Work package 2

Aim of WP:
• Plan and execute the field trials to collect common datasets in the consortium
• Assess innovative cropping systems for agronomic productivity, ecosystem services and economic viability
• Participatory co-evaluation and co-validation with stakeholders
In this WP, the crop species and biostimulants identified in Wp1 will form the input in WP2. The identified species of cereal, legume, grass, forbs and underutilized species and different biodiversity-enhancing inputs viz. compost, biochar and biostimulants prepared from biodegradable waste from WP1 will be used in the field trials. Each field trial consists of two sets of experiments, one common set of pea-barley intercrops and one country-specific set of cereal-legume and grass multispecies intercrops that are relevant for the local farming practices. Two trial protocols, one each for common and country-specific intercrop sets, will be developed which will define the different soil, plant and climate data to be collected during the field trials. Hence, the field trials in WP2 provide the dataset for the assessment of productivity, economics and environmental performance of innovative cropping systems. The field trials in WP2 will also serve as the field sites for the assessment of agrobiodiversity in WP3 and as demonstration sites for communication and dissemination of the research activities in WP4.

Six different biostimulants viz. biochar, humus extract, compost tea, vermicompost, insect frass, cover crop will be prepared from biowastes of plant and animal origin. The biowaste of plant origin consists of food and green waste from which biostimulant will be extracted whereas the biowaste of animal origin will consist of fish carcass and fish faeces and insect frass. SLU and FOREL will prepare the biostimulants to test and validate in the field trials for their effects on crop growth, productivity and quality of the crop yields under intercrops and monocrops.

The objective is to prepare trial protocols in preparation for field trial implementation and planning of data collection on crops and soil. Field trials will be established on biostimulant effects in cereal-legume intercrops for food and feed use compared to conventional wheat monocrops with fertilizer inputs. 6 different biostimulants will be applied to different cereal-legume intercrops. The cereal-legume intercrops will be either pea-barley, wheat barley and triticale-pea intercrops. The rationale behind the cereal-legume intercrop combinations and the biostimulant treatments are to increase the yield quantity and quality in intercrops without increase in fertilizer input to reduce the carbon footprint of food and feed production. The research will include assessing the yields in intercrop components and other key ecosystem services like carbon sequestration, habitat for biodiversity, water and nutrient regulation, soil fertility in the intercrops compared to wheat monocrops. The field trials will be carried out in Denmark and Ukraine.

The objective is to determine agronomic yields and ecosystem service quantification in cereal-legume intercrop compared to wheat monocrops under different biostimulant treatments. 3-4 plant and soil samplings will be taken during the trial, including the final harvest to assess the performance during the growing period and the final harvest. In this way, we can determine the best harvest period with peak protein content for fodder use and also determine the final grain yield under different seeding ratios and biostimulant treatments. All the crop yields will be determined based on crop cuts over 6 m2 per treatment and ecosystem services will be investigated in the cereal-legume intercrop to assess the holistic agronomic and environmental performance of the agro-ecological practices.

The objective is to assess the environmental footprint of production systems by applying the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) methodology. Data on different management practices and production inputs, will be collected on cereal-legume intercrops and monocrops and this data will be combined with the crop component yields to carry out the environmental impact of the production system.

The objective is to carry out the cost-benefit and life cycle assessment of the production systems in Task 2.2 to evaluate the productivity and environmental performance of the intercrops compared to monocrops in Ukraine and Denmark. Data from Task 2.2 and Task 2.3 will be used as input to carry out the analysis and the results of the analysis will be communicated and disseminated to the stakeholders, particularly farmers for awareness and informed-decision making for adoption.

The objective is to valorize the cereal-legume intercrop into diverse food and feed products. For the feed purpose, the optimal harvesting period during the growth with maximum protein and biomass yield, will be targeted to get maximum.