Enabling the Sustainable Adoption of Crop Establishment Systems in Ireland: Grower Perceptions, Misperceptions, Potential Barriers, and Knowledge Gaps

Rising production costs have increased interest in lower-cost, non-inversion crop establishment systems in Ireland, yet uptake remains relatively limited. Growers’ perceptions of relative performance of innovations compared to current practice are key determinants of adoption. We surveyed 154 Irish arable growers (77 plough-based, 59 min-till, 18 direct drill) to assess perceived performance of min-till and direct drill across multiple parameters relative to ploughing to identify potential barriers to adoption. Respondents rated impacts on Likert scales; analyses summarized response distributions and between-system differences. For example: >30% of min-till growers believed min-till winter cereal yields exceed ploughing, compared with 0% of plough and <10% of direct drill growers. Growers generally favoured their own establishment system, consistent with adoption theory. Potential barriers to non-inversion adoption included perceived lower establishment reliability, crop performance concerns (especially spring crops), and anticipated increases in weed pressure, herbicide reliance, and herbicide resistance development risk. Several perceptions diverged from the Ireland-relevant literature, revealing both knowledge gaps (notably establishment stability and winter/spring crop performance of establishment systems) and misperceptions (including establishment system on soil structure). Targeted research to address knowledge gaps, combined with focused, grower-centred knowledge exchange, is required to support evidence-based evaluation and sustainable adoption of establishment systems in Ireland.