Extensive vegetable experimentation
Larger harvests and smaller needs of commercial fertiliser and pesticides. These are the hopes of the MASE research programme, in its large-scale cultivation experiments.
By using microorganisms to treat seed for sowing, the Microbial Activity for a Sound Environment (MASE) project has reduced requirements not only of chemical pesticides but also of fertilisers.Christopher Folkeson Welch, MASE programme director, explains: ‘The bacteria we use serve as a growth factor.´ Successful experimentsThe experiments carried out in greenhouses and small-scale field trials have been highly successful.‘We´ve now got permission for large-scale experiments. One involves cultivating peas on 400 hectares of land. That´s a big enough area to determine whether the product can be commercially viable in the future.´The research programme is also to embark on growing spinach, dill and parsley in the spring, for a similar study of how various soils and methods affect seed and harvests. The first sowing takes place in April. During the six to eight weeks from late June, the results emerge.CommercialisationChristopher Folkeson Welch relates: ‘We measure the harvest and carry out various other investigations. If the trials prove successful, the product is registered and commercialised.´Whether to proceed with the product is decided by the principals in the research programme, Findus and Lantmännen BioAgri.
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