One Crop Health
Next generation crop protection
About
One Crop Health
The One Crop Health project integrates the latest advances in agri-tech, biotechnology, ecology, and data sciences to reduce reliance on pesticides in agroecosystems.
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One Crop Health for Next-Generation Crop Protection is a research consortium led by the University of Copenhagen, with partners at Aarhus University, Rothamsted Research, and the University of Sheffield. Funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and running from 2024 to 2029, the project aims to reduce pesticide use in cropping systems through innovative, sustainable approaches.
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Inspired by the One Health concept from human health, the project promotes a holistic One Crop Health framework that connects plant, soil, and agroecosystem health. By combining agroecological practices with cutting-edge technologies in data science, robotics, and ecology, the team will develop tools for early detection and prediction of pest, weed, and disease outbreaks.
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The goal is to minimize chemical interventions, enhance biodiversity, improve soil health, and build resilient cropping systems for a more sustainable agricultural future.
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Vision:
One Crop Health will transform crop and environmental protection in agri-food systems by harnessing the latest advances in agriculture, ecology, data science and modelling to develop systems-based approaches that integrate plant, soil, and agroecosystem health for sustainable, resilient crop production.
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Outcomes:
Successful outcomes will include reduced use of pesticides, maintenance of crop yield and quality, increased cropping system resilience to biotic threats and enhanced biodiversity and soil health.
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Hypotheses:
The following hypotheses will be addressed in the project:​
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1. Spatial and temporal variance in pest pressure between farms are explained by a combination of environmental (weather, landscape context, soil health, provision of regulating ecosystem services) and management variables (crop diversity, tillage, intensity of inputs).​
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2. Timely monitoring and surveillance of pest populations will reduce unnecessary pesticide inputs; potential reductions will be greatest on farms with low baseline populations.
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3. Data-driven integration of the environmental and management factors driving the interacting population dynamics of pest groups, and associated strategies for their prevention, detection, prediction and control will reveal optimal, site-specific One Crop Health solutions at the field, farm, region and country levels.
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Challenges and solutions:
The transition to sustainable crop protection systems presents a steep challenge. However, research is already progressing new knowledge and technologies that support innovative systems-based approaches in three areas:
1. Digital and engineering solutions: Technologies that embrace sensing and forecasting for identifying and predicting pest outbreaks and epidemics enabling timely and targeted interventions.
2. Agroecological solutions: Ecologically intensive crop production systems that regulate pest populations and limit their spread and impact, whilst increasing the resilience of crops and cropping systems.
3. Biology based solutions: Based on, for example, biological control, chemical ecology, and optimisation of the plant-soil microbiome.
Project partners
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One Crop Health: Next generation crop protection has received a six year funding (2024 - 2029) from the Novo Nordisk Foundation.
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