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| The main aims of the network are to ensure stable and acceptable yields of good quality for low-input, especially organic, cereal production in Europe. This will be achieved by developing ways to increase and make use of crop diversity (e.g. variety mixtures, crop populations or intercropping) and by establishing methods for selecting varieties, lines and populations with special emphasis on the influence of genotype-environment interactions. |
 | Finally, the network will also establish common appropriate methodology for variety testing. The network is organised into six Working Groups (WG), five focusing on specific research areas and one focusing on the practical application of the research results for variety testing: WG1 plant genetics and plant breeding, WG2 biostatistics, WG3 plant nutrition and soil microbiology, WG4 weed biology and plant competition, WG5 plant pathology and plant disease resistance biology and WG6 variety testing and certification. It is essential that scientists from many disciplines work together to investigate the complex interactions between the crop and its environment, in order to be able to exploit the natural regulatory mechanisms of different agricultural systems for stabilising and increasing yield and quality.
Duration and partners
In March 2004, SUSVAR was initiated. By November 2005, 26 European countries had signed the Memorandum of Understanding, the official document defining the network, and researchers from about 120 institutions had started co-operating. The network is acting until end of 2008.
Risø contribution
SUSVAR was initiated by Hanne Østergård, Risø DTU, Denmark, who is also Head of the Network. Risø participate especially in the international collaboration on topics from WG 1, 2, 4 and 5.
Read more about the project here. |