The paper “The impact of crop establishment system on winter wheat performance as assessed by replicated trials and multiple on-farm case studies in Ireland’s Atlantic-influenced climate“, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, has been chosen as the latest Editorial Highlight and is freely available.

Across Ireland’s arable area, a large proportion of winter wheat and other combinable crops are still established using plough-based systems – a practice developed millennia ago. Ploughing involves inverting the soil to create a fine seedbed that supports crop germination and growth. In recent years, however, interest has grown in lower-disturbance, non-inversion systems such as minimum tillage and direct drilling. These approaches are attractive because they reduce fuel use and labour while offering potential sustainability and soil health benefits. Yet, although widely adopted in drier regions where moisture retention and erosion prevention are higher priorities, their performance in Ireland’s wetter, Atlantic-influenced climate remains less well understood.

Our recent study, published in The Journal of Agricultural Science, set out to answer two pressing questions: how well do these establishment systems perform under Irish conditions? And how useful is an on-farm research model, based on multiple detailed case studies, compared with a replicated controlled trial for assessing agronomic performance? To address these, we combined two complementary approaches: a replicated field trial, where management was kept consistent across treatments, and a set of 63 on-farm case studies monitoring ploughed, min-tilled, and direct-drilled crops.

The replicated trials showed clear differences in crop establishment. Direct-drilled fields often had fewer plants and slower early growth, particularly in wetter years, compared with ploughed or min-tilled fields. Surprisingly, however, these establishment differences only translated into small and inconsistent yield effects. In two out of three years, yields were not statistically different across systems.

On farms, the picture was more complex. Here, yields varied more noticeably between systems, with direct-drilled crops often producing lower grain yields. But a closer look revealed why: farmers using different systems also managed their crops differently. Direct-drill growers tended to sow earlier, use higher seed rates, and spend less on nitrogen and fungicides. These input differences – not just the establishment system itself – strongly influenced yields.

The contrast between trial and farm results highlights both the strengths and limitations of each approach. Replicated trials are powerful for isolating the true effects of establishment systems, but they may not fully capture the realities of commercial farming. On-farm studies reflect those realities but are often “confounded” by management differences, making it harder to disentangle the drivers of performance. This was the case in our study: input use was confounded with establishment system, meaning the true impact on grain yield could not be isolated on farms. Even so, the on-farm study revealed how non-inversion growers adapt their systems to Irish conditions – for example, by sowing earlier and at higher seed rates to offset establishment risks.

For growers, the take-home message is encouraging: in Ireland’s climate, direct drilling and minimum tillage can deliver yields broadly comparable to ploughing, provided establishment challenges are managed and inputs carefully considered. For researchers and policymakers, the study underscores the value of combining complementary research approaches and the critical role of well-designed replicated trials in teasing apart the contribution of management practices to system performance.

The Journal of Agricultural Science Editorial Highlights are selected by the Editor-in-Chief and are freely available. View the recent selections here.