VASCO : Varieties and Cropping Systems for Agroecological production

VASCO is a multi-disciplinary team, including systems agronomy, plant ecophysiology, plant pathology, soil science and ecology. Our research combines experimentation (phytotron, greenhouse, field) with conceptual and numerical modeling. We work on plant diversification of cropping systems at various spatial and temporal scales, to design and evaluate innovative strategies with few or no inputs (pesticides and synthetic fertilizers).

The overall objective of the VASCO team is to design and evaluate innovative and sustainable cropping systems in order to reduce agriculture's dependency on synthetic inputs, which require large quantities of fossil energy for their manufacture and can lead to greenhouse gas emissions (e.g. mineral nitrogen fertilizers).
The ultimate aim of our work is to propose cropping sequences (e.g. sequencing of service plants and cash crops, relay or catch crops, associated crops) or innovative cropping system prototypes that are used to assess the performance of different agronomic levers.

We are committed to developing and evaluating Integrated Crop Management (ICM) and, more broadly, Agroecological Crop Management (ACM) strategies, through experimentation and modeling. One of the ways in which the knowledge we produce can be deployed is through our contribution to the coordination of the national Ecophyto plan.

Our research activities mobilize experimental set-ups at different scales (phytotron, greenhouse, semi-controlled conditions, experimental plots and network of agricultural plots) and conceptual and numerical modeling approaches, using dynamic and statistical models.

On-going projects of the team

• 0PHYTO : Mise au point et évaluation multicritère de systèmes de culture (grande culture et polyculture-élevage) sans produits phytopharmaceutiques
• ALIAGE : s’Appuyer sur Les Innovations couplées d’AGriculteurs pour soutenir l'Émergence de systèmes agricoles sans glyphosate.
• COTAGENE : Le contrôle de l'Orobanche cumana du tournesol par des leviers agroécologiques et génétiques
• COTERRA : Repenser les COllectifs agricoles dans leurs TERRitoires pour plus d’Autonomie
• CROSYEN : Cropping System Experiment Network
• Fonte des semis : Amélioration des connaissances de l’environnement de la semence
• INSERER LES : INSERtion Reussie des LEgumineuses à graines dans les Systèmes alimentaires et de culture
• INTERCOMPLEX : Fédérer un collectif INTERdisciplinaire pour échanger des connaissances, des méthodes et des outils afin de mieux comprendre et gérer les COMPLEXes de maladies des cultures
• INTERCROPVALUES : Developing Intercropping for Agrifood value chains and ecosystem services delivery in Europe and Southern countries
• MOBIDIV : Mobilizing and Breeding Intra and inter-specific crop Diversity for a systemic change towards pesticide-free agriculture
• NPC : Naturellement PopCorn
• RICIN : Vers une meilleure compréhension des facteurs affectant la Réussite d‘Implantation de Cultures INtermédiaires 
• SOYSTAINABLE : Towards a local and sustainable production of soyfood resilient to climate change
• TAI-OC : Transition Agroécologique et Irrigation en Occitanie