Project
Yields in strip cropping: from science to practice
Strip cropping is an accessible crop diversification practice for framers as strip width can be chosen to fit the working width of available machinery. The large-scale and long-term strip cropping experiments at WUR have shown positive results for biodiversity and pest and disease control. However, what is the effect of strip cropping on yield? Positive effects on yield might be an important incentive for farmers to adopt strip cropping. Furthermore, what happens when a farmers starts implementing strip cropping themselves? Do we see the same results as in our scientific experiments?
Project description
As an MSc student participating in this project, you will join our team during harvest days and collect samples for quality analysis. However, you can choose on which crops and locations you would like to focus in your MSc thesis.
You can study one or more of the following crops:
- Potato
- Cereals (mostly wheat, barley and oat)
- Cabbage
- Pumpkin
- Faba bean
All these crops are grown in the two long-term strip cropping experiments, located in the Wageningen and Lelystad. The key questions we aim to answer are:
- What is the effect of strip cropping on yield quantity and quality compared to monoculture systems?
- What is the effect of strip cropping on yield stability compared to monoculture systems?
Next to the yield measurements in the strip cropping experiments, there is also the opportunity to measure yield in strip cropping systems on operating farms. This part of the project focuses on either potato or cereals. The 25 arable farmers participating in the CropMix project each implement strip cropping in their own unique way, resulting in diverse systems that vary, among others, in soil type, crop selection, and management practices. The key questions we aim to answer are:
- Can we observe similar effects on these farms as seen in our experiments? So, what is the effect of strip cropping on yield quantity and quality on these farms?
- And if we see different results, what are the underlying reasons?
In your MSc thesis, you can collect yield data in our system experiments and/or in our network of 25 strip cropping farms throughout The Netherlands. Yield data serves as the foundation, with the opportunity to explore additional measurements and ecosystem services.
In summary, the thesis topics on yield in stropping are:
- Quantifying potato yield in both the system experiments and on actual farms
- Quantifying cereal yield in both the system experiments and on actual farms
- Quantifying yield for a diverse set of vegetable crops in the system experiments
- …with for all the opportunity to explore additional measurements and ecosystem services. We would like to hear your ideas!
Objectives and methods
- Quantify yield quantity of various crops in strip cropping and monocropping systems
- Quantify yield quality of various crops in strip cropping and monocropping systems
Required skills
- Basic statistical skills
- Preferably basic R skills
- Knowledge on agronomy and intercropping
Period
Starting around June or July 2025. The timing of the fieldwork depends on the studied crop, but will predominantly happen in July, August and September. We can discuss how to plan some time for holiday around the harvest activities.
Location
The Netherlands
