The countryside can be described as ‘rural area’ or the area where villages, fields, arable land, pastures and nature alternate. Today, the agricultural sector is still the main actor in the open space. However, to continue preserving the biodiversity that makes the countryside its own, a sustainable working method is extremely important. This biodiversity is extremely important for our environment, agriculture and the perception of the countryside.
Weeds are becoming an increasing and more difficult problem to tackle, both in biodiversity conservation and in their impact on the operation of a sustainable farm. Certainly the typical problem weeds such as tubercyperus, thorn apple, Japanese knotweed, St. Jacob's weed and giant hogweed often overgrow other native plants or are even poisonous and pose an immediate danger to humans and animals.
Despite the great influence they can have, there is still a lot of ignorance and often a lack of knowledge to distinguish between plants that are not a problem and those where control is highly necessary. The fact that the removal of certain plants also requires additional personal protection is also unknown.
The fight itself is not always obvious either. The efforts needed to further contain future problems are huge and require cooperation from everyone participating in rural areas. However, the way different stakeholders tackle the problem will be diverse (manual/machinery, with or without plant protection products). As conventional means seem to be failing, innovative control methods are encroaching.
The aim is therefore, by setting up a campaign aimed at 3 different target groups, increase knowledge and point out dangers to lead to actions on the ground.
First target group: private individuals
Private individuals are not always aware of the issues but often show great commitment in increasing biodiversity (e.g. flower strips, don't mow May, ...). Through increased awareness, even on a small scale, they will already be able to take very important steps in increasing or maintaining biodiversity and, by reducing the possibilities of weed spread, contribute to a sustainable agricultural model.
Second target group: green services, horticultural businesses and nature organisations
These are important actors who help shape our countryside. With knowledge of the matter, they too can make a substantial difference to our environment with attention to their own health and that of their fellow man. In addition, a lot of volunteers are active within nature organisations where they like to contribute in maintaining and upgrading carefully selected areas. Alerting them to the impact of these problem weeds will encourage an even more targeted approach.
Third target group: farmers
Their activities in the fields are aimed at being and staying economically profitable. This is only possible by being mindful of good soil quality and minimising yield-reducing factors. One from this factors its (problem) weeds those not only the revenue influence but also can have an impact on livestock health. Furthermore, the government described conditions concerning certain problem weeds (e.g. reduction of premiums if thorn apple is present) and some buyers (e.g. for vegetables) impose requirements on the plot and the presence of certain problem weeds can lead to the cancellation of the harvest, with severe financial consequences. This will also reduce the number of crops that can be included in a crop rotation with consequences for biodiversity.
However, soil tillage and the diversity of plots on a farm significantly increases the likelihood of spread. Specifically for Maasland, thorn apple is a weed that urgently needs more attention. Since control/control should rather be done on a large scale here, follow-up validation plots will highlight the different control methods, both common and innovative. The specifically designed decision tree will help farmers, horticulturalists, nature associations, green services and the like to make a suitable choice of control.
