Invitation to the HNEE field day: Exchange on diversity in the root zone

Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development (HNEE) is hosting its annual field day at the Wilmersdorf Teaching and Research Station (Angermünde) on 15 June 2021. Scientists from the university want to go into depth and present their research results to interested parties. The report from projects funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg (MLUK), the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL) and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is aimed in particular at farmers and advisors. Cultivation strategies will be taught on the trial plots - for example, how to create diversity in the root zone. The focus is on sugar beet, catch crops and forage legumes.

The annual HNEE field day at the Wilmersdorf teaching and research station (Wilmersdorfer Str. 23, 16278 Angermünde) is scheduled to take place on 15 June from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is planned as an in-person event, subject to availability. Last year, the field day could only be organised as an online event with photos, presentations and virtual tours. This year, the HNEE project managers hope to be able to go into more depth on site again: The event will focus on current research projects and results from the trial plots with a particular focus on the cultivation of sugar beet, catch crops and forage legumes.

Specialist presentations and a field tour of practical plots on the Wilmersdorf estate for selected crops are intended to get people talking about possible cultivation strategies. "We want to take the opportunity to discuss topics with farmers and advisors in particular. As scientists, we can then pursue questions that come from practice and are important for agricultural businesses in order to find solutions together," says Sabrina Scholz, research assistant at the Department of Policy and Markets in the Agricultural and Food Sector and project manager of the Biodiversity in Arable Farming Practice Network.

Within the new zUCKERrübe project, there will be a field trial for the cultivation of organic sugar beet for the first time with a cultivation area of approx. 1700 square metres (36 plots) at the Gut Wilmersdorf teaching and research station. "This is our highlight because we are investigating the question of how mechanical weed control works in sugar beet fields," emphasises HNEE Professor Ralf Bloch, who specialises in agroecology and sustainable cultivation systems in the Faculty of Landscape Management and Nature Conservation. In organic farming, the use of synthetic chemical pesticides is avoided for the sake of the environment and sustainable nutrition, explains the head of the Wilmersdorf teaching and research station. However, organic farming also requires more labour due to the mechanical hoeing required to control weeds: "To make handling easier, we therefore want to design a robot that can replace the manual hoeing of organic sugar beet."

In addition to specialist presentations on organic farming and optimising the internal use of clover grass on farms without livestock, visitors can find out about cultivation strategies using catch crops, forage and grain legumes or old cereal varieties at stands in the trial areas. Farm manager Jörg Juister offers a tour of the Gut Wilmersdorf fields at various times.

Project partner:

• Biodiversity in Arable Farming Practice Network
  • Project duration: 08/2020 to 12/2022
• MSL project: Market- and site-adapted land management
  • Supported by the Association for the Conservation and Recultivation of Crops in Brandenburg (VERN)

These projects are funded by the Ministry of Agriculture, Environment and Climate Protection of the State of Brandenburg (MLUK) as part of the development programme for rural areas in Brandenburg and Berlin. The grant is made up of EAFRD and state funds.

• NutriNet: Competence and practical research network for the further development of nutrient management in organic farming
  • Project duration: 03/2019 to 02/2024

This project is funded by the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture on the basis of a resolution of the German Bundestag as part of the Federal Programme for Organic Farming and Other Forms of Sustainable Agriculture.

• ^ZUckerrübe: WIR! region 4.0 joint project-zUCKERrübe
  • Project duration: 02/2021 to 07/2023

The development of cultivation methods using innovative field robotics, UAS and practical research for organic sugar beet cultivation in the Uckermark is funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research in the "WIR! Change through innovation in the region" programme.

SAVE-THE-DATE
Due to the current situation, the event will take place on 15 June subject to reservations and certain hygiene conditions. Places for the field day, as well as for the individual lectures and field visits, are limited. To register for the event (stating the desired participation or time for the tour), please send your full name and an e-mail address to Sabrina.Scholz(at)hnee.de - You will then receive a confirmation email by the beginning of June.

Programme:

10 am Welcome and presentation of current research at the Wilmersdorf Teaching and Research Station (Ralf Bloch, HNEE - Scientific Director of the Wilmersdorf Teaching and Research Station)

from 10.20 am Various information stands on the experimental plots:

• Sugar beet - how does weed control work?
• Catch crops - What effects do they have on the water balance and the subsequent crop?
• Forage legumes - Are species such as stonecrop, horn clover and bokhara clover a cultivation option?
• Grain legumes - What are the benefits of growing soya and chickpeas?
• Old cereals - varieties and cultivation options

10.40-11.20 a.m. Lecture: How does sugar beet cultivation succeed in organic farming? (N.N.)

11.30-12.30 and 13.30-14.30 Tour of Gut Wilmersdorf's own farmland (Jörg Juister, Gut Wilmersdorf GbR)

12.40-13.20 Lecture: Optimisation of internal clover grass utilisation on livestock farms (N.N.)