Researchers at SLU want to develop a high-yielding cropping systems where the need for tillage and herbicides is greatly reduced compared with current conventional farming systems. They have received funding from The Swedish farmers’ foundation for agricultural research (SLF) to test their hypothesis in field.
The cropping system include, cultivation with wide row spacing, strip sowing and band spraying, combined with the use of subsidiary crops and modern precision technology for sowing and row hoeing. The objective is to optimize the crop sequence spring cereals - winter wheat in such a system. Subsidiary crops are introduced to compete with weeds, fix nitrogen and to generate a break crop effect by improving the environment for winter wheat roots.
Researchers Göran Bergkvist and Alexander Menegat will test the hypotheses that:
The project is a collaboration with the Swedish Rural Economy (Hushållningssällskapet) and farmers.