ORC Bulletin No. 130 - Winter 2019 Ramial woodchip for health and fertility

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What is ramial woodchip? WOOdchip for Fertile (WOOFS) Ramial Chipped (RCW) is fresh un-composted The WOOdchip for Fertile Soils (WOOFS) project EIP woodchip made from smaller diameter material. Young Operational Group is a partnership of researchers, branches are nutritionally the richest part of a and farmers and foresters from the UK led by the Organic can contain as much as 75% of the minerals, amino acids, ‡•‡ƒ” Š‡–”‡Ǥ‡Šƒ˜‡•‡–—’ϐ‹‡Ž†–”‹ƒŽ•‘–Š”‡‡ proteins, and enzymes found in the whole tree. There is some farms researching the addition of RCW sourced from evidence to suggest that the application of RCW to cultivated on-farm woody resources as a soil improver. By •‘‹Ž•Šƒ•„‡‡ϐ‹–•ˆ‘”•‘‹ŽŠ‡ƒŽ–ŠǤŽ‘‰Ǧ–‡”•–—†›‹–Š‡ linking management of farm hedges and with showed positive results in terms of soil biological activity the improvement of soils for agricultural production and SOM compared with grass cover crops or resting the the project aims to increase the sustainability of farm soil with harvested alfalfa sod hay crops1. Research at Laval •›•–‡•Ǥ’‡ ‹ϐ‹ ‘„Œ‡ –‹˜‡•ƒ”‡–‘ǣ University2‹ƒƒ†ƒ ‘ϐ‹”‡†–Š‡•‡ϐ‹†‹‰•Ǥ ‘™‡˜‡”ǡˆ‡™ •–—†‹‡•ˆ‘ŽŽ‘™‡†—’‘–Š‡•‡ϐ‹†‹‰•‹—”‘’‡ƒƒ”ƒ„Ž‡ƒ† 1. Determine whether applying woodchip (composted horticultural systems. ƒ†”ƒ‹ƒŽȌ‹•„‡‡ϐ‹ ‹ƒŽ–‘•‘‹ŽŠ‡ƒŽ–Šƒ†•–”— –—”‡Ǥ The requirement for smaller diameter material makes hedges 2. †‡–‹ˆ›ƒ‡ˆϐ‹ ‹‡–‡–Š‘†‘Ž‘‰›–‘’”‘†— ‡ƒ†ƒ’’Ž› and short rotation coppice agroforestry systems ideal for woodchip on farm. RCW production. Offering the potential for a sustainable 3. Produce guidelines for farmers on optimum source of fertility and organic matter that farmers can grow application rates, time of application, stage in a themselves, whilst also providing an economic incentive for rotation, species of tree, size of chip etc. both the management of existing, as well as the establishment EIP-AGRI funds the of new, on-farm woody resources. WOOdchip for Fertile On-farm trials Soils Operational Group ‡’Ž‹ ƒ–‡†ϐ‹‡Ž†–”‹ƒŽ•™‡”‡‡•–ƒ„Ž‹•Š‡†‘–Š”‡‡ˆƒ”• in Southern England in winter 2017/18 (T1), trials were repeated in winter 2018/19 (T2) to give two trials on each Baseline soil and /woodchip samples were site. At Tolhurst Organics an additional RCW trial was collected at trial establishment, then in late summer 2018 established in winter 2016/17 (T0) as part of the EU- and 2019 soil parameters were measured, crop/ funded SustainFARM project. All three farms are livestock samples taken, and worms counted. Trial T0 was cropped free with no animal inputs, and fertility comes from fertility with potatoes in 2019 and crop yields and pest and disease building crops, compost and/or mineral nitrogen. incidence were measured. Soils Table 1. Farms participating in the trials and treatments used Š‡”‡•—Ž–•ˆ”‘–Š‡ϐ‹”•––™‘›‡ƒ”•Šƒ˜‡•Š‘™‘•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ– Farm Treatments (3 replicates) Application rate and differences between the RCW treatments, the compost (green timing waste or woodchip) and the control plots for most of the Tolhurst 1. RCW from mixed hedge T0: 70 m3/ha applied to