Details of an ambitious series of coordinated cover crop trials have been published by AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds.
Led by ADAS, the AHDB-funded work will quantify the longer-term effects of cover crops, as straights and mixtures, and assess the impact of cultivation, establishment and destruction techniques.
Conducted over three years, the field experiments build upon recommendations from the recently published AHDB cover crop review and capitalise on the AHDB Monitor Farm network.
The results of the trials has lead to a further series of experiments to find the long-term effects of cover crops.
Dr Amanda Bennett, who manages resource management work at AHDB, said: "Our review showed that we need to know much more about the longer-term effects of cover crops.
"Through these coordinated field experiments, we will build a much better understanding of the costs and benefits of including cover crops within a rotation."
There will now be three field experiments, on contrasting soil types, to quantify the effect of ten cover crop treatments established using a standard cultivation approach on soil properties, crop rooting and yield.
The influence of cultivation and destruction approach on cover crop success will also be determined, through the use of cover crop tramline trials.
The project findings, due in 2019, will be used to update AHDB guidance on cover crops.
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