Research project Enhancing ground cover on vegetable farms: Living Labs for resource conservation and economic sustainability in agroecological systems
General introduction
Making open-air vegetable growing more sustainable in Flanders, both for the growers and for society. That is the starting point of the GROUND2LIVE project. The final goals is to get 20% of vegetable growers to implement these practices of regenerative soil management and also get the rest of the chain on board in the interest of the story. Ten vegetable growers, both organic and conventional, who open their farms as pilot farms. Green manure crops are used to keep the soil covered. Green manures in rotation with vegetables is not widely applied, however. By testing alternative applications and cultivation techniques we aim to convince farmers of their usefulness.
Research approach
ILVO and partner Inagro use a co-creative approach involving a number of growers right from the start of the project. Those growers take the wheel with participation from suppliers, machine builders and agri-food companies. The growers performs tests on their fields and share their results with fellow growers. The inclusion of green manures in the crop rotation in vegetable cultivation poses a challenge. For example, with a late harvest in colder regions like Flanders, green manures might not establish very easily. Intercropping, where the green manure is sown in rows between vegetables, creates competition with the crop for nutrients, water and light. We therefore seek best practices, the right combinations of crop and green manure, and sowing time. Under-seeding of green manures and the use of no-till tillage may allow faster seeding after green cover crops; this and other practices are evaluated. Where appropriate, more in-depth experiments will be conducted in the experimental fields of the partners ILVO and Inagro. At the European level, knowledge exchange is planned with Living Labs in 6 other countries where similar practices are being tested.
Relevance/Valorization
New vegetable cultivation practices are emerging with the aim of preserving biodiversity, ensuring production and economic sustainability. Green manures contribute to increasing soil health and improved nutrient cycling. Fewer nutrients are lost and there is also less need for external inputs. All this increases soil and crop resilience to climate change. Finally, we hope that this agroecological approach will further improve product quality.
Financing
VLAIO
