Agroecology projects

ABC Project (Agroecology in Burgundy and the Centre region)

Agroecology is a science that aims to mobilize ecological processes in agricultural systems, to provide solutions to the economic, environmental and social challenges facing agriculture. 

In this context, the ABC project (Agroecology in Burgundy and the Centre region), part of the DEPHY EXPE network, aims to study the reduction of input and pesticide use through agroecological means. The experimental phase lasts 6 years and is carried out on 2 sites: the Bretenière Unit (21) and the P3R Unit (18), whose 90-hectare experimental facility is called ABY (Agroécologie en BerrY). The ABY platform is divided into different systems for comparison: a mosaic of two cropping systems, with and without tillage, and with and without grazing. The agroecological systems studied are grass and flower strips surrounding 28 trial plots on 90 ha, and 6 other plots located on the private sites of partner farmers. Various measurements are carried out, notably in plots grazed by sheep (SOBRIETE project), such as biomass measurements and entomological surveys.

Action under the Ecophyto plan steered by the ministries of agriculture, ecology, health and research, with technical and financial support from the French Office for Biodiversity.

GLYPHOVIN

The aim of the GLYPHOVIN project is to acquire references on cover crop destruction by sheep as an alternative to glyphosate and mechanical destruction. To this end, the performance of several cover crop destruction methods is being compared at P3R: sheep grazing at two different stocking rates, two mechanical destruction methods, and a combination of grazing and mechanical destruction. Zootechnical performance (including body condition score and health status) and agronomic performance (including establishment monitoring, fertilization and yield) are monitored. The experiment is being carried out in parallel on other experimental farms, some of which are studying the effectiveness of glyphosate in addition to what is being done at P3R.

This project was funded by the Centre-Val de Loire region.