Best4Soil tools to improve soil health

Best4Soil is a European network of practitioners, for sharing knowledge-ready for practice, on prevention and control of soil borne diseases. A thematic network, created for the promotion and dissemination of existing knowledge, about the best practices for maintaining soil health, which include crop rotation, compost and vermicompost, green manures and cover crop, biofumigation, (bio)solarization, and anaerobic soil disinfestation. To this end, a series of freely accessible materials published in 22 European languages have been produced and are available on the website www.best4soil.eu. Among these materials are open access video tutorials, factsheets, pictures and blogs. Also, two online innovative Decision Support Tools based on two specific databases for plant parasitic nematodes and soilborne pathogens have been developed. These tools provide information on the host status and damage sensitivity of 70 crops for 32 nematode species and 138 soilborne pathogens. Based on this information, these tools make it easy to determine the optimal sequence to grow the different crops. The tools are currently available in 22 languages. Each nematode-crop and pathogen-crop combination will get a background page (WIKI) with additional information, including control measures. The working method for the nematode scheme and the pathogen scheme is the same, and it is based on the concept of Wageningen UR | Field crops – www.aaltjesschema.nl. For three years, more than 250 information and training activities dealing with the promoted practices, as well as with the correct use of the Decision Support tools, have been carried out in 20 European countries, with the participation of advisors, growers, researchers, educators, and students, interested on soil health and plant protection.