Intercropping cereals or maize with legumes is considered a strategy of diversifying bioenergy cropping systems and can provide additional food resources for pollinators and other flower-visiting insects. However, knowledge on how these resources are utilized by insects compared to legumes in pure stands remains scarce and is largely limited to few legume species. In field experiments with three innovative cropping systems for biomass production (white lupin- oat, Andean lupin- maize, sainfoin- maize), we tested whether intercropped legumes attract a similar number of flower visitors as pure legume stands. Bumble bees and honey bees were the dominant visitors. The number of inflorescences per m² was lower in intercropped than in pure legume stands. However, significant decreases in visits per m² by bumblebees and honeybees were only observed in maize-intercropped legumes. We further observed shorter visit durations of honey bees in pure stands of Andean lupin, compared to intercropped stands which could be an indication for resource depletion. These results suggest that legume-cereal intercropping in general can be a valid strategy for pollinator promotion and may potentially yield positive scale effects. Given the overall reduction in inflorescence density and the lower attractiveness of maize-intercropped legumes compared to sole legume stands, we argue that legume-maize row-intercropping is not effective for pollinator conservation and that, as an alternative, including legumes in crop rotations or strip-cropping of maize and legumes could increase pollinator-attractiveness of the biomass cropping system due to reduce shading in the pure or wider stands of the legumes.
PGS is a participatory guarantee system that has been practiced since 2008 in Vietnam through an IFOAM-supported project for the first farmer groups in Luong Son district, Hoa Binh province. This study examined the status, challenges, and opportunities of PGS organic vegetable production in Luong Son District, Hoa Binh Province, Vietnam. In Luong Son, PGS organic farming has been practiced for years, yet it occupies only a small fraction (0.27% in 2019) of the district’s agricultural land, with farmers facing challenges in production costs, infrastructure, technical capacity, and market access. Data were collected through the surveys of 78 PGS organic vegetable farmers across four communes. Findings revealed that while the total PGS organic vegetable area increased 15 times from 2009 to 2019, while average yields remained relatively unchanged, highlighting limitations in cultivation techniques. Low mechanization, reliance on manual labour, insufficient organic fertilizer sources, and limited access to bio-products constrained productivity. Farmers practiced crop rotation and intercropping, yet integration of legumes and green manure was limited, affecting soil fertility. Pest control largely relied on manual and preventive measures, with limited access to approved bio-pesticides. Despite these challenges, economic returns from PGS organic vegetable cultivation were significantly higher than traditional rice farming, indicating potential for income improvement. The study concludes that expanding the use of approved organic fertilizers and bio-products, enhancing biodiversity through crop diversification and green manures, improving pest management knowledge, and strengthening the PGS value chain are essential to increase yields, stabilize production, and promote the sustainable expansion of organic vegetable farming in Luong Son.
The Tropical Andes, one of the most biodiverse and ecologically sensitive regions globally, faces critical sustainability challenges driven by the rapid expansion of high-value crops such as Hass avocado. In northern Tolima, Colombia, smallholder avocado farmers have been systematically exposed to agroecological practices through the 'Tropical Agriculture (AT)' program promoted by the Horticultural Association of Colombia (Asohofrucol), providing a documented context in which evaluate the degree of agroecological transition. This study applies a Socio-Ecological Systems (SES) framework to quantitatively evaluate the status of agroecological adoption and the socio-ecological factors that facilitate or constrain it among 60 small-scale avocado farmers. We developed two complementary indices: the Socio-Ecological Sustainability Index (SESI, range 0-4), which evaluates sustainability across governance, resource management, production systems, and social interaction dimensions, and the Agroecological Practices Index (API, range 0-1), which evaluates the adoption status of 18 specific AT practices across three domains (Plant Nutrition, Soil Protection, Biodiversity Protection). The API is applied as an evaluative tool-measuring adoption of practices farmers have been trained in-rather than as a prescriptive benchmark. Results show a moderate SESI score of 2.11; governance scored highest (0.63), reflecting secure land tenure for 83% of farmers and high associativity, while the Resource Systems dimension scored lowest (0.39), indicating limited integration of ecosystem services. The average API score of 0.38 reveals highest adoption in Soil Protection (60%) and lowest in Plant Nutrition (24%), with practice-specific barriers linked to input access and technical knowledge. Notably, only 43.3% of farmers intend to continue avocado cultivation, and plantations average 5.2 years of age, indicating that price volatility threatens established productive investments. These findings underscore the need for stable market mechanisms, differentiated technical support, and integrated policies that align smallholder productivity with ecological stewardship in ecologically sensitive Andean landscapes
Black root rot caused by Cylindrocladium sp. has recently emerged as a serious threat to avocado ( (Persea americana Mill.) production, leading to severe root decay, stunted growth, and seedling mortality. This study evaluated the antagonistic potential of Trichoderma sp. as a biological control agent against Cylindrocladium through both in vitro and in vivo experiments. Dual culture assays on potato dextrose agar (PDA) demonstrated that Trichoderma sp. significantly inhibited mycelial growth of Cylindrocladium, with inhibitory power progressively increasing from 21.16 +/- 5.0% at day 3 to 59.17 +/- 7.3% at day 7. Greenhouse trials were then conducted using avocado seedlings under six treatments: control, only Trichoderma, only Cylindrocladium, Trichoderma applied seven days before Cylindrocladium, Cylindrocladium applied seven days before Trichoderma, and simultaneous inoculation. Results revealed that Trichoderma application prior to pathogen inoculation markedly reduced disease occurrence (37.50%) and disease severity (27.50%). Although growth responses were not consistently significant, this treatment showed numerically higher plant height and root dry weight than the pathogen-only treatment. Conversely, treatments where Trichoderma was applied after or simultaneously with Cylindrocladium were less effective, highlighting the importance of timing in successful biocontrol. Although minor contamination was observed in the control treatment, the overall findings consistently demonstrated the suppressive effect of Trichoderma against black root rot. This study confirms that pre-application of Trichoderma enhances seedling resistance by colonizing the rhizosphere and reducing pathogen establishment, thereby promoting healthier growth. These results provide strong evidence that Trichoderma sp. can be integrated into nursery management practices as an eco-friendly and sustainable strategy for controlling black root rot in avocado seedlings.
