Sustainable vegetables: there’s the “Horticulture” test station
In Ins, in the Bernese Seeland, opened a state-of-the-art federal and experimental facility dedicated to the fundamental issues of “ecological” agricultural production
The implementation of the new location strategy Agroscope takes another important step: in the Bernese Seeland, opens the experimental station “Horticulture”, dedicated to the fundamental issues of sustainable horticultural production.
Ins experimental station is an important element of Agroscope’s new location strategy. “It will bring research and practice closer together, as well as provide application-oriented solutions to today’s challenges in horticulture,” emphasizes Christian Hofer, chairman of the Agroscope Council.
The focus is on research questions involving global plant protection strategies, soil fertility, biodiversity and digitization.
A real concentration of expertise between Bern and Fribourg
Agroscope is setting up the experiment station together with partners from the industry and the cantons: the infrastructure, experimental plots and networks of companies are provided by the cantons of Bern and Fribourg, the industry – in particular the association of vegetable growers of the cantons of Bern and Fribourg (Gemüseproduzenten-Vereinigung der Kantone Bern und Freiburg, GVBF) and their partners.
Agroscope finances and directs the research. Three additional scientific staff will be hired by 2023.
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“The new experiment station will be a valuable addition to the research that Agroscope already carries out in the horticultural sector. It will be perfectly integrated into the national competence network for horticulture (Nationale Kompetenznetzwerk Gemüsebau, NKG, ed.). The results will certainly be of benefit to the entire Swiss horticultural sector,” says Willy Kessler, Head of the Competence Sector Plants and Vegetable Products at Agroscope.
The NKG is a national network that brings together the most diverse horizons: research, consulting, training and horticulture. A concentration of different competencies in the service of sustainable horticultural production.
Greater resource efficiency, less environmental impact
Agroscope’s research activities in the Bernese Seeland are geared to the needs of its partners. According to Nadja Umbricht Pieren, president of the GVBF association, “in horticulture in particular, the pressure of pests and diseases is very strong, but so is the demand for products. That’s why horticultural producers are particularly stressed.”
With its intensive horticultural production, the Bernese Seeland is well suited to host the experimental station.
So-called “on-farm” experiments on horticultural farms will take place under practical conditions for a specific period of time – for example, when pests increase or appear for the first time.
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In addition, on the experimental particles in the cantons of Bern and Fribourg researchers will carry out long-term experiments, even for several years.
Examples of this are studies on so-called soil-borne diseases, e.g. caused by harmful fungi or nematodes, or analyses on the preservation of soil fertility, e.g. through sustainable humus management.
“We hope that the experimental station will suggest new possible solutions to be put into practice effectively. We are convinced that valuable synergies will arise from the coordination of activities at Ins and that the results will lead us towards more sustainable horticultural production,” hopes Christoph Ammann, State Councillor and Director of Economic Affairs, Energy and Environment of the Canton of Bern.
Exceptional public and private partners
The working group of the project “Horticulture” is truly remarkable and deserves to be mentioned as well as very specialized:
Agroscope: Canton of Bern, represented by the Cantonal Office for Agriculture and Nature (Amt für Landwirtschaft und Natur, LANAT) and INFORAMA; Association of Horticultural Producers of the Cantons of Bern and Freiburg (Gemüseproduzenten-Vereinigung der Kantone Bern und Freiburg, GVBF)
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Other actors also contribute to the activities of the experimental station through their partners or are present on site to carry out research activities: Canton of Fribourg
INFORAMA Seeland’s Occhini leasehold company for plots and experimental activities; University of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences HAFL; Swiss Vegetable Growers Union USPV; Swiss Horticulture and Special Crops Central CSO.
