All the news

• Pan-European research roadmap on the way
  

  Twenty-four research organisations from 16 European countries have joined forces to rethink the way research is conducted and develop new common research and experimentation strategies across the entire continent. The aim is to move ‘Towards a Chemical Pesticide-free Agriculture’ (including synthetic pesticides and other substances harmful to the environment and human health such as copper).

• Importance of ecological principles in agriculture
  

  Researchers from Scotland’s James Hutton Institute (JHI) have completed a study examining six years of agricultural research conducted for the Scottish government which “highlights the impact of the use of ecological principles in agriculture on sustainability, resilience, and provision of ecosystem functions”.

• Understanding diversity in Swiss crop protection
  

  With the ambition of reducing the use of plant protection products (PPPs), Agroscope researchers in Switzerland have conducted a study on farmers’ behavioural patterns when using PPP on their crops.

• Diverfarming: Compost boosts bacterial community
  

  Spanish researchers working in the Diverfarming project have established the agricultural and environmental benefits to the bacterial community of applying compost rather than traditional fertilisers in soils.

• Projects focusing on sustainable production
  

  The SusCrop ERA-Net (Cofund on Sustainable Crop Production), which is aiming to “strengthen the European Research Area (ERA) in the field of Sustainable Crop Production through enhanced cooperation and coordination of different national and regional research programmes”, has released news of a rake of projects focused on more sustainable agriculture.

• DiverIMPACTS: Get the policy brief
  

  DiverIMPACTS, the project addressing diversification through rotation, intercropping and multiple cropping, promoted with actors and value chain for sustainability, has produced a policy brief addressing the production of actionable knowledge for crop diversification.

• Weed control without glyphosate
  

  IWMPRAISE, the project focusing on Integrated Weed Management, has published two inspiration sheets examining weed control without the use of glyphosate. The current European approval for the use of the herbicide is due to end in December this year and, for example, the French government launched a campaign in 2018 to end its use in 2023.

• Switzerland launches new fruit and berry network
  

  Agroscope, ENDURE’s Swiss partner, has joined forces with the Swiss Fruit Association to launch a National Competence Network for Fruit and Berries. The network will combine “the strengths of the Swiss fruit production sector to jointly tackle the challenges faced by the sector in the medium-to-long-term”.

• Melon and cowpea prove a win-win
  

  Researchers from two Spanish universities have established that intercropping melon and cowpea can be a win-win for farmers. Working as part of the Diverfarming Horizon 2020 project, they report that the combination of these crops improves soil nutrients and increases melon yields.

• Catch up with DiverIMPACTS
  

  The ninth newsletter from the DiverIMPACTS Horizon 2020 project is now available. The project is seeking to “achieve the full diversification potential of cropping systems for improved productivity, delivery of ecosystem services and resource-efficient and sustainable value chains”, with the latest newsletter providing an update on progress.