ENCOURAGING FUNCTIONAL AGRO-BIODIVERSITY USING FLOWERING FIELD MARGINS

More Information on LEAF’s Involvement with a Hortlink Project

The project, funded through Defra’s HortLink programme, aims to use selected flowering plants in field margins to recruit all forms of Functional Agro-Biodiversity, from bees to hoverflies and parasitoid wasps. Once present in numbers these beneficial insects will assist growers in producing their crops in a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly manner.

Trials of the projects multi-functional field margins are currently being undertaken at one of our LEAF Innovation Centres, Stockbridge Technology Centre by science partners on site and at both Lancaster University and FERA. Initial semi-field scale experiments are underway in carrot, pea, brassica and cereal crops, with the intention to move to commercial scale testing in 2012.

Additional details can also be found on the project website at www.ecostac.co.uk.