USING green cover headlands for potato and root vegetable crop headlands is proving a positive attraction for pollinators and helping to conserve valuable soil resources.

Successful results from a 2016 pilot project of the Syngenta Operation Pollinator initiative, instigated and supported by ASDA growers, now aims to plant up over 100 ha of the specially selected Green Headland cover mix on more than 30 farms for the coming season.

Belinda Bailey, Syngenta's environmental manager, highlighted that potato and root vegetable headlands are typically left uncropped, to aid management and harvesting of the cropped field area. However, these bare soil areas are left dangerously exposed to soil erosion or damage by headland-turning of heavy machinery and can become a weed burden and have little or no ecological value.

The partnership with ASDA and IPL has worked with Kings to create a specific Green Headland seed mix designed to be easily established with the crop, protect the soil structure and provide a valuable feeding and habitat resource for invertebrates and other farmland biodiversity.

“Monitoring of the first year’s performance revealed the great value of the flowering mixture for a wealth of insect life, along with the positive feedback of growers on the benefits of the mixture,” she said. “We are now looking to extend its use on more farms, and to continue monitoring both the ecological enhancement and the physical improvements to soils that the Green Headland offers.”

Independent ecological assessment of invertebrate biodiversity, from one visit to each of the trial Green Headland areas, revealed more than 11,000 insects collected from 140 species, including 41 species of pollinators; 29 species of known predators beneficial to crops and at least 118 species of potential food sources for game and other farmland bird chick rearing.

Chris Brown, of ASDA's sustainable sourcing department, said the project demonstrated good stewardship of farmland by growers supplying the company’s stores and customers. “We invest a lot of time and effort in assuring the sustainability of food production globally. This initiative highlights the efforts of UK growers to work towards increasing biodiversity.

“These are first steps with the project, but it is incredibly exciting and positive to see the results of independent monitoring that validates the benefits of good practice and enhancing the farmland environment.”

One farmer taking part in the trial, Adrian Baker, manager for FB Parrish and Son, Lodge Farm, Chicksands, Beds, reported how easy it was to establish. “Soil protection is vitally important on our light greensands, with measures such as a CTF (controlled traffic farming) system on the fields.

“The cover crop was simply direct drilled on the headlands, got away and grew without us spending too much time. We also noted that the green cover was effective in reducing the risk of soil erosion during potato and onion crop irrigation.”