Editorial

Editoria

Clusters for the regional evaluation and analysis of pesticide use intensity (CEPI) in arable crops

Die Analysen und regionalen Auswertungen der Intensität der Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln im Ackerbau im „Netz Vergleichsbetriebe Pflanzenschutz“ erfolgten bisher in Deutschland für die Großregionen Norden, Osten, Süden und Westen. Die Grundlage dafür bildeten die Boden-Klima-Räume. Allerdings ließen sich in den Großregionen die regionalen Spezifika oft nur unzureichend erklären. Deswegen wurde ein Vorschlag für eine neue Gebietsgliederung zur Berechnung regionaler Behandlungsindizes auf Grundlage der bestehenden Boden-Klima-Räume erarbeitet. Die Neugruppierung erfolgte anhand der geoklimatischen Hauptfaktoren für die Intensität der Anwendung von Pflanzenschutzmitteln. Mit einer Clusteranalyse wurden diese Faktoren aufgrund ihrer Ähnlichkeit gruppiert. Es entstanden acht Cluster, die hinsichtlich einer sinnvollen Anzahl von Erhebungsbetrieben pro Cluster für die Auswertung zu sechs Clustern für die regionale Erhebung und Analyse der Pflanzenschutzintensität (CEPI) im Ackerbau zusammengefasst wurden. Im Vergleich zu den Großregionen wird mit den CEPI eine bessere Aussagekraft zu regionalen Unterschieden der Behandlungsintensität erreicht. Regionale sowie jahresbedingte Unterschiede treten stärker hervor und ermöglichen somit eine valide wissenschaftliche Interpretation der Erhebungsergebnisse.To date, the analyses and regional evaluation of pesticide use intensity in arable crops in the Reference Farms Network were conducted based on the division of Germany into the large geographic regions, North, East, South and West. The soil-climate-areas formed the initial basis. The large geographic regions often explained only unsatisfactorily the regional specificities in the evaluation results. Hence, a new proposal was developed for a new regional spatial consolidation based on the existing soil-climate-areas. The geo-climatic key factors for pesticide use intensity served as attributes for the new consolidation of the soil-climate-areas. The factors were clustered based on their similarity in a cluster analysis. As a result of the cluster analysis eight clusters emerged and were merged to six clusters for regional evaluation and analysis of pesticide use intensity in arable crops (CEPI) after distributing the number of Reference Farms to the clusters and in order to enable a sound evaluation. The CEPI explain better the regional differences of the treatment index compared to the large geographic regions. Regional and annual differences are revealed more distinctively and enable a better scientific interpretation of the results

Preventive measures of crop protection in arable crops – a synthesis with a focus on arthropod conservation

Nutzarthropoden und deren Förderung sind Teil des Konzeptes des integrierten Pflanzenschutzes. Sie sind von einer Vielzahl pflanzenbaulicher Verfahren betroffen, auch von denen, die eine vorbeugende Wirkung gegenüber Schadorganismen haben. Die Möglichkeiten der Förderung von Arthropoden in Fruchtfolgen, durch Zwischen­früchte und Untersaaten, Bodenbearbeitungsverfahren, Stickstoffdüngung, Aussaatzeitpunkte sowie Aussaatdichten in den Hauptkulturen des Ackerbaus (Getreide, Winterraps und Mais), wurden anhand einer Literaturrecherche untersucht. Das Vorhandensein von struktureller Diversität auf der Bodenoberfläche sowie eine kleinräumige Verteilung der Anbauflächen und die Störungsintensität durch die Bodenbearbeitung sind wichtige Elemente für die Förderung von Nutzarthropoden. Je höher die Strukturvielfalt auf dem Feld durch Ernterückstände oder Mulch, desto mehr Lebensräume entstehen. Eine kleinräumige Verteilung der Fruchtfolge in der Landschaft ermöglicht es Arthropoden bei Störungen auf benachbarte Flächen auszuweichen. Eine wich­tige Ergänzung bilden nützlingsfördernde Maßnahmen. Damit Arthropodengesellschaften in der Agrarlandschaft überleben und die Ökosystemleistung von Nutzarthropoden auch abgerufen werden können, müssen die Bedingungen auf dem Feld entsprechend angepasst werden.Beneficial arthropods and their promotion are part of the concept of integrated pest management (IPM). Numerous agricultural practices effect beneficial arthropods, also those which are applied as preventive plant protection measures. In a literature review we searched for effects of measures, such as crop rotation, cover crops and under sowing, soil cultivation, Nitrogen fertilization, adapted sowing dates and crop densities on the promotion of arthropods or their conservation. Structural diversity as well as the intensity of disturbance by soil cultivation are important elements for the enhancement of beneficial arthropods. Increased structural diversity through management provide hiding places and habitats for arthropods. A small-scale diversified crop rotation in the landscape allows arthropods to migrate to adjacent fields in case of disturbance by cultural measures. In-field measures for biodiversity offer food and hiding places. The conditions in the field need to be adapted to ensure that arthropods can survive in the agricultural landscapes

