Rauwolf,G.

DESIGNER mustard seed varieties could limit and suppress soil pests and even some herbicide resistant grass weeds when used as a green manure in a normal crop rotation. That is according to European Agricultural Products, a company which has produced a variety of mustard seeds to tackle pests and weeds. Speaking at Lamma, technical director Jean Benoit Sarazin said the varieties were tools to reduce costs and agricultural inputs, and improve crop quality and yield. Compared to traditional mustard seed, designer varieties will ensure fumigation of the soil close to levels reached by chemical methods. “The fumigation is active while the crop is established through its highly developed root system and the soil is enhanced when the crop biomass is incorporated at flowering time,” he explained. “As a crop, they optimise soil structure and fertility. The roots alleviate compaction, perform as a nitrogen scavenger and reduce soil erosion.” He claimed once the crop was incorporated after eight weeks, it would decompose rapidly to increase soil organic matter and reduce nitrogen and nutrient loss. Peter Clare, of Environmental Crop Management, said the mustard varieties were essentially a soil treatment based on a short cycle of cropping. “The mustard can be sown in the spring or summer and early autumn, six to eight weeks ahead of cultivations and planting of the next crop,” he suggested. “It can also be broadcast in a standing crop of wheat where material released from its roots can kill resistant black-grass.” Costing about £50 per acre, the mustard seeds activity against pests and diseases in potatoes, include potato cyst nematodes and rhizoctonia, black-grass and fusarium in cereals and cyst nematodes in sugar beet and vegetables.

Rauwolf, G. (2016). Green = Benefit? Communicating health risks and with icon arrays: The influence of color. Diploma thesis, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Germany.

Publication year	2016
Document type:	Book
Publication status:	Published
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