Crop diversification and weeds

Summary

PRODIVA will produce the information required for a better utilization of crop diversification for weed management in North European organic arable cropping systems. The goal is not to eradicate weed problems, which is unlikely to happen in any arable farming system, but to maintain a diversified and manageable weed flora that can support beneficial organisms. The partners in PRODIVA will focus on synthesizing knowledge from terminated and running research projects including new experiments on crop rotation, cover crop growing, and crop and variety mixtures. This will provide a coherent picture and help closing important knowledge gaps. It will be investigated whether detrimental weed communities can be disrupted through strategic diversification of crop rotations without compromising species diversity and over-all crop production. And whether perennial weeds can be suppressed in the post-harvest period by improved cover crop establishment and pertinent selection of cover crop species. PRODIVA will seek to clarify the potential of crop mixtures and variety mixtures as weed management tools for the suppression of weeds. The investigations made in PRODIVA are finally interpreted in relation to on-farm practices of crop diversification and its effects on weed pressure and species composition. PRODIVA will interact with partners from farming practice and extension services in organic agriculture. Regional fields will be surveyed for weeds to safeguard the relevance of the experimental research. Current cropping practices and their influence on weed pressure and diversity will be identified together with the on-farm implementation and future potential for further diversification of the cropping systems. In addition, the project will involve relevant stakeholders from the participating countries throughout the project period to ensure the relevance of the research undertaken. Scientific and applied papers will be produced to support further development and research into sustainable and diversified North European organic crop production systems.