Assessing pollen beetle dynamics in diversified agricultural landscapes with reduced pesticide management strategies: Exploring the potential of digital yellow water traps for continuous, high-resolution monitoring in oilseed rape

The European Farm to Fork strategy strives to reduce pesticide use and risk by 50% by 2030, preserving agricultural productivity, biodiversity, and human health. Novel research on crop diversification and new field arrangements, supported by digital technologies, offers sustainable innovations for pest control. This study evaluates digital yellow water traps, equipped with a camera and associated artificial intelligence model for continuous pollen beetle monitoring in diversified agricultural landscapes. Data were collected in oilseed rape from three harvest years (2021-2023) at the experimental site patchCROP, a landscape experiment established to study the effects of spatial and temporal crop diversification measures on yield, ecosystem services, and biodiversity. In patchCROP, crops were planted in smaller, 0.5 ha (72 × 72 m) squares called "patches" with different pesticide management strategies and were compared to surrounding commercial fields. The digital yellow water traps and AI were evaluated and found to be useful for gauging pollen beetle immigration into the crop. Across all years, higher insect pest pressure was recorded in the patches compared to commercial fields but did not necessarily compromise yields. Implementation of pesticide management strategies, including targeted insecticide applications at specific insect pest thresholds, were not associated with reduced yields in patches with flower strips. Future studies should consider examining the role of field size and alternative diversification approaches to fine-tune insecticide reduction strategies at the landscape scale

Netz Vergleichsbetriebe PflanzenschutzJahresbericht 2014Analyse der Ergebnisse der Jahre 2007 bis 2014

Network of reference farms for plant protectionAnnual Report 2014Analysis of Results of 2007 to 201

Towards sustainable crop protection in agriculture: A framework for research and policy

CONTEXT: European countries have set ambitious targets to reduce the risks of pesticide use. Achieving these targets will require a large proportion of farmers to adopt sustainable crop protection practices. However, how to enable this transition and what are the best policies to support farmers remain open questions. OBJECTIVE: Here, we provide a coherent review of existing evidence and new insights into farmer decision-making and policy analysis in the context of the transition to more sustainable crop protection. We synthesise and extend the empirical evidence and the conceptual and methodological foundations to examine farmers' decisions to adopt sustainable crop protection and to assess the potential of different policy measures to support this transition. Our analysis focuses on European agriculture. METHODS: We provide a framework and synthesise evidence by reviewing the literature and combining agronomic and economic perspectives. We focus on three issues: i) indicators for empirical analyses of adoption of sustainable crop protection practices; ii) behavioural perspectives on farmer adoption; iii) insights into methodological approaches for assessing adoption of sustainable crop protection practices and related policies. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: We have identified four main findings and implications. First, sustainable crop protection practices consist of combinations and bundles of individual measures that are not currently regularly considered in policy instruments and policy analysis. Second, definitions of adoption should move from simple adoption metrics to impacts, for example on pesticide risk reduction. Third, behavioural factors are highly relevant to farmers' adoption decisions, but are currently under-researched and under-represented in the field of sustainable crop protection practices. Fourth, the tools currently used for policy analysis do not allow these key aspects to be represented. We draw policy conclusions. SIGNIFICANCE: Our analyses help guide policy decisions to achieve pesticide use and risk reduction objectives, and have implications for pesticide policy in Europe and beyond. We identify gaps in current conceptual and methodological approaches, promising avenues for future research, and ways to make results more coherent and comparable. Our analysis thus provides new insights and templates to guide future research and policy analysis on the adoption of sustainable crop protection approaches.</p