soil parameters measured (P, K, Mg, SOM, pH and CO2 burst). Organics: 2. Composted woodchip 1st yr of 2 yr legume ley Some small differences between treatments in soil biological Organic 3. Control of nothing vegetable T1 & T2: 40 m3/ha activity were observed. For example, in 2019 total bacteria production applied to 1st yr of 2 yr ™ƒ••‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Š‹‰Š‡”‹–Š‡™‘‘† Š‹’’Ž‘–• ‘’ƒ”‡†–‘ legume ley the green waste at Down Farm and the compost at Tolhurst Wakelyns RCW from: T1: 40 m3/ha applied to ”‰ƒ‹ •Ǥ –™ƒ•ƒŽ•‘•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Š‹‰Š‡”‹–Š‡™‹ŽŽ‘™ Agroforestry: 1. Poplar Short Rotation 1st yr of 2 yr legume ley woodchip plots at Wakelyns when compared to the other Agroforestry Coppice (SRC) 3 alley cropping agroforestry T2: 80 m /ha applied to treatments, a pattern not seen in 2018. The total biomass with organic 2. Willow SRC agroforestry 2nd yr of 2 yr legume of bacteria provides an indicator of abundance of food for arable rotation 3. Hazel SRC agroforestry ley (rate doubled and predators, nutrient capacity and general diversity of the reapplied) 4. Mixed hedgerow bacterial population and the health of the soil, suggesting some 5. Control of nothing positive effects of the woodchip over the compost or control Down Farm: 1. RCW from mixed hedge T1 & T2: 150 m3/ha treatments. However, mycorrhizal root colonisation, fungi Conventional 2. Green waste compost applied before sowing arable 3. Control of nothing of spring crop (barley/ counts and fungi to bacteria ratios were also measured with no cropping oilseed rape) clear patterns seen between treatments at this stage.

6 www.organicresearchcentre.com No. 130 - Winter 2019 ORC Bulletin

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Figure 2: Average spring barley yields for the different Photo: Westaway Sally Spreading ramial woodchip onto the trial plots at Tolhurst treatments at Down Farm in 2018 and 2019. Mean +/- Organics, 2018. •–ƒ†ƒ”†‡””‘”ȋȗ‹†‹ ƒ–‡••‹‰‹ϔ‹ ƒ–”‡•—Ž–•Ȍ Worms Conclusions Worm diversity and abundance also gives a good indicator ‘•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–†‹ˆˆ‡”‡ ‡•™‡”‡‘„•‡”˜‡†„‡–™‡‡–”‡ƒ–‡–• of overall soil health. Both Tolhurst Organics and Wakelyns for most of the soil parameters measured, suggesting that saw an increase in total numbers of worms between 2018 applying woodchip green, and so avoiding the need to and 2019; however this was not seen at Down Farm and is compost, may be a viable alternative to other inputs. However, likely to be a result of the reduced cultivation associated with the breakdown of woodchip, colonization by and –Š‡Ž‘‰–‡”Ž‡›•ƒ––Š‡‘–Š‡”–™‘•‹–‡•ǡƒ†‘•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ– subsequent action on the soil is a long-term process3 and differences in the total number of worms were seen between ideally needs to be studied over a long period of time. Potato treatments. However some differences between the worm –‘–ƒŽ›‹‡Ž†™ƒ••‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Š‹‰Š‡”‹ ‘’‘•––”‡ƒ–‡†•‘‹ŽǢ ecotypes were observed and at Tolhurst Organics more Š‘™‡˜‡”ǡ–Š‹•†‹ˆˆ‡”‡ ‡™ƒ•‘–•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–ˆ‘”–Š‡ƒ”‡–ƒ„Ž‡ endogeic (soil living) worms were counted in the compost yield partially due to increased pest damage in the compost ’Ž‘–•ƒ†•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›‘”‡‡’‹‰‡‹ ȋ™‘”•–Šƒ–Ž‹˜‡‹ƒ† plots. There was no difference in the spring barley yields in feed on the leaf litter) in the RCW plots (p = 0.020). This was ʹͲͳͻǡ„—–‹ʹͲͳͺ–Š‡›‹‡Ž†™ƒ••‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Ž‘™‡”‹–Š‡ not seen at Down Farm or Wakelyns. control plot with no organic material added. This suggests that woodchip and compost may both act to increase the water Crop yield and disease incidence holding capacity of the soil and increase the crop resilience The soilborne plant disease Verticillium wilt results in to extreme weather events. The trials have one more year to substantial yield losses in many potato production areas. run and we will continue to monitor crop and soil parameters Symptom severity and disease incidence were assessed 100 to further investigate these results. In addition, next year the days and 120 days after planting (DAP) potatoes at Tolhurst ‰”‘—’™‹ŽŽ ƒ””›‘—–ƒ ‘•–Ȁ„‡‡ϐ‹–ƒƒŽ›•‹•‘ˆ–Š‡Ž‘‰‹•–‹ • Organics and used to calculate a disease intensity index. and economics of producing both RCW and compost on farm ‹•‡ƒ•‡‹ ‹†‡ ‡™ƒ••‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Š‹‰Š‡”‹–Š‡’Ž‘–•ƒ– versus buying in fertility and organic matter and an output will 100 DAP (p < 0.001), but not at 120 DAP (p = 0.61) (Figure 1) be a best practice/how to guide for farmers and growers. ‘‡‹‹–‹ƒŽϔ‹‰—”‡•ˆ”‘–Š‡ ƒ•‡•–—†›ƒ–‘ŽŠ—”•–”‰ƒ‹ • ϲϬ ϱϬ Ύ are outlined in the recent ORC publication Productive Hedges: ϱϬ ϰϬ https://zenodo.org/record/2641808#.XLWiPehKjIU ϰϬ ϯϬ ϯϬ Ύ ϮϬ ϮϬ Acknowledgements ϭϬ ϭϬ SustainFARM is funded in the UK by Defra as part of the Ϭ Ϭ ϭϬϬW ϭϮϬW European FACCE SURPLUS ERA-NET DĂƌŬĞƚĂďůĞzŝĞůĚ dŽƚĂůzŝĞůĚ (https://ec.europa.eu/eip/agriculture/en). ;ĂͿ ŽŵƉŽƐƚ Zt ;ďͿ ŽŵƉŽƐƚ Zt  Many thanks to Martin Wolfe, Robert Benford and Iain Figure 1 (a): Potato Disease Intensity Index (%) at 100 and 120 Tolhurst for participation and enthusiasm with these trials DAP. (b) Total and marketable potato yields for Compost and RCW and to ORC interns Anais Rousseau, Ellie Brown, Heidi –”‡ƒ–‡–•Ǥ‡ƒήȀǦ•–ƒ†ƒ”†‡””‘”ȗ‹†‹ ƒ–‡••‹‰‹ϔ‹ ƒ–”‡•—Ž–•Ǥ Hoffman and Andres Cruz for help with data collection. Spring barley yields at Down Farm References Š‡”‡™‡”‡‘•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–†‹ˆˆ‡”‡ ‡•‹›‹‡Ž†••‡‡‹ʹͲͳͻǡ 1. Free GR (1971) Soil Management for Vegetable Production on Honeoye Soil however in 2018 the spring barley yields were a lot lower with Special Reference to the Use of . Plant Sciences Agronomy ”‡ϐŽ‡ –‹‰–Š‡†”‘—‰Š– ‘†‹–‹‘•–Šƒ–›‡ƒ”ƒ†–Š‡ ‘–”‘Ž 2. Caron C, Lemieux G, Lachance L (1998) Regenerating soils with ramial chipped wood. Publication no. 83, Dept of Wood and Science, ’Ž‘–•Šƒ†ƒ•‹‰‹ϐ‹ ƒ–Ž›Ž‘™‡”ƒ˜‡”ƒ‰‡›‹‡Ž†‘ˆͷǤ͹–ȀŠƒ 3. Lemieux G, Germain D (2000) Ramial Chipped Wood: the Clue to a than either the woodchip (6.3 t/ha) or compost (6.4 t/ha) Sustainable Fertile Soil. Publication 128. Département des Sciences du treatments (p <0.001) Bois et de la Forêt, Québec, Canada

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