Weed management remains one of the main obstacles to converting to organic farming. In addition to tillage and mechanical weeding, improving crop competitiveness through species association offers an interesting alternative. This method can take two forms: combining annual species or growing a cash crop under a permanent cover of legumes. These techniques require some adjustments to be made, but offer advantages in terms of environmental sustainability.
The project is evaluating three systems:
- pure cash crop
- cash crop combined with an annual supplementary crop
- cash crop between strips of permanent leguminous cover.
Innovative tools tailored to each method are being tested to optimise sowing, weeding and harvesting. The main challenges relate to species selection, cover management and harvest quality.
The results of the project will provide an objective overview of the technical and economic performance of these weed management strategies in organic farming, and to measure the environmental impact of ploughing. These data will be shared with the sector via articles and outreach activities organised in collaboration with Greenotec, CePICOP and Biowallonie.
During the first trial, the association between sunflower and fenugreek presented a number of difficulties: insufficient yields, damage caused by corvids and intense grass growth in the rows. For the future, there are plans for a new trial combining wheat and peas.
Financing:
Wallonia Recovery Plan
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