Research

The climate crisis poses challenges for Austrian agriculture. Quality wheat is mainly grown in dry regions of eastern Austria, where the yield is heavily dependent on the water supply. Maize has also suffered more from drought stress in recent years and increasingly needs to be irrigated. In addition, climate models are forecasting longer periods of drought for Austria, which will have a major impact on cultivation. One solution is new varieties with improved drought tolerance. Until now, farmers have had to rely on information from company brochures, as there is still no standardized assessment in variety value testing. The official protocols only record parameters such as leaf rolling and ear sterility, which are not suitable for assessing variety performance under drought stress. Currently, yield in regions with low precipitation remains the only orientation, but a precise indicator for drought stress tolerance is missing. In order to be able to make a meaningful assessment of drought resistance, suitable methods are required. The aim of the project is to test innovative methods, evaluate their suitability for variety value testing and thus establish sustainable variety testing. In this study, three dry locations in eastern Austria are selected. In addition, a “rain-out shelter” is used to specifically increase drought stress. Soil moisture monitoring using soil sensors will provide precise data on the extent of the drought. In addition, the soil quality and water retention capacity will be determined. These measures make it possible to assess both the degree of drought stress and the suitability of the sites. Modern phenotyping methods such as near-infrared spectrometers and drones with special cameras are used to record the influence of water shortage on the health and metabolic activity of the plants. Similarly, the proteome of the grains at various stages of development is also examined using high-resolution mass spectrometry. The quantification of important metabolic enzymes and heat indicators (e.g. heat-shock proteins) can provide information on how the individual varieties behave under drought stress. The data obtained makes it possible to find the most suitable methods. A final evaluation using a SWOT analysis will provide recommendations for later implementation in variety value testing in order to be able to carry out a meaningful evaluation in a cost-efficient manner. Modern methods for assessing drought resistance within variety value testing make an important contribution to climate change adaptation and sustainability in relation to the new Seed Regulation. In addition, Austrian agriculture will be made fit for the future, which will also improve food security and competitiveness.

The project contributes to the Mission Soil health implementation by creating five Living Labs across Europe that aim to implement novel solutions inspired by conservation and regenerative agriculture to mitigate the current threats to European Soils, in particular loss of organic matter, biodiversity and structure degradation. Based on a co-creation process, Living Labs will integrate relevant stakeholders around a number a lighthouse farms where novel solutions are implemented and monitored based on scientific data.

The aim of this project is to evaluate whether conservation agriculture can increase soil health compared to conventional agriculture while maintaining the same yield level and stability, or whether there are trade-offs between these effect sizes. A field experiment established at UFT Tulln in 2015 is used for this purpose. The following two systems are compared: (i) a system with local conventional crop rotation (sugar beet-winter wheat-maize-winter wheat) and turning tillage and (ii) a conservation system with an eight-crop rotation (sugar beet-winter wheat-maize-soybean-winter wheat-sunflower-winter legume-winter wheat), reduced tillage and extended intercropping. The trial will be in its ninth harvest year in 2023; system effects can therefore be expected in the meantime. The following soil health parameters will be evaluated at two soil depths: (i) total soil carbon and nitrogen pools, (ii) microbial biomass, (iii) available organic carbon and nitrogen, (iv) nitrogen mineralization potential, (v) potential enzyme activity and (vi) aggregate stability. In addition, the two systems are evaluated with regard to their humus balance and nitrogen use efficiency. Furthermore, yield data for all crops over the entire trial period can be used; this allows a pairwise comparison of the yields of sugar beet, winter wheat and maize, which are grown in both systems after the same previous crops.