Sustainable production of organic wheat

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1 Wheat LINK Sustainable production of organic wheat LK 0974, Elm Farm Scottish Agricultural College Drilling arrangement Aristos Hereward Variety Seeding density High Low Bicropping Mechanical weeding Interrow hoeing Yield Quality Population White clover 1

2 Summary of findings Drill Narrow rows tend to give higher yields, better establishment, lower weeds Wide rows may provide slightly higher protein Strip drill increased root length density in Aristos 2

3 Summary of findings Drill Narrow rows tend to give higher yields, better establishment, lower weeds Wide rows may provide slightly higher protein Strip drill increased root length density in Aristos Seeding density Higher seed densities can provide higher yields but costs of seed may outweigh benefits Variety Hereward had high protein Aristos tended to have higher yields Yield Quality Population had good protein, canopy cover and weed suppression Weeding Interrow hoeing did not increase Nitrogen uptake by crop Under sowing Possible competitive effect on post harvest weed seed dispersal but results varied with site and year In organic systems environmental variation is large, as there are no chemical inputs to iron out variation across both sites and years Therefore under organic conditions, the effects of multifactorial interactions on plant characters are often inconsistent It is difficult to predict combinations of variables that would have consistent benefits over sites and years. 3

4 Decision support tool AIM: To provide organic farmers with a decision support system to help when planning a winter wheat crop. Will show likely effects on gross margins, specific weights and protein concentrations of varying seed rate and drilling arrangement on your expected output. Input Output Drill type/seed rate/weeding Yields Seed cost Grain protein concentration Grain price Specific weight Farm s average Gross margins of combinations yield/protein/specific weight Funded by the Defra Sustainable Arable LINK programme Partners:Claydon Yieldometer Grain Farmers Norton Organic Grain Organic Arable Marketing Group Organic Farmers and Growers Organic Food Federation Progressive Farming Trust Scottish Agricultural College SAC Commercial Scottish Organic Producers Association Sheepdrove Organic Farm Soil Association Soil Association Certification Wakelyns Agroforestry 4

5 Summary of the effects of Drill Narrow Row Wide Row Strip Establishment Grain per Stem HFN Number of Neighbours Biomass per Stem Root Length Density Early, Mid and Post Harvest Canopy Cover Lower weed cover? Yield Yield Summary of the effects of Seeding density High Seed Rate Emergence Establishment Fewer weeds Early, Mid, Late Canopy Cover Tillering (stems per m 2 ) Low Seed Rate Germination Survival Crop Survival Plant spacing Lower Disease Biomass, Straw, Grain per Stem Harvest Index Grain Protein 5

6 Summary of the effects of variety Aristos Hereward YQ CCPms Yield? Protein Protein Grain mass /stem Least Lodging Canopy cover Straw mass /stem Green leaf area Height Specific weight Tillering? Mid weeds Thousand grain weight Post harvest weeds HFN 6