In 1967, at the instigation of Professor René Laloux (faculty of Gembloux) and Louis Detroux (CRAW), scientists from the two institutions joined forces to produce “The Cereals White Book”.
For a moderate and reasoned use of inputs...
From the beginning, the CWB team advocated a moderate and reasoned use of inputs while taking into account the diversity of cropping situations. Respect for the environment has always been one of the concerns of the researchers. Cultivation techniques and methods of using inputs have improved according to advances in varietal selection, plant nutrition, crop protection products and mechanisation, but also according to changes in legal, socio-economic and environmental constraints.
The basic collective (ULg-GxABT and CRAW) was joined by experimenters from other institutions (UCLouvain and the agricultural services of the provinces). This collective shares its work during the February and September editions and through a website.
Towards taking climate change into account
Over time, the scope of the CWB has widened considerably, starting from classic themes (varietal choice, nitrogen fertilisation, weed and lodging control, resistance to diseases and pests), integrating climate change and reducing inputs and considering other crops (durum wheat, wheat-pea association) or different production methods (conventional-organic).
