Optimise Subsidiary Crop Application in Rotations

Summary

OSCAR is a collaborative research project in agronomy, supported by the European Commission under the Seventh Framework Programme for Research. OSCAR involves 20 Partners from 9 European countries, Morocco, Brazil as well as the international research centre ICARDA. The research programme starts in April 2012 and ends in 2016.
The project aims to develop improved conservation tillage systems, based on subsidiary crops (also known as cover crops), used both as living and dead mulch, that
increase the duration of soil coverage by plant canopies;
minimize the need for soil tillage and redce tillage intensity; increase the diversity of species within the plant canopy and the rotation; reduce the need for fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides; and
in dry climates, conserve water and reduce need for irrigation.
OSCAR studies the key factors that influence the success of cover cropping systems, including cultivation methods, machinery and suitable plant genotypes. The research aims to develop targeted systems for the varied economic and ecological conditions in Europe and in the non-European participating countries. OSCAR assesses the ecological and economic impacts of the new cropping systems in both organic and conventional agriculture.
The core of the experimental programme is a set of coordinated field trials in 12 different environments, ranging from boreal climates in North Europe to Mediterranean and tropical subhumid climates.
The main output of the project will be a comprehensive, publically available knowledge base (Cover Crop and Living Mulch Toolbox), which will contain many user interactive elements and will be further developed after termination of the project.