Cover crops are typically sown post-harvest of commercial crops, prior to winter, which means that as sowing date is delayed, so will biomass production potential. The wide range of benefits associated with cover crops relies on them to produce sufficient biomass. Therefore, it must be identified how late certain species of cover crops can be sown. In the climatic conditions of Northern Ireland, not only has no research been conducted on how cover crops perform at various sowing dates but also their effect on the subsequent commercial crop yield has not been investigated. Addressing these issue will in turn help provide recommendations to maximise and encourage later sowing of cover crops. Consequently, five species of cover crops were chosen, from a range of families, then sown on 14 August, 7 September and 27 September. This is to mimic when land becomes fallow post-harvest of typical crops/rotations to this region. It was found that tillage radish (Raphanus sativus L.), when sown on the earliest date, could accumulate a maximum of 261 kg/ha of nitrogen (N), whereas, when sown on the last date, phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia L.) significantly outperformed all other species and assimilated 70 kg/ha of N. The cover crops were then incorporated into the soil and over-sown with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). However, the spring barley yield was unaffected by any treatments. This trial shows that the non-leguminous species chosen are highly effective in assimilating nutrients when sown mid-August until early-September.

Cover crops are becoming widely integrated into many farms as tools for improving sustainability. However, the decisions by growers for planting follow several objectives/criteria, many of which overlap. This review orders these sowing rationales into a practical framework for land management guidance. Prioritised by cover crop performance objectives, the optimal species and their environmental requirements are discussed. A key consideration of this review is that cover crops are used as part of a rotation strategy. Here, farmers’ primary objectives are to maintain or enhance biomass not of the cover plants themselves but for the following commercial crop. For example, a large cover crop biomass may be beneficial for reducing field-nutrient losses but are counterproductive if nutrient immobilisation or offtake then results in subsequent nutrition stresses and yield declines. Furthermore, species selection and management practices must be integrated if these negative impacts are to be mitigated. This review has found a strong research focus on cover crop nitrogen dynamics but limited research on nutrient recycling more broadly. Moreover, there is growing evidence that regionality plays a critical role in cover crop and land management partnering due to variations in edaphic and climatic influences, but there is a shortfall in research to inform strategies for many important agricultural centres such as Northern Ireland.

The aim of this study is to identify species of cover crops that cause an increase in biomass and total nutrient accumulation in response to manure/slurry. This could improve nutrient efficiency and intensify the benefits from over-winter cover crops in arable rotations and improve following commercial crop yields. In a pot experiment, sixteen cover crops were grown for 100 days in response to slurry. Growth and nutrient (N, P, K, Mg and S) accumulation were measured, and then residue was reincorporated into the soil with spring barley (Hodeum vulgare L.) sown and harvested for yield. In response to slurry, tillage radish (Raphanus sativus L.) increased N accumulation by 101% due to a significant increase in biomass and % N (p < 0.05) over its relative control plots. Significant interactions between species and the application of slurry were found in cover crop biomass, cover crop and spring barley nutrient uptake, as well as cover crop carbon accumulation, particularly in the brassica species used. Slurry integrated with cover crops both reduced the cover crop C:N ratio and enhanced nutrient cycling compared to the control when soil mineral nitrogen (SMN) and spring barley crop N offtake were pooled. However, this was not observed in the legumes. This study shows that slurry integration with cover crops is a promising sustainable farming practice to sequester N and other macro-nutrients whilst providing a range of synergistic benefits to spring barley production when compared to unplanted/fallow land rotations. However, this advantage is subject to use of responsive cover crop species identified in this study.

Within the European Union (EU), new plant varieties to be included in the Common catalog of a member state have to be registered on the national list after plant variety testing processes to establish whether the candidate variety is distinguishable, uniform, and stable (DUS) and meets the cultivation or use value requirement (VCU). Technical development, climate change, and changing consumer needs, including the detection of GMOs, necessitate the innovation of plant variety testing methods. In our study, we assessed new characters, testing methods, and inclusion of additional data for the potential to benefit the DUS and VCU protocols. To achieve our goal, we asked experts to fill in questionnaires for the DUS and VCU methods currently used for a selection of common crops, including potato, maize, lentil, oilseed rape, and perennial grass. Within the EU-funded “InnoVar” project, partners sent out questionnaires to 19 European Countries and to 3 countries outside Europe. Surveys were aimed at analyzing the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) of the current methods. With their help, it is possible to look for a new direction, opportunity, and strategy to incorporate, together with the innovative new techniques, into the development of the new methods. Our study demonstrated that the SWOT analysis could be used to achieve the set goals. Results obtained after evaluation of surveys confirmed that introduction of new characters such as cold tolerance, nitrogen and water efficiency, etc. has become necessary, as has the inclusion of new test methods (molecular markers, precision techniques, organic farming). The development of high-yielding, disease and/or pest-resistant plant varieties with good adaptability and the accurate evaluation of genotypes play a crucial role in ensuring that farmers can access high-performing plant varieties and contribute to sustainable food production.

The integration of cover crops within arable rotations is becoming increasingly popular due to their widely acknowledged benefits. Subsidisation of cover cropping is available to eligible farmers in the Republic of Ireland but not to Northern Ireland (NI) farmers. There has been little research focus on ROI and NI growers’ perceptions about the husbandry associated with cover crops and the benefits of growing them. Surveys to gauge farmer use and perception of cover crops were taken at two arable conferences, with 55 respondents in NI and 77 in ROI (132 respondents in total). Growers used cover crops mainly to improve and maintain soil structure in an overall bid to enhance soil health in ROI, whereas in NI it was predominantly for forage. The impact of subsidies provided by Ireland and its stipulated policy influences species choice, and farmers were more likely to plant cover crops after later harvested commercial crops, e.g. September. Compared to growers in NI, who were found predominantly to plant after crops harvested in August. In ROI, 63% of respondents receiving subsidies would continue to use cover crops if this monetary incentive ceased.

Within the European Union (EU), new plant varieties, to be included at the Common catalog of a member state, has to be registered at the national list, after plant variety testing processes to establish whether the candidate variety is distinguishable, uniform and stable (DUS) and meets the requirement of the cultivation or use value requirement (VCU). Technical development, climate change and changing consumer needs, including the detection of GMOs, necessitate the innovation of plant variety testing methods. Within the EU-funded "InnoVar" project, it has been sent out questionnaires to several countries, which were aimed at analyzing strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) of the current methods and with their help it is possible to have look for a new direction, opportunity and strategy, which can incorporate together with the innovation results into the development of the new methods. Our study confirmed that the SWOT analysis could be used to achieve the set goals; according to the answers to the questionnaires, it became necessary to introduce new characters (e.g. cold tolerance) and new test methods (molecular markers, precision techniques, organic farming) into the variety testing procedures. The development of high-yielding, disease and/or pest-resistant plant varieties with good adaptability and the accurate evaluation of genotypes play a crucial role in ensuring that farmers can access high-performing plant varieties and contribute to sustainable food production.