Plant protection in organic pome fruit cultivation – Pflanzenschutz in biokernobstanbau
The regulation of diseases and pests is the key to successful organic cultivation of pome fruit. Besides preventive measures such as the selection of a suitable site, vigorous varieties and rootstocks, as well as maintenance measures for crops, a great number of products are now available for direct plant protection. The technical sheet provides essential […]
Cost-effective biodiversity conservation with organic farming – spatial allocation is key
To make the best use of the limited funding for biodiversity conservation, resources should be used cost-effectively. Support to organic farming is a widely implemented strategy to enhance farmland biodiversity, yet its cost-effectiveness for biodiversity conservation remains largely unexplored. Using an ecological-economic model calibrated with data from southern Sweden, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of organic farming […]
Spillover effects of organic agriculture on pesticide use on nearby fields
Published in Science – The environmental impacts of organic agriculture are only partially understood and whether such practices have spillover effects on pests or pest control activity in nearby fields remains unknown. Using about 14,000 field observations per year from 2013 to 2019 in Kern County, California, we postulate that organic crop producers benefit from […]
The potential of biofumigation to control soil borne pests, pathogens and weeds
Soil-borne pests and pathogens can bring major constraints to crop production and their suppression often relies on synthetic chemicals that can be ineffective and/or expensive. A crop protection approach with broad efficacy and applicability for a wide range of crops and agronomic situations is needed. A group of UK growers who have been using and […]
Agroecological crop protection for sustainable agriculture
Crop losses from pests threaten global food security and safety. In the last six decades, pest control using chemical pesticides has resulted in important yield gains per unit area, worldwide. However, the long-term sustainability of chemical pest control has been increasingly thrown into doubt due to the negative impact on human health, biodiversity, and the […]
Vibrational communication and mating behavior of the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum (Westwood) (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae)
The greenhouse whitefly (GW), Trialeurodes vaporariorum is considered one of the most harmful insect pests in greenhouses worldwide. The GW mating behavior has been partially investigated and its vibrational communication is only in part known. A deeper knowledge of its intraspecific communication is required to evaluate the applicability of control methods based on techniques of […]
Predicting net returns of organic and conventional strawberry following soil disinfestation with steam or steam plus additives
The study is published in the journal “Agronomy”. Pre-plant methods for managing soil-borne pests and diseases are an important priority for many agricultural production systems. This study investigates whether the application of steam is an economically sustainable pre-plant soil disinfestation technique for organic and conventional strawberry (Fragaria ananassa) production in California’s Central Coast region. We […]
Effects of Field and Landscape Scale Habitat on Insect and Bird Damage to Sunflowers
Agriculture-dominated landscapes harbor significantly diminished biodiversity. Woody vegetation along field margins can provide farmers with ecosystem services and benefit biodiversity. However, when crops are damaged by the biodiversity harbored in such vegetation, farmers are reluctant to incorporate field margin habitat onto their land and may even actively remove such habitats. We investigated how damage by […]
Organic management promotes natural pest control through altered plant resistance to insects
The study is published on Nature Plants. Reduced insect pest populations found on long-term organic farms have mostly been attributed to increased biodiversity and abundance of beneficial predators, as well as to changes in plant nutrient content. However, the role of plant resistance has largely been ignored. Here, we determine whether host plant resistance mediates […]
