INTIA (Institute for Agri-food Technology and Infrastructures of Navarra) participates in the project by developing a case study of co-innovation in horticulture in a farmer’s plot (CICS 08). Involving different agents of the sector, INITIA will also identify the barriers to the implementation and development of intercrops, together with the organization of workshops with stakeholders from the sector. On the other hand, INTIA will work on designing and implementing trials with these crops, providing technical information about them to farmers, advisors, representatives of agri-business companies, and other agents of the agricultural scene.
The objectives of the case study are:
transferring the use of mixtures to a real scale,
involving stakeholders and representatives from a wide variety of companies and organizations in the sector,
accompanying the process, and
determining the degree of applicability, barriers, and opportunities.
Several groups of stakeholders participate in this CICS, such as the farmers of the agrarian cooperative of Funes (Navarra, Spain), different agribusiness representatives, and the INTIA experimentation and advisory team.
The actions that will take place in this first year will consist of meetings with participants to identify the interest crop and its possible mixes (minor crops), initiation of the experiences, evaluation, transfer, and seeking synergies with other case studies, mainly gathering information to identify successful experiences.
The spring broccoli crop will be planted in February 2024 with vetch (organic agriculture), to test its possible effect in reducing the incidence of cabbage fly (Delia radicum) and to assess the implications for crop management. The results of the trial will be available after the end of cultivation in June 2024.
Remix project as a precedent (2019-2020)
INTIA developed, in the framework of the Remix project (predecessor of IntercropVALUES (https://www.remix-intercrops.eu/), several experiments and trials of species diversification as a strategy to reduce pests in broccoli. Specifically, a mixture of broccoli with vetch (Vicia sativa) was developed in the experimental farm of Cadreita (Navarra, Spain). The experience released very positive results, such as:
– Spring broccoli in 2019, for reduction of Brevicoryne, Plutella, and whitefly.
– Fall broccoli in 2020, for aphid and whitefly reduction.
You can read further about this experiment in Remix Practice Abstract no. 17.
This news item was written by Isabel Gárriz and Lucía Sánchez (INTIA, Spain)