All the news

• ReMIX: Updates from the teams
  

  The next challenge for the ReMIX project (Species mixtures for redesigning European cropping systems) has been unveiled by the team’s coordinators. Writing in the project’s third newsletter, they highlight the importance of winning the support of policy makers in increasing the adoption of intercropping.

• 5 principles for Scottish plant health
  

  Scotland has launched five key principles to protect the country’s plant health. Scotland’s Plant Health Centre published the principles to mark the United Kingdom’s Plant Health Week, which is itself part of the United Nations’ International Year of Plant Health.

• Downy mildew breakthrough
  

  French researchers believe new control methods for grapevine downy mildew (pictured right) are a realistic prospect after managing to identify the group of genes involved in its sexual reproduction. It is the first time these genes have been identified in oomycetes, reports France’s INRAE.

• Catch up with Agroecology Europe
  

  The latest edition of the newsletter from Agroecology Europe is now available. It includes the association’s position on the European Commission’s From Farm to Fork and biodiversity strategies, details of 2021’s 3rd Agroecology Europe forum and news from around the continent, including a feature on an innovative Belgian farmer.

• Real-life nature-based IPM
  

  The latest electronic newsletter from Agricology, a community bringing farmers and researchers together to share knowledge in pursuit of “practical sustainable farming regardless of labels”, includes an interesting feature on UK farmer Martin Lines, chair of the Nature Friendly Farming Network.

• Intercropping event to go virtual
  

  DECEMBER update: The organisers of next year’s Intercropping for Sustainability conference have opted for a virtual event via Zoom. Organisers had pledged to remain flexible about the format for the event, which was scheduled to be held at the UK’s University of Reading on January 19th and 20th.

• Mixtures no ‘silver bullet’ to resistance
  

  Current efforts to stop the spread of resistance through the use of pesticide mixtures might sometimes “be doing as much harm as good”, says ENDURE partner Rothamsted Research.

• DIVERSify: Watch and learn!
  

  The DIVERSify project has launched a mini-series “exploring the benefits and challenges of cultivating crop mixtures as an alternative to monoculture”. The series is called Growing Beyond Monoculture and currently consists of three episodes.

• PPPs in Swiss field crops: Use and aquatic risks
  

  Researchers at Agroscope, ENDURE’s Swiss partner, have completed a study examining the use and risk of plant protection products (PPPs) in the country’s field crops over a period of 10 years. They conclude that decreasing amounts of PPPs are being used in the country but show that quantity alone does not determine the risk to the environment.

• August kick-off for webinar series
  

  France’s Cultiver et Protéger Autrement (Growing and protecting crops differently) national priority research programme is to launch a series of webinars, beginning on Monday August 31. The priority programme is designed to support research towards pesticide-free agriculture by producing breakthroughs in knowledge.