DescriPTION OF THE PROJECT
The Bio.Con.Impro. project is an innovation of the process regarding arable land management techniques in Conservation Organic Agriculture. The goal is to develop agronomic approaches that include alternatives to mechanical weeding, in order to encourage the adoption of more sustainable soil management practices, even in the most marginal agricultural areas. The project intends to explore intercropping practices, between main crops (cash crops) and service crops, in row or strip cropping systems. These practices will be compared with the management of main crops on dead mulch obtained from intercropped cover crops, and with traditional farm management. Priority will be given to root crops of interest to partner companies. The machinery required for the development of the technical proposals must allow for conservative soil management, safeguarding the cover with mulch created by using mowing, shredding, and rolling tools, or conservative soil tillage using subsurface cutting. Expected results include positive effects on soil fertility, on the soil ecosystem, reduced impact of weeds, and improvements in crop yield performance. The project is aligned with the European Union's objectives of reducing pesticide use by 50% in the EU by 2030 and increasing organic matter levels in European soils.
PURPOSE of the project
The Bio.Con.Impro. project stems from a request from organic farms to manage arable land more efficiently, in terms of weed control, for crop nutrition, and for maintaining and increasing soil fertility. A possible solution to these problems can be found in technical approaches borrowed from Conservation Organic Agriculture. This involves minimizing soil tillage, managing wider crop rotations, and finally ensuring the continuous presence of live or dead vegetation. The term “cover crops” is used in a broad sense. They can fall into two categories. The first is intercropped perennial service crops (e.g., perennial legumes), and in these cases, they are also referred to as live mulching. The second is catch crops: grown between cycles of cash crops and finished before the next cash crop, so that plant residues form a dead mulch between the rows. The project is a process innovation, and specifically consists of designing scenarios with crop rotations and intercropping of cash crops, service crops, and catch crops. Compared to the cash crop cycle, intercropping can partially overlap or be present throughout the entire cycle, and in some cases even last for several years. The interactive process to be implemented therefore focuses on the arable crops that are of most interest to the partner companies.