Strip cropping and other agro-ecological cultivation models for diversified and soil-friendly organic vegetable production

In the Marche region, the land is mainly hilly, characterised by clayey soils that are difficult to work, poor in organic substance and subject to intense erosive phenomena. Moreover, horticultural and non-horticultural cultivation systems, both organic and integrated, are constantly exposed to biotic adversities such as weeds, fungi and insects. This situation is also due to deep tillage and, above all, the abandonment of crop rotation.

The ORTOBIOSTRIP project tackles these issues by testing low environmental impact techniques on organic farms based on crop diversification approaches capable of increasing production yields, while generating positive environmental and social externalities such as the protection of functional biodiversity (plants, arthropods, earthworms, microorganisms, etc.), soil carbon sequestration and the reduction of erosive phenomena and hydrogeological land instability.

The project has a duration of 36 months (October 2022 – September 2025) and is financed by the Call for Proposals “Support for the establishment and management of EIP Operational Groups on agricultural productivity and sustainability – Submeasure 16.1 Action 2” Annuality 2021 – RDP Marche 2014/2020 (EAFRD funds – contribution granted € 186,222.59).

In detail, four highly innovative agro-ecological approaches are applied:

1. 1. the use of strip cropping;
   2. the introduction of agro-ecological service crops in crop rotation;
   3. the use of heterogeneous genetic materials;
   4. the use of soil minimum tillage techniques.

• Improved productivity, due to estimated returning LER (land evaluation rate) values between at least 1.05 and 1.15;
• Improvement in soil quality, due to an increase in land cover of at least 10% and an increase in carbon inputs supplied to the soil of approximately 0.4 t C/ha average per year;
• Enhancement/preservation of the landscape, as the proposed innovations will improve the aesthetics of the landscape and increase the tourist attractiveness of the area.