Field Margin Strips (ເນເທີແລນ)

Create strips with flowering plants in the margins of arable fields.

In the Hoeksche Waard area (Netherlands), field margin strips between 2 and 20 meters wide have been sown in the margins of arable or vegetable crop fields with a mixture of native flowering plant species, with plant species targeted to encourage certain target insect abundances. A mixture of annual flowers are sown in spring (April or May), or perennial plant mixtures (flowers and grasses) sown also in spring, or prefernetially in late summer (September). Annual flower strips produce flowers mostly in summer, whereas perennial strips produce mostly flowers in the following spring and following years.

The purpose of flower strips is to support the natural pest control and pollination by native insect species for reduced disease and increased production. Many flying natural enemies of pests require pollen and/or nectar in the adult stage for survival and reproduction, needing food on a regular basis, so must be in short range from the crop fields, i.e. in the margin of or within the field. Pollinators also need food when the crop is not flowering in order to build up a local population.

For the implementation of field margin strips to be successful, knowledge of the plant species mixtures was requried to know what would grow well in this semi-humid, deep heavy soil, agricultural environment, as well as growing well together with the right characteristics to support the target insect groups. For example, most natural enemies have small mouth parts and can only feed on nectar from shallow flowers, thus require a specific seed mix (<2 cm deep, see Van Rijn & Wäckers, Journal of Applied Ecology 2016). Here, the species were selected for their ability to support natural enemies of aphids (such as hoverflies) or wild bees, especially bumblebees. The first group includes flowers with accessible nectar (< 2 cm deep) such as Apiaceae, buckwheat, cornflower, and Asteraceae with shallow florets. The second group includes red clover, lotus and other Fabaceae, as well as Asteraceae with deeper florets (such as sunflowers). Perennial mixtures are generally supplemented with annual flowers (cornflowers and poppies) that already produce flowers the first year, as well as (slow growing) grass species (Festuca) to make the strips more robust when incidentally used as tractor paths.

Additionally for implementation, knowledge on how to effectivly use the seed sowing machines, with special care required for preparing the seed bed in advance, to prevent segregation of bigger and smaller seed in the machine, and for sowing the seeds not to deep and the field margin strips should be maintained for a number of years to allow for a local build up of beneficial insect populations. Another considertation is the farming practise and the surrounding landscape as it should provide other resources needed by the insect population, such as hibernation habitat and bee nesting sites or additional (prey and flower providing) habitats for other generations of natural enemies.

The benefits are multiple. The reduced need to use insecticides, especially against aphids, increases the capacity for pollination and reduces the need to manage honeybees, although regular scouting of pest and natural enimies in the adjacent crop field is required to ensure benefits. The strip acts as a buffer to reduce the drift of fertilisers and pesticides into adjacent ditches and water courses. And, there is a social benefit with an increased appreciaiton of the arable landscape by citizens enjoying the mosaic of flowers and crops in the landscape.

The technology overall has been a great success, yet does have a small number of draw backs to be aware of and manage effectivly. Weeds usually occur in the year of sowing and there can be some dislike of the rough nature of the vegetation compared to crop fields. To help manage these challenges field margin strips are sometimes mown while still flowering, ideally mowing is done only once a year and at the end of the growing season (September).

The compilation of this SLM is a part of the European Interreg project FABulous Farmers which aims to reduce the reliance on external inputs by encouraging the use of methods and interventions that increase the farm’s Functional AgroBiodiversity (FAB). Visit www.fabulousfarmers.eu and www.nweurope.eu/Fabulous-Farmers for more information.

ສະຖານທີ່: Hoeksche Waard (Zuid-Holland), ເນເທີແລນ

ຈໍານວນ ພື້ນທີ່ ທີ່ໃຊ້ ເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ ທີ່ໄດ້ວິເຄາະ: ພື້ນທີ່ດຽວ

ການແຜ່ກະຈາຍຂອງເຕັກໂນໂລຢີ: ແຜ່ຂະຫຍາຍຢ່າງໄວວາໃນພື້ນທີ່ (150.0 km²)

ຢູ່ໃນເຂດປ່າສະຫງວນທີ່ບໍ?: ບໍ່ແມ່ນ

ວັນທີຂອງການປະຕິບັດ: 2005

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