Farm-based organic wheat variety trials network (LiveWheat)

The Organic Research Centre (ORC) runs a participatory ‘collective experiment’ that uses field-scale variety trials on commercial organic farms. This has generated results that could potentially complement the RL. This work will develop the network of farms and researchers further. It will involve 10–15 organic farms* and generate datasets that describe the field performance of winter wheat varieties. The work will include a special emphasis on weed abundance and community composition, diseases symptoms, and key yield and quality components. In cooperation with AHDB (in-kind support), datasets will be analysed and compared with external data sources, including climatic and environmental data. Use of standardised protocols for the on-farm trials, including the use of carefully selected control varieties, will allow for direct comparison with RL trial data. *The on-farm trials could also include conventional farms.