BARIToNE: Cover cropping for soil and crop resilience in a changing climate (Project code 25F)

Supervisors

Lead supervisor – Dr Kenneth Loades, James Hutton Institute

Additional supervisors – Dr Alison Karley, James Hutton Institute; Dr Hannah Cooper, University of Nottingham

Industry supervisor – Dr Debbie Sparkes, Diageo

Location

This project will be based at the James Hutton Institute, Invergowrie and the appointed student will register at University of Nottingham as the degree awarding institution.

The project

This four-year PhD studentship is fully funded by the BARIToNE Collaborative Training Partnership (from Sept. 2025) and offered in partnership between the James Hutton Institute, the University of Nottingham and Diageo.

The integrity of agriculture soils is increasingly threatened by climate stress: frequent extremes of hot/cold and wet/dry weather cycles affecting soil erosion, carbon release and nutrient losses, and therefore sustainability of barley production. Keeping a living plant canopy over the soil, and roots within the soil, is widely accepted as means of increasing resilience. A four-year funded PhD studentship in collaboration with Diageo starting in October 2025 aims to improve soil health and allelopathic benefits from cover cropping.

Cover crops offer an opportunity to improve soil health and function and could increase soil carbon more than other practices. Winter cover crops, defined as non-cash crops, typically established post-harvest and remaining in the field until spring, bring potential benefits (including nutrient capture and reduced soil erosion) whilst delivering nitrogen to the following barley crop. Establishing winter cover crops can be challenging due to the narrow window for post-harvest sowing. Strategies to overcome these issues need to be established to maximise the multiple benefits associated with cover crops, including allelopathic responses and nitrogen availability.

Poor establishment is a primary reason for cover crops failing to deliver maximal benefits. Additionally, the destruction technique could influence nitrogen availability. The cover crop species themselves also contribute differently to soil functions: nitrogen-fixing legumes have the potential to improve soil nutrient status for barley, taproot species increase drainage, fibrous root crops improve soil structure, allelopathic plants deter pests or weed species, all with potential to increase soil carbon, especially when grown in mixtures. Dis-entangling the importance of each, and optimising farm practices and timing of management practices, requires finessing to fully maximise the benefits of cover crops, whether from a crop, soil physical, chemical or allelopathic perspective.

The project provides excellent opportunities for training in multi-disciplinary skills and techniques spanning soil science, agroecology, crop physiology, experiment design, statistical analysis, and knowledge translation, all highly attractive to future employers. The project will suit candidates with an environmental, biological or agricultural science background interested in working with stakeholders to solve sustainability challenges facing the arable sector. We warmly welcome candidate applications from diverse backgrounds and cultures.

The studentship is offered jointly between the James Hutton Institute, University of Nottingham and Diageo, funded by the BARIToNE Collaborative Training Partnership. Diageo will offer the opportunity to gain valuable industrial experience during a hosted placement within a Technical Division of the company, as well as undertaking an industrially relevant qualification. Before applying, we recommend getting in touch with Kenneth Loades ([email protected]) or Alison Karley ([email protected]).

How to apply

Applications to the BARIToNE CTP programme are made via the form which can be found on our website: https://baritone.hutton.ac.uk/how-to-apply/