Crop protection

This user manual presents the work of researchers on companion cropping in oilseed fields who tested three different strategies: (1) the use of trap crops around and within the field, (2) intercropping oilseeds with a legume, and (3) sowing food crops or mulching. These strategies were used to measure the effects on insect pest control, natural enemy abundance and agronomic performance. Information on the introduction of this practice and socio-economic data are also provided.

This user manual presents the work of researchers who intercropping cereals with forage legumes, to measure the effects of increased plant diversity on aphid colonisation, aphid and natural enemy abundance, and crop performance. Information on the introduction of this practice and socio-economic data are also provided.

This user manual presents the work of researchers who studied the impact of organic mulching. They have tested this practice in potato fields to measure the impact on insect pests (aphids and Colorado beetle), functional biodiversity and agronomic performance. Information on the introduction of this practice and socio-economic data are also provided.

This user manual presents the work of researchers who have studied the impact of cultivar mixtures on the natural enemies of cereal aphids. The analysis aims to show whether cultivar mixtures can contribute to crop resilience against/resistance to aphids. Information on the introduction of this practice and socio-economic data are also provided.

This fact sheet presents the experimental work of researchers who studied the disease control in soil-based tomatoe production. The corky root rot and soil-borne fungal communities was investigated influenced by biofumigation with mustard. This treatment influences fungal communities both because of toxic substances released from the plant material and is also considered as a type of conservation biological control, as soil organisms are growing on the organic material added to the soil. Information on the context and progress of the experiment is provided.

This fact sheet presents the experimental work of researchers who studied the impact of cultivar mixtures on the natural enemies of cereal aphids. The analysis aims to show whether cultivar mixtures can contribute to crop resistance to aphids. Information on the context and progress of the experiment is provided.

This fact sheet presents the experimental work of researchers who studied three practices about companion cropping in oilseed rape fields: undersowing nurse plants, intercropping with legume and trap cropping. Increasing plant diversity offers a new way to help farmers managing pests in the field and it could also provide other ecosystem services. Information on the context and progress of the experiment is provided.

"This fact sheet present the experimental work of researchers who studied the impact of organic mulching in potato fields under diversified pedoclimatic contexts. In some country different organic mulches were tested on potato fields, and compared to a control treatment with no organic mulch. Information on the context and progress of the experiment is provided."

"This fact sheet present the experimental work of researchers who studied the impact of organic mulching in potato fields under diversified pedoclimatic contexts. In some country different organic mulches were tested on potato fields, and compared to a control treatment with no organic mulch. Information on the context and progress of the experiment is provided."

Differents farmers' practices favour different types of biodiversity on their fields and farms.

Sustainable crop production for tomorrow's food - EcoStack Teaser

The overall objective of EcoStack is to develop and support ecologically, economically and socially sustainable crop production through stacking and protection of functional biodiversity.

As part of the Ecostack project, Dr Helen Metcalfe is collecting yield-monitor data. The aim is to help assess whether the benefits of landscape features such as wildflower margins and hedgerows translate to visible improvements in crop yield.

How different cultivar mixtures influence each other and may reduce pest burdens.

The combination of wheat varieties in organic arable cropping systems in Catalonia; English with subtitles in Catalan

How cultivar mixtures can be used for sustainable crop production

Vegetated strips in permanent crops - an ecological and farmer's perspective; partly in Portuguese with English subtitles

Complexity of landscape enhances natural pest control and decreases insecticide use in olive groves

Enhancing ecosystem services in Oilseed rape; Serbian with English subtitle

Novel Biopesticides derived from Biological Control Agents

Use and benefits of intercropping and cultivar mixtures combined for enhanced pest regulation through field experiments

Study on reduction of aphids and virus transmission by organic mulch in potato cultivation through field experiments

Use and benefits of cultivar mixtures for crop protection

Agriculture plays an essential role in preserving biodiversity and its ecosystem services through the use of multiple crop protection practices

Five EcoStack measures for promoting biodiversity and reducing pests were summarized and evaluated economically. Some of the measures may be economically attractive, depending on the farm structure and support.

Six EcoStack measures for promoting biodiversity and reducing pests were summarized and evaluated economically. Some of the measures may be economically attractive, depending on the farm structure and support.

Six EcoStack measures for promoting biodiversity and reducing pests were summarized and evaluated economically. Some of the measures may be economically attractive, depending on the farm structure and support.

