Agriculture sciences

Heat, drought and heavy rainfall are posing increasingly significant challenges for viticulture in this country. In addition, climate change is promoting various fungal diseases. Agroforestry systems in viticulture could provide a remedy, as the ‘VitiForst’ project shows. In this project, researchers from the Universities of Hohenheim and Freiburg, together with partners from the field, are investigating how the combined cultivation of vines and trees affects the water balance, nitrogen supply and, ultimately, wine quality.

Innovative solutions that are used in agricultural practice have been promoted by the European Union for years through the European Innovation Partnership for Agricultural Productivity and Sustainability programme, or EIP-Agri for short. In what is now the third round of funding, Bingen University of Applied Sciences has succeeded with two projects and secured funding totalling 1.5 million euros.

As there is a shortage of labour in many places during the harvest, research teams are working on harvesting robots to support agricultural businesses. The Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB) in Potsdam is now testing a new type of 3D laser scanner system developed by researchers at Julius Maximilian University (JMU) in Würzburg. It is designed to accurately record the condition of plants and help determine the right time to harvest. The aim is to improve the sensor technology of robots.

Robots, sensors, drones and artificial intelligence (AI) already offer agriculture the opportunity to make work in the field and in the barn more efficient and sustainable. The use of these digital helpers is now being specifically supported in Lower Saxony as part of two major projects to drive forward the transformation of the agricultural and food industry in the state.

Regenerative agriculture is becoming increasingly important as it offers both ecological and economic benefits. This agricultural approach specifically promotes the build-up of humus in the soil, which binds carbon, improves soil quality, strengthens biodiversity and enables stable yields. In contrast to conventional agriculture, it regenerates natural ecosystems instead of merely utilising them.

Digitalisation in agriculture is progressing. Field robots and the like can not only make work easier and more efficient. Modern monitoring technologies such as radio chips and sensors can also ensure higher yields in animal husbandry. However, such innovations are cost-intensive and rarely affordable for small farms.