The recently Formas – funded research project StripES will explore how strip cropping can become applicable at farm-scale in Sweden. For this, a strip cropping trial with economically important crops in Sweden will be established at Alnarps egendom and managed by SITES Lönnstorp Research Station in 2025, and monitored over three years.
The goals of StripES are to test if strip cropping can strengthen ecosystem services such biological pest control, by promoting biodiversity and harnessing the niche complementarity of crop species. For this purpose, winter oilseed rape, winter wheat and spring faba bean will be grown in 12 m wide strips and larger sole crops as control. Weed and insect biodiversity will be monitored and biological pest control and crop yield measured over three years to quantify changes over time.
Beyond Lönnstorp, the aim is to validate the on-station experiment with on-farm farmer led trials, where farmers decide strip width and management.
Example image of an ongoing strip cropping trial and agricultural pests and natural enemies of pests. (Photo: Chloë Raderschall)