Agriculture is at a crossroads and solutions are needed to ensure that present and future systems can produce food in sufficient quantity and quality for the growing population. One big challenge is to deal with the resources that are getting scarce and are under strong regulations to limit their impact on the environment, such as nitrogen and water. Improving resource use efficiency (RUE) is therefore a relevant process for more sustainable agriculture. RUE can be defined and improved at different levels: from soil processes to field and to whole farm management. There are different processes and management aspects at various levels that influence RUE and collectively they are important for improving our agronomic practices and securing food production in a sustainable way.
In this course, we will thus approach RUE at three different levels: the soil and plant level, the field level and the farm level. We will focus on how to improve RUE at the different levels and explore how changes at one level influence RUE at the other levels. We will concentrate on nitrogen and water use efficiency as these resources are key drivers of agricultural productivity and their use needs to be improved to ensure sustainability. Ultimately, we challenge the students to propose strategies to improve RUE for an association of farms that encounter different challenges regarding resource use, climate change and farmers management.
Learning goals of the course
Poster carousel
Monday morning, after the general welcome and introduction, there will be a poster carousel during which participants present themselves, their research and interest in the course. The carousel will involve 6 sessions where approximately 5 posters will be presented. Posters will remain in the lecture room throughout the course. Prior to the course, participants will receive a poster format from the course office, which can be submitted back to the office in PDF for printing.
Keynote, Lectures, and Discussion
On Monday there will be a keynote speaker introducing the topic and challenging the participants to think outside the box regarding the topic. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings, 3 lectures by scientists providing a general theoretical view on how to study and improve RUE at the plant-soil, field or farm level. After each lecture, a discussion is held, convened by the participants who challenge the speaker. Participants receive a speaker’s paper prior to the course to provide as background information and to help formulate questions to challenge the speaker after their presentation.
Groupwork
On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoon, participants will work in groups of around 5 people and work on the challenge” How to redesign the farming system to improve RUE at the level of a farm association”. Each group will work with a farm association that has specific challenges that could be approached from the plant-soil, field or farm level. The activity is supervised by the lecturers and course organizers, and there will be ample time for discussion around the theoretical background, possible redesign interventions and the consequences for RUE.
Monday 13 May: Course start-up / Let’s talk about resource use efficiency | |
9:00 – 9:30 | Arrival and settling in |
9:30 - 10:00 | Welcome / Introduction to the course |
10:00 - 11:00 | Poster Carrousel |
11:00 - 11:15 | Break |
11:15 - 12:30 | Poster Carrousel continued |
12:30 - 13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 – 14:00 | Introduction to case studies (Stella Juventia and Gildas Assogba, Wageningen Univedrsity) |
14:15 – 15:15 | Discussion on groupwork themes |
15:15 - 15:30 | Break |
15:30 - 16:30 | Keynote: Let’s talk about resource use efficiency (Katrien Descheemaeker, Wageningen University) |
16:30 – 18:00 | Ice-Breaker Drinks |
18:00 – 19:00 | Dinner |
19:00 - | Introduction to case studies (Sjoerd Rombout) / Free evening / reading of papers / group discussion |
Tuesday 14 May: Improving RUE at the plant-soil level | |
7:30 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
9:00 – 9:30 | Lecture: Breeding for improved water use efficiency (Francisco Pinto, Wageningen University) |
9:30 – 10:00 | Discussion |
10:00 - 10:15 | Break |
10:15 - 10:45 | Lecture: The role of the microbial community on Nitrogen Use Efficiency (Gerlinde De Deyn, Wageningen University) |
10:45 - 11:15 | Discussion |
11:15 – 11:30 | Break |
11:30 – 12:00 | Lecture: XXX (Gerard van der Linden, Wageningen University) |
12:00 - 12:30 | Discussion |
12:30 –13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 - 17:00 | Groupwork |
17:00 – 18:00 | Free time / Drinks |
18:00 – 19:00 | Dinner |
19:00 - | Free evening / reading of papers / group discussion |
Wednesday 15 May: Improving RUE at the field level | |
7:30 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
9:00 – 9:30 | Lecture: Legumes and Nitrogen Use Efficiency (Katrien Descheemaeker, Wageningen University) |
9:30 – 10:00 | Discussion |
10:00 - 10:15 | Break |
10:15 - 10:45 | Lecture: Role of Cover Crops for nitrogen conservation and transfer to subsequent crops as revealed by 15N-labelling (Florian Wichern - Hochschule Rhein-Waal, Kleve, Germany) |
10:45 - 11:15 | Discussion |
11:15 – 11:30 | Break |
11:30 – 12:30 | Groupwork |
12:30 – 13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 - 14:30 | Lecture and discussion: Improving Nutrient Use Efficiency via Intercropping (Franca Bongers, Wageningen University) |
14:30 - 17:00 | Groupwork |
17:00 – 18:00 | Free time / Drinks |
18:00 – 19:00 | Dinner |
19:00 - | Free evening / reading of papers / group discussion |
Thursday 16 May: Improving RUE at the farm level | |
7:30 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
9:00 – 9:30 | Lecture: Farm Design, a means to enhance Resource Use Efficiency (Roos Adelhart Toorop, Wageningen University) |
9:30 – 10:00 | Discussion |
10:00 - 10:15 | Break |
10:15 - 10:45 | Lecture: Increasing Resource Use Efficiency through Farm Management: (Gerrie van de Ven, Wageningen University) |
10:45 - 11:15 | Discussion |
11:15 – 11:30 | Break |
11:30 – 12:00 | Lecture: From farm-level redesign to landscape-level changes (Chris Seijger, Wageningen University) |
12:00 - 12:30 | Discussion |
12:30 –13:30 | Lunch |
13:30 - 17:00 | Groupwork |
17:00 – 18:00 | Free time / Drinks |
18:00 – 19:00 | Dinner |
19:00 - | Free evening / reading of papers / group discussion |
Friday 17 May: Presentations Groupwork | |
7:30 – 8:30 | Breakfast |
9:00 – 10:00 | Presentations |
10:00 - 10:15 | Break |
10:15 - 11:15 | Presentations continued |
11:15 – 11:30 | Break |
11:30 – 12:30 | Final presentation(s) / Synthesis of the course and closure |
12:30 –13:30 | Lunch and farewell |
Target Group | PhD candidates or junior researchers |
Group Size | Min. 20 / Max. 30 participants |
Course duration | 5 days |
Language of instruction | English |
Number of credits | 1. 5 ECTS |
Prior knowledge | Participants should have a basic knowledge of soil or plant ecology and/or crop farming systems. |
Location | Hotel de Bosrand, Ede. |
EARLY-BIRD FEE 1 | REGULAR FEE 1 | |
PE&RC / WIMEK / WASS / EPS / VLAG / WIAS PhD candidates with an approved and EngD candidates TSP | € 350,- | € 400,- |
PE&RC Postdocs and staff | € 700,- | € 750,- |
All other academic participants | € 780,- | € 830,- |
Non academic participants | € 1130,- | € 1180,- |
1 The course fee includes accommodation and catering (breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffee/tea) but excludes beverages
2 The Early-Bird Fee applies to anyone who REGISTERS ON OR BEFORE 18 MARCH 2024
Note:
Note: If you would like to cancel your registration, ALWAYS inform us and do not assume that by NOT paying the participation fee, your registration is automatically cancelled, because it isn't (and do note that you will be kept to the cancellation conditions).
Claudius van de Vijver (PE&RC)
Email: claudius.vandevijver@wur.nl
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