Traditional vegetable farming often relies on high fertilizer use, frequent tillage, and pesticides—practices that support high yields but gradually degrade soil health. Over time, this leads to nutrient depletion, reduced soil biodiversity, and long-term sustainability challenges. But here at AU FOOD, we’re taking a different approach. MSc student Helena Bruhn Hansen, as part of the Interreg Closecycle project, is investigating a game-changing farming strategy that could protect soil health while ensuring strong harvests.

Her research dives into a pot trial experiment, where she tests organic bioresidues—some newly developed—as soil amendments, pairing them with fast-releasing nitrogen fertilizers. The goal is to enhance soil microbial activity, improve plant traits, and optimize nutrient availability—a crucial balance for achieving both healthy soil and productive crops.

One of the key questions Helena’s study seeks to answer is: Can we maintain high vegetable yields while improving soil health? By exploring nitrogen compensation strategies, she examines how these approaches influence nitrogen use efficiency and plant nutrient uptake, as well as how different bioresidue combinations affect plant growth and soil microbiology.

This research, conducted with industry leaders ComFerm ApS, Enorm Biofactory A/S, Nature Energy Videbæk, and Stiesdal SkyClean, is more than just an academic study—it has real-world applications that could shape future farming methods. Soon, Helena’s findings will contribute to a long-term field experiment at AU Auning, where various bioresidues such as anaerobic digestate, biochar, compost, and insect frass will be tested under real farming conditions to document and demonstrate their environmental and agronomic benefits.

👀 Curious to see it all firsthand? Step into our greenhouse and watch Helena break it down in the video below! 🎥👇

Click to watch right here: https://youtu.be/cwCGks5pjm8