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- Strategic Centre for Field Vegetables - Leafy Salads
Strategic Centre for Field Vegetables - Leafy Salads
Name:
Bruce Napier, NIAB / G's Fresh
Farm sectors:
Horticulture
About Strategic Centre for Field Vegetables - Leafy Salads
- G’s Growers hosted the first novel weeding equipment demonstration trials under the umbrella of ‘Strategic Centre for Leafy Salads’, in 2020
- The weeding demonstration trials were led by Bruce Napier of NIAB, with guidance and input from G’s Growers staff Emma Garfield & Rob Parker
- Trials were undertaken following a request from the British Leafy Salads Association (BLSA) technical committee, who wanted to find out the impact of a range of mechanical / physical, heat and electrical weeding equipment on weed pressure, in a commercial whole-head Iceberg lettuce crop
In 2020, at the request of the BLSA, AHDB Horticulture funded Strategic Centre work on leafy salads at G’s. Different weeding equipment trials were demonstrated showcasing the impact on weeds in a commercial crop of Iceberg lettuce. G’s staff, Emma Garfield and Rob Parker, who also are members of the BLSA technical committee advising the AHDB on priority areas, were instrumental in guiding the work and working with equipment manufactures to bring them on board. They also collaborated with Bruce Napier of NIAB who help deliver this work.
Equipment performance was compared with no weeding (control plots) and commercial standards (pre-post emergence herbicide treatments). In addition some treatments were combined to find out if there could be a cumulative impact of using different weed control treatments on weed pressure.