Establishing and maintaining a wildflower strip
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Establishing wildflower areas near crops will provide habitat for beneficial invertebrates to increase crop yields. Pollinators may also be encouraged to visit crop flowers. Increased numbers of natural enemies can reduce crop pests.
• The wildflower seed mix should contain at least 10 native perennial wildflower species with a diverse range of floral structures, colours, and flowering times to support a diverse range of insects over a long time.
• Prepare the soil in a sunny, dry, and low fertility area. Clear and remove the vegetation during a dry period in July to keep the soil fertility low. Allow remaining seeds to germinate then mechanically weed them to create a stale seedbed.
• Broadcast sow the seed at 1 g/m² on loose soil during a dry period prior to rain in late Aug-Oct then roll the area to fix the seed.
• To ensure a diverse wildflower area cut it to 8-10 cm during dry periods and remove the cuttings to lower soil fertility. Remove harmful weeds such as broad-leaved docks and thistles.
• Year 1: cut in late April to control grasses. Cut up to twice more if annual flowers, grasses, and weeds are stopping perennials from having space to germinate and grow.
• Year 2 and onwards: cut in late April and cut again in Aug/Sept; with each cut leave 15-30% standing to provide insects’ shelter. Consider cutting half the area in June to encourage flowering.
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Farmer Clusters for Realising Agrobiodiversity Management across Ecosystems (FRAMEwork)
Ongoing | 2020-2025
- Main funding source
- Horizon 2020 (EU Research and Innovation Programme)
- Geographical location
- United Kingdom