Rosy apple aphid causes leaf crumple, hinders shoot development, and leads to deformed, small, unmarketable fruits. Honeydew production also causes the development of saprophytic fungi.

Correct agronomical management such as optimal nitrogen (N) fertilisation, irrigation, pruning, and control of the secondary host of the aphid can reduce the incidence of the pest.

Beneficial insects often lack enough food supply and nesting spots in orchards. Most of the measures to enhance biodiversity also require investment for implementation. Alternate mowing is a cheap, easy and fast implementable measure to raise food and nesting supply of natural antagonists. The workload decreases, and therefore it saves time and costs. Alternating mulching preserves the driving lanes and increases the diversity of other indifferent plant and animal species in the orchard.

A BioFruitNet practice abstract. Fertilization of organic fruit orchards strongly relies on authorized external commercial fertilizers leading to nutrient flows from conventional into organic farming systems. The use of alternative fertilizers including legume-based materials and non-contentious external commercial fertilizers, should be based on locally available resourced. An integrated approach is recommended.

A BioFruitNet practice abstract. Organic fruit orchards are dependent on commercial organic fertilizers derived from intensive conventional animal husbandry. These inputs are contentious and to be phased out. As a solution,  it is possible to develop new fertilization strategies based on farm internal resources (e.g., clover based), plant-based sources (e.g., grain legumes as living mulch in the tree row, cover crops).