Costs and Benefits

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 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 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 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.

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

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.

"Vegetated strips are in the focus of many stakeholders of agroecosystems and are part of several agri-environmental schemes in Germany. Stakeholders have different expectations and demands on the functionality and services of vegetated strips. In our review, we focused on biodiversity and the ecosystem services pollination, conservation biocontrol, landscape aesthetics, buffer function, and biomass production and their associated functions. We assessed factors that are crucial to support service provision and reviewed trade-offs between the ecosystem (dis)services. We identified five characteristics that are important for the provision of the assessed ecosystem services: age of vegetated strips, flower cover, size or width of the strip, management, and type of adjacent habitat. We conclude that adjusting the target of subsidies with respect to the analyzed factors for biodiversity can help to promote the multifunctionality of vegetated strips in arable farming."

"Consumers’ preferences for products derived from genetic improvements and innovations in plant breeding are often conditioned by technophobia and negative public imaginaries. The current study addresses this issue by analyzing consumers’ monetary preferences for a win-win innovation (generating gains for both private actors and the community) in the viticulture sector, namely fungus resistant grapes (FRG). The use of these grapes reduces the quantity of chemical inputs applied to vineyards, simultaneously improving firms’ economic performance. This study aimed to assess whether consumers prefer wines originating from FRG varieties to conventional wines. In particular, through an experimental online survey involving 627 Italian regular wine drinkers, the study compares individuals’ willingness to pay (WTP) for conventional wines with the WTP for two FRG wines produced with two different techniques: horticultural hybridization and genome editing. The study also assesses the potential effect of polarized media coverage on preferences by testing, in a between-subjects experimental design, two diverging (positive/negative) information scenarios, and the core drivers of these preferences. The findings suggest that respondents express a premium price for horticultural FRG wines compared to conventional wines (+9.14%) and a strong discount for genome edited FRG wines (–21.13%). The results also reveal that negative information reduces consumers’ WTP for horticultural FRG wines, while positive information increases their WTP for genome edited FRG wines. Last, the study highlights that individuals concerned with food sustainability issues and knowledgeable about wine are more likely to accept both FRG typologies. Overall, the study confirms the crucial role of appropriate information for market acceptance of innovations based on plant genetics to foster the adoption of sustainable pest-reducing practices in wine production"