| Cereals
Cereals 2016: Agrovista cuts through the cover
crop confusion
The role of cover crops in blackgrass control and soil conditioning
will be a key focus at Agrovista’s
Cereals stand this year.
grovista has been working with
cover crops for several years,
notably at its Project Lamport
site in Northamptonshire – a
seven-year rotational cover
crop trial to develop novel
black-grass control strategies.
It is proving to be a stern test – black-grass
populations exceed 2000 heads/m2 at the site.
However, using the right species and mixes
while creating a platform to encourage
maximum black-grass germination in the
autumn before spraying off and direct drilling
into the mulch has reduced populations to less
than 8 heads/m2.
Black-grass trail
Agrovista will be participating in the Cereals
2016 black-grass trail, a new initiative that will
help visitors glean all the information they need
to help them combat the rising threat of this
pernicious weed.
Visitors will be able to quiz experts from the
Agrovista team on how the astonishing Project
Lamport result was achieved, including the vital
topic of matching specific species to a specific
purpose, an area that Agrovista has been
working on for many years.
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38 | Farming Monthly | May 2016
Importantly, visitors will also discover what
Agrovista’s mixes won’t do. Unlike many mixes
in the market, the company’s cover crop
offerings exclude species or varieties that could
carry over disease, or create seed-shedding
problems that might lead to future weed
problems on the farm.
Better soils
Visitors can also discover how to use cover
crops to improve soil structure and drainage, to
make difficult soils easier to manage when it
comes to cultivation and drilling of crops and to
allow timely field work. Perspex root displays
will bring the topic to life.
Cover crops can also be used as companion
plants, increasing nitrogen scavenging and
release as well as reducing weed and pest
burdens. Agrovista has developed techniques
for use in oilseed rape and maize to do just this
and is continuing this work in other crops.
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