Low Impact Culture (LIC)

Technical articles

Field crops Field crops

BNI (BNI (Crops with Low Input Level (also called Low Input Crops) are crops that use very few inputs (plant protection products and fertilizers), thus helping to protect the environment and particularly water quality.

Among these crops are:

• forages (alfalfa, sainfoin, mixed forages, …)
• buckwheat, sunflower, ryes
• hemp
• energy biomass (silphium, miscanthus, TTCR/TCR…)

But also:

• All crops in organic farming are also included in this definition.
• Permanent grasslands or temporary grasslands, an ideal environment against all agricultural pollution.

The introduction of this type of crop into crop rotation offers a double advantage:

• Limiting the application of inputs on the farm, either directly related to the established BNI crop, or indirectly by reducing disease/pest pressure on all crops due to the lengthening of the rotation
• Securing or even improving the income of farms