|
 |
 |
Benacazon - Field Demonstration |
Trials were installed at the site in 2002/2003 to demonstrate and monitor the effects of two soil management practices on soil and runoff losses. The two practices chosen were: • the conventional soil management for the surrounding area, which involves regular tillage, and • a chemically managed cover of rye grass ( Lolium multiflorum ), which was sown in spring 2003 and largely desiccated each spring, to avoid competition for water with the olive trees. A strip of the cover remains untreated to allow seed production for following years. |
||
 |
||
Views of the Conventional (left) and Alternative (right) plots at Benacazón in March 2005 |
||
|
||
View of the Alternative treatment plot after chemical control in April 2005 |
||
|
||
Each treatment has been applied to an area which measures 8m x 60m. The side boundaries of each treatment area are the natural ridges which have formed in the tree line and the up-slope boundaries have been formed using metal sheeting. At the down-slope end, a funnel is in place to transfer the material leaving the plot to a collection system where it can be quantified. |
||
 |
||
The collection tanks at Benacazón |
||
|
||
Sampling is carried out manually and takes place on the first available day after a single large rainfall event or after a weather front resulting in several rainfall events. The field conditions experienced at the site are recorded continuously using an automatic weather station. |
||
| Soil Moisture probes were installed in both the treatment plots in June 2004, to monitor treatment effect on soil moisture. The probes were installed at 3 depths (7, 15 and 30cm) and 3 locations within each plot. | ||
|
||
 |
© Syngenta 2005 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
 |
|