projects

Project title (acronym)	Funder	Description
Diversification through Rotation, Intercropping, Multiple cropping, Promoted with Actors and value-Chains Towards Sustainability (DiverIMPACTS)	EU Horizon 2020	Crop diversification systems for the delivery of food, feed, industrial products and ecosystems services - from farm benefits to value-chain organisation.
Designing innovative plant teams for ecosystem resilience and agricultural sustainability (DIVERSify)	EU Horizon 2020	The Horizon 2020-funded DIVERSify project aims to optimise the performance of crop species mixtures (‘plant teams’) as a means to improve yield stability, reduce pest and disease damage, and enhance stress resilience in agricultural systems.
Agro-ecological soil management, EIP Operational Group (European Innovation Partnership) (EIPsoils)	European Innovation Partnership (EIP), RDPE scheme	This EIP operational group compares alternative soil assessment methods specifically for organic dairy systems (Albrecht method, Soil Respiration, etc.), working with the farmers David Wilson, Lyndon Edwards and Wil Armitage in 3-year field trials.
Embedding crop diversity and networking for local high quality food systems (DIVERSIFOOD)	Horizon 2020	DIVERSIFOOD will evaluate and enrich the diversity of cultivated plants within diverse agroecosystems so as to increase the performance and resilience of those systems while simultaneously increasing the range and quality of the produce for consumers.

Completed projects

Project title (acronym)	Funder	Description
GREATSoils	AHDB - Horticulture	Growing Resilient Efficient And Thriving Soils
Organic Knowledge Network Arable (OK-Net Arable)	Horizon 2020	OK-NET Arable aims to improve the exchange of innovative and traditional knowledge among farmers, farm advisers and scientists to increase productivity and quality in organic arable cropping all over Europe, in order to satisfy future market demand.
Winter grazing cereals: The effects on crop-weed competition and grain yield	DFF	This project assesses the question ‘How can the traditional method of grazing winter wheat with sheep optimised to control black-grass populations?’
Towards a sustainable and productive EU organic greenhouse horticulture (BioGreenhouse)	COST	To improve and disseminate knowledge for new and better production strategies, methods and technologies to support sustainable and productive organic greenhouse/protected horticulture in the EU
Optimise Subsidiary Crop Application in Rotations (OSCAR)	EU FP7	OSCAR studies key factors influencing the success of cover cropping, incl. cultivation methods, machinery and suitable plant genotypes. It develops targeted systems for varied conditions in Europe and assesses them in organic and conventional agriculture.
Strategies for Organic and Low-input Integrated Breeding and Management (SOLIBAM)	EU FP7	Develop specific and novel breeding approaches integrated with management practices to improve performance, quality, sustainability and stability of crops adapted to organic and low-input systems in Europe and small-scale farms in Africa.
New approaches to weed control in oilseed rape	HGCA	The project tests weed control within the inter-row spacing of oilseed rape using various techniques. This includes positioning systems (e.g. vision-guided) and weed control methods (e.g. chemical and mechanical).
Potato virus Y: epidemiology, control and virus-host interactions (PVY Control)	Finnish Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry	The project conducts a monitoring programme for Potato virus Y and its vectors in Northern Finland in order to design viable virus control options for seed potato production.
Using legume-based mixtures to enhance the nitrogen use efficiency and economic viability of cropping systems. (LegLINK)	Defra	The three year collaborative project aims to improve soil fertility building in leys by developing targeted species mixtures of green manures, in particular nitrogen-fixing legumes.