Direct drill for pre-breeding: Delivering research field trial capabilities for net-zero crop production in the UK

研究背景：实现净零农业已被英国政府确定为确保英国粮食生产可持续发展的关键。几十年来，现代可耕地作物种植的基石一直是使用犁来准备播种的土地。然而，许多英国农民现在正在过渡到“免耕”或“少耕”的管理方法，即播种进行到以前的作物覆盖或到常设覆盖作物再生农业方法。免耕/少耕做法大大减少了对土壤的破坏，带来的好处包括改善土壤结构、增加土壤有机质和减少土壤侵蚀。这反过来又会影响土壤（和植物）微生物组、土壤温室气体排放、作物生理和养分吸收等因素。此外，作物基因型（G）和环境（E）将进一步与农艺管理（M）实践相互作用。最终，是G x E x M之间的相互作用描述了作物性能。英国的许多设备投资都集中在英国可耕地作物（如小麦、大麦、燕麦）的遗传学和基因组学上。同样，对静态、无人机和远程植物成像平台的投资也彻底改变了从田间环境中捕获作物数据的方式。尽管越来越多的人在农田里实施免耕/少耕，但英国的作物研究绝大多数集中在传统的以犁为基础的耕作方法上。这部分是由于缺乏提供免耕/少耕研究地块所需的专用设备，导致在英国研究中作物管理的作用和影响评估方面存在重大差距。设备要求：在本提案中，我们申请资金用于专门的播种机，该播种机能够为各种规模的英国可耕地作物提供免耕/少耕研究田间地块-从1x 1 m小型地块到12 x2 m评估地块。所要求的演练旨在允许在所有苗床场景中进行地块钻探，以便使用我们现有的拖拉机网络对耕地作物研究地块进行评估，无论是在犁，少耕，免耕还是免耕再生设施系统中。设备背景、应用和优势：在我们的英国试验基地网络中，NIAB每年提供超过100，000块可耕地试验地块。所要求的设备将设在NIAB剑桥田间现场，位于英格兰东部可耕地作物研究和育种机构和公司集中的中心地带。将向学术界和工业界提供多功能的免耕/少耕播种机设备，促进公共和私营部门伙伴和合作者的高质量研究和开发。重要的是，这种访问将在NIAB广泛的试验设施和相关的作物和农学研究专业知识的背景下进行，并通过我们在这些领域的技术知识和支持服务得到支持。

Research context: Achieving Net-Zero farming has been identified by the UK government as critical to ensure sustainable UK food production. For decades, the cornerstone of modern arable crop farming has been use of the plough to prepare the ground for sowing. However, many UK farmers are now transitioning to 'no-tillage' or 'minimum tillage' management approaches, whereby sowing is undertaken either into previous crop stubbles or into standing cover crops under regenerative agricultural approaches. No/minimum tillage practices greatly reduce soil disruption, leading to benefits including improved soil structure, increased soil organic matter and reduced soil erosion. This in turn impacts factors such as soil (and plant) microbiome, soil greenhouse gas emissions, crop physiology and nutrient uptake. Additionally, crop genotype (G) and the environment (E) will further interact with agronomic management (M) practice. Ultimately, it is the interaction between G x E x M that describes crop performance. Much UK equipment investment has focused on the genetics and genomics of UK arable crops (e.g wheat, barley, oats). Similarly, investment in static, drone-based and remote plant imaging platforms have revolutionised crop data capture from field environments. Despite growing implementation of no/minimum tillage in farmers' fields, UK crop research has overwhelmingly focused on conventional plough-based farming practises. This is due in part to lack of access to the specialised equipment needed to deliver no/minimum tillage research plots, contributing to a critical gap in evaluation of the role and impact of crop management in UK research. Equipment request: In this proposal we request funds for a specialised seed drill capable of delivering no/minimum tillage research field plots for a wide range of UK arable crops at various scales - ranging from 1x1m mini plots, all the way to 12x2m evaluation plots. The requested drill is designed to allow drilling of plots into all seedbed scenarios, so that evaluation of arable crop research plots can be made whether it be in a plough, minimum-tillage, no-tillage or no-tillage regenerative-based establishment systems using our existing network of tractors. Equipment context, applications and benefits: Across our network of UK trial sites, NIAB delivers in excess of 100,000 arable trial plots per year. The equipment requested will be based at the NIAB-Cambridge field site, located at the heart of the East of England's concentration of arable crop research and breeding institutes and companies. The versatile no/minimum tillage seed drill equipment will be made accessible to academics and industry, catalysing high-quality research and development from both public and private sector partners and collaborators. Critically, this access will be made within the context of NIAB's extensive trials facilities and associated crop and agronomy research expertise, underpinned via our technical knowledge and support services across these sectors.