Organic farming and annual flower strips reduce parasite prevalence in honeybees and boost colony growth in agricultural landscapes
Published in Journal of Applied Ecology. 1. Despite the major role that insect pollinators play in crop production, agricultural intensification drives them into decline. Various conservation measures have been developed to mitigate the negative effects of agriculture on insect pollinators. 2. In a novel comparison of the efficacy of three conservation measures on honey bee […]
Preventive and indirect measures to regulate woolly apple aphid in organic orchards
The Woolly apple aphid (E. lanigerum) can cause severe damage, especially in organic cultivation; sucking activity causes bark growth, the so-called blood louse canker. Promoting natural antagonists in organic orchards is a key element in controlling E. lanigerum. Further, the tree growth should be balanced through proper (root) pruning. A combination of preventive measures and […]
Increasing crop diversification with flower strips to improve natural pest control and pollination (DiverIMPACTS Practice Abstract)
Conventional pest control based on the use of synthetic insecticides is very effective, however, this has important negative effects on the environment such as the loss of farmland biodiversity, especially in the group of invertebrates, including many beneficial organisms. Another key problem is the presence of insecticide residues in surface and groundwater or, potentially, in […]
Scale-dependent effectiveness of on-field vs. off-field agri-environmental measures for wild bees
The effectiveness of agri-environment schemes depends on scheme type, taxon and landscape. Here, we show how spatial scale, i.e. studied transect, field or farm level, and controlling for yield loss, can drastically change the evaluation of biodiversity benefits of on-field (organic farming) vs. off-field (flower strips) schemes. We selected ten agricultural landscapes in Central Germany, […]
FIBL: i fiori tra i cavoli fanno bene agli insetti benefici e controllano i parassiti
Per sostenere gli insetti benefici e controllare i parassiti, l’istituto FiBL ha sviluppato l’idea di integrare i fiori nella produzione di cavoli. Dieci anni di ricerca dimostrano che questa combinazione non è solo bella, ma ha un grande potenziale. Lo scienziato del FiBL Henryk Luka voleva fare qualcosa per promuovere gli insetti benefici. Ha sviluppato […]