"The pollen beetle (Brassicogethes aeneus) is the most abundant pest of oilseed rape in spring and is potentially one of the most damaging. Adults feed on the pollen within closed flower buds and the damage leads to bud abscission, resulting in podless stalks and yield reduction. Several methods are currently used to monitor the pressure of this insect, such as counting the numbers of adults on the plants, quantifying the number of buds damaged by the insect before flowering or counting the number of podless stalks before harvest. We conducted experiments to evaluate the robustness of these sampling methods and compared their results. We also describe how pollen beetles damage the plants to understand the limitations of methods based on damage estimation.RESULTS: Methods based on adult abundance lack robustness. We observed that most of the damage to buds is caused by pollen beetles feeding on small buds (< 3 mm), and that this damage can be quantified later in the season, indicating that methods based on the count of podless stalks are robust. Different methods gave consistent results and quantification of the pressure on the primary raceme can be a good proxy for pressure on the whole plant.CONCLUSIONS: Standardised methods for assessment of pollen beetle pressure will enable comparison of pest management strategies between different studies and facilitate the development of alternative control strategies for this pest"

The objective of this  is to assess the acute toxicity of pesticides and other chemicals to adult worker honeybees exposed by oral administration. 

"One of the most important challenges for individual plants is coexistence with their neighbors. To compensate for their sessile lifestyle, plants developed complex and sophisticated chemical systems of communication among each other. Site-specific biotic and abiotic factors constantly alter the physiological activity of plants, which causes them to release various secondary metabolites in their environments. Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are the most common cues that reflect a plant’s current physiological status. In this sense, the identity of its immediate neighbors may have the greatest impact for a plant, as they share the same available resources. Plants constantly monitor and respond to these cues with great sensitivity and discrimination, resulting in specific changes in their growth pattern and adjusting their physiology, morphology, and phenotype accordingly. Those typical competition responses in receivers may increase their fitness as they can be elicited even before the competition takes place. Plant–plant interactions are dynamic and complex as they can include many different and important surrounding cues. A major challenge for all individual plants is detecting and actively responding only to “true” cues that point to real upcoming threat. Such selective responses to highly specific cues embedded in volatile bouquets are of great ecological importance in understanding plant–plant interactions. We have reviewed recent research on the role of VOCs in complex plant–plant interactions in plant-cross kingdom and highlighted their influence on organisms at higher trophic levels."

"The cabbage stem flea beetle (CSFB; Psylliodes chrysocephala) is an important pest of winter oilseed rape (OSR) crops in Europe. Damage is caused by adults feeding on young leaves and by larvae mining in the leaves and stems. The most common method to estimate the severity of CSFB larval infestation is by plant dissection, which is time consuming and labour intensive. Two alternative methods have been proposed: extraction of larvae from desiccating plants and counting the percentage of leaves with scars left by larvae on plant petioles. These methods are easy to implement and less time consuming than plant dissection but have not been properly validated.Results: OSR plants were sampled in five different experiments and the two alternative methods tested; assessment of the total number of scars per plant as a predictor of the number of larvae was also tested. The number of larvae remaining in plants following various periods of desiccation was checked via plant dissection. We found that the desiccation method is efficient, giving reliable results after 7 days (76% of the total larvae extracted) with good accuracy in estimating the number of larvae per plant (±0.38 larvae per plant). The total number of scars also gives a reliable estimation of the number of larvae (r = 0.76, accuracy of ±1.01 larvae per plant).Conclusion: OSR plant desiccation and the total number of scars per plant are reliable methods to estimate CSFB larval infestation and will facilitate monitoring of this cryptic pest stage"

Insect pest management in oilseed rape (OSR) is challenging for farmers due to the lack of effective insecticides, so conservation biocontrol—reliance on natural pest control and management methods to support populations of the natural enemies of crop pests—is part of the solution for a greener future. Sown wildflower field margins are known to benefit many natural enemies of crop pests. However, the most effective natural enemies of OSR pests are parasitoids, which specialise in attacking these pests, which in turn specialise on Brassica host plants (including OSR), but few field margin mixtures contain brassicas. We screened six different species in the field to find the plants with the best potential as ‘banker plants’ to support parasitoid populations whilst not exacerbating the pests. Forage rape was the best ‘all-rounder’; supporting good numbers of pollen beetle parasitoids and also supporting parasitoids of weevil and brassica pod midge pests. Careful consideration of the brassica component of field margin mixtures could extend functionality towards enhanced biocontrol of specialist pests.

"Volatile organic compounds are important mediators of mutualistic interactions between plants and their physical and biological surroundings. Volatiles rapidly indicate competition or potential threat before these can take place, and they regulate and coordinate adaptation responses in neighbouring plants, fine-tuning them to match the exact stress encountered. Ecological specificity and context-dependency of plant–plant communication mediated by volatiles represent important factors that determine plant performance in specific environments. In this review, we synthesise the recent progress made in understanding the role of plant volatiles as mediators of plant interactions at the individual and community levels, highlighting the complexity of the plant receiver response to diverse volatile cues and signals and addressing how specific responses shape plant growth and survival. Finally, we outline the knowledge gaps and provide directions for future research. The complex dialogue between the emitter and receiver based on either volatile cues or signals determines the outcome of information exchange, which shapes the communication pattern between individuals at the community level and determines their ecological implications at other trophic levels."