Sustainable use of water and soil in the Three Lakes Region (Bernese Seeland)

HUB BERN | Project LANAT-2

Our goal:

Promotion of sustainable, competitive vegetable production in the Bernese Seeland.

A soil probe to measure precipitation, soil moisture at 10 to 60 cm depth, as well as the soil temperature. Photo: Andrea Marti

In a nutshell:

The Bernese Seeland is considered Switzerland’s vegetable belt. The region faces significant economic and ecological challenges, as the agricultural sector must produce goods with fewer pesticides going forward while continuing to meet market demands. In addition, it must improve soil fertility, biodiversity, and water use. In this project, existing resource-conserving approaches were further developed, and future-oriented technologies were tested in areas with drained organic soils (“peat soils”). The project comprised four modules:

Geodata-referenced regional production planning: A digital tool was developed that supports crop-rotation planning using GIS data and information about land parcels. It enables cross-farm production planning and helps to optimize plant health while reducing pesticide use. The tool is available to interested farms in the project area.

Forecasting systems for reduction of pesticide use: A local warning and forecasting system featuring weather data for specific crops was developed and tested.

Further development of cultivation techniques for resource-conserving tillage, fertilization, and plant protection: Working with farmers, the project team investigated how different tillage systems influence the development and quality of vegetable crops and optimized use of recycled fertilizers. They also examined the impact of green manuring and soil cover systems on the development of selected pests. In addition, soil-conserving cropping systems were tested, as well as new approaches to promotion of plant health (robotized weed control, use of companion plants). 

Targeted, needs-based irrigation: Expansion of a network of soil probes enabled generation of the data needed to adapt an existing irrigation app to Swiss conditions. Water optimization potential was estimated for different soils and crops in the Seeland region. The resulting data provide a basis for large-scale modeling of irrigation needs in Switzerland. The app enables the planning of needs-based irrigation for any plot of land.

A researcher talks with a vegetable farmer participating in the project. Photo: HAFL

Determining the root depth of carrots. Photo: Andrea Marti

---

In collaboration with:

Office for Agriculture and Nature of the Canton of Bern (LANAT)

Status: Completed project