Project

How does strip width affect intercrop performancefor various species?

Within the new project CropMix we study how crop diversity (e.g. strip intercropping) in the field can benefit from ecological processes. A group of ecologists try to unravel the below and above ground mechanisms that are important in the field, think about nutrient and light competition and pest and disease suppression. In this specific MSc project we use detailed 3D plant modelling to explore the optimal strip widths for different kinds of crop species.

Project description

The agricultural sector and an interdisciplinary national research team are joining forces in the CropMix project to achieve a breakthrough in the transition to sustainable arable farming. We study how crop diversity (strip intercropping and crop rotations) in the field can benefit from ecological processes. While intercropping can provide more efficient use of nutrients and sunlight to promote plant growth, and can enhance pest and disease suppression to collectively increase crop yield, farmers still have many questions.

One important outstanding topic and issue for farmers is knowing how the width of the strips in which individual crop species are sown affects crop yield. Most plant- and soil-specific processes occur directly between neighbouring crop species, and thus narrower strips are often considered to have the most effect on crop yield performance. However, it remains unclear what the optimal strip widths for different kinds of crop species would be when considering various ecological processes and farmers perspectives. Considering various ecological processes and exploring a large range of strip widths is impossible with experiments, and therefore we use a functional-structural plant (FSP) model as tool.

Objectives and methods

This study aims to explore the optimal strip widths for different kinds of crop species when considering various ecological processes between plants, soil and pathogens or insects. We will use a Functional Structural Plant (FSP) model to explore the contribution of different ecological processes to the optimal strip width.

Expectations

Set clear research questions, search data in literature, parameterize and calibrate model settings, create a virtual experiment that can answer the research question.

Required skills

Interest in coding, useful to have some experience in coding such as Java or R but no need.

Types of research / work

We offer the interested MSc student to work together with a postdoc to use FSP modelling to explore the effects of strip width on crop performance. We use information from literature and from previous conducted experiments to parametrize the model and perform a range of virtual strip intercropping simulations to explore the optimal strip width that farmers could adopt. Depending on the season you can help collect data in the field, but no need, this can be a full computer based project.