11 - Vegetable production

Programme manager:

Programme director:

Objective

The main aim is to retain the competitiveness of businesses in the Swiss vegetable sector by ensuring that they continue to produce competitive, high-quality products in the future. At the same time, the negative environmental impacts of PPPs, nutrient surpluses and greenhouse gas emissions should be minimised, and the natural resources water and soil should be protected and preserved for future generations. Cropping systems and crop protection strategies that are directly applicable to practise are expected to be developed. This will make a valuable contribution to self-sufficiency and a healthy diet.

• Specific objectives

  Open-field

  • Develop new plant protection methods and strategies to combat the main pests, focussing primarily on pathogens that cause quality losses (indication gaps), and reduce the environmental risks associated with pesticide use. Examples: preventive measures against soil-borne pests, biological control, low-loss application techniques and other digital tools; crop rotation, cultivation techniques, fertiliser strategies, encouragement of antagonists and monitoring of harmful organisms
  • Develop fertiliser strategies to reduce mineral fertilisers and nutrient losses while maintaining product quality. Examples: improve the utilisation of soil nutrients and other natural nutrient sources (atmospheric nitrogen fixing); use by-products from industry, new fertiliser standards, digital tools, etc.
  • Develop cultivation and irrigation strategies to reduce water consumption while maintaining product quality. Examples: cropping systems that use less water, monitoring of plant soil sensors trickle irrigation methods, digital decision-making tools, etc.
  • Develop measures to promote functional biodiversity that are consistent with production. Examples: flower strips to encourage beneficial organisms, etc.

  Under glass

  • Develop biological and technical methods for controlling pests which are currently controlled with PPPs (incl. Aculops lycopersici, Tetranychus urticae, Aleurodes), and strategies to control bugs (incl. Lygus, Halyomorpha).
  • Test and verify new technologies which improve the efficiency of greenhouse production systems and enhance product quality (e.g. electrophysiology, robotics, etc.)
  • Develop and evaluate energy-saving strategies and/or alternative solutions to decarbonising above-ground greenhouse production. Examples: district heating, IT climate control, thermodynamic dehumidifiers, etc.
  • Develop fertiliser strategies to reduce mineral fertilisers and nutrient losses. Examples: use of industrial by-products, new fertiliser standards.
    

Expected outcomes

• Reduction in the use of pesticides and associated risks in vegetable crops.
• Reduction in the use of mineral fertilisers and nutrient inputs into water bodies
• Reduction in the amount of water resources used to irrigate vegetable crops
• Energy savings and efficiency gains, mainly in greenhouses
• Reduction in CO₂ emissions from vegetable farms
• Improvement in the environmental and economic competitiveness of vegetable farms in Switzerland
• The level of self-sufficiency in Swiss-grown vegetables is maintained or increased.
  

Projects

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