Despite advances in cultivation strategies, significant yield losses caused by weed infestation remain a major problem in the cultivation of soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merr.). As pesticide use is increasingly questioned, sustainable integrative weed management strategies are gaining attention. A two-year pesticide-free field experiment was conducted at the University of Hohenheim to investigate whether equal distance sowing (EDS), characterized by a triangular sowing pattern with nar-row row distance (0.15 m), improves soybean growth and promotes natural crop competitiveness against weeds. Two early-maturing cultivars were tested in EDS and conventional normal distance sowing (NDS, 0.50 m) under both weed-free and weedy conditions. Soybeans grown under EDS exhibited higher early-season competitiveness against weed infestation, attributed to enhanced light interception and accelerated soil cover. Seed yields across all treatments were reduced by weed infestation. Overall, the findings suggest that EDS is a promising strategy for sustainable soybean cultivation within an integrated weed management approach.
Sustainable management practices are needed to reduce adverse impacts of agriculture on biodiversity and ecosystem services. The aim of this study was to examine the effects of avoiding chemical synthetic pesticides with simultaneous nitrogen optimization on predator-prey dynamics of aphids (Aphidoidea) and their antagonists as well as antagonist diversity in wheat cropping systems of different management intensities (organic, conventional, and hybrid (no chemical synthetic pesticides with optimized use of nitrogen fertilizers)) in Brandenburg, Germany. Each cropping system was established with four replicated plots of 50m2 each. To assess the impact of management practices, sweep netting of aphids and visual counting of aphids and their antagonists, converted into predator units, were conducted over the course of two years (2022 and 2023). Under the organic treatment, aphids and their antagonists exhibited higher abundances than in the other two cropping systems. The new hybrid cropping system was intermediate between organic and conventional systems, exhibiting higher populations of aphids and their natural predators compared to the conventional system. The application of chemical synthetic pesticides negatively impacted both aphid and predator populations directly and indirectly. Aphids were reduced by insecticides while predators suffered from a lack of food resources or were also affected by insecticides as non-target organisms. Even though aphid abundance benefited from the reduction of chemical synthetic insecticides, a favorable development of aphid antagonists was observed in 2023. Notably, the avoidance of pesticides and the nitrogen optimization contributed to the increase of the number of individuals of aphid antagonists. Achieving a balance without the use of pesticides mitigates environmental damage and reduces the risk of pests developing resistance.
Plant pests, diseases and weeds threaten agricultural crops and require control methods. However, the largely used pesticides are associated with undesirable effects on environment and health. To reduce pesticide use, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) offers a comprehensive toolbox. The two selected IPM strategies (1) wide crop rotation and (2) cultivation of pathogen resistant cultivars were analysed economically based on two different field trials. Crop rotation (long-term field trial at Dahnsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany, with a sixunit crop rotation) and pesticide reduction by 25% and 50% resulted in no decline in gross margins and thus profitability in silo maize, wheat (E- and A-quality), barley and rye. However, a 25% and 50% reduction in pesticides led to a decline in gross margins by -6.3% (-331 € ha-1) and -8.3% (-437 € ha-1) in potatoes. The use of pathogen resistant wheat cultivars and IPM based fungicide application (tested at five field sites across Germany) resulted in reduced fungicide applications and higher gross margins compared to the “non-IPM” strategy by about +45 to 70 € ha-1. Based on these findings, we conclude that preventive IPM strategies have a good potential to reduce pesticide use and are also economically viable for farmers.
Plant pests, diseases and weeds threaten agricultural crops and require control methods. However, the largely used pesticides are associated with undesirable effects on environment and health. To reduce pesticide use, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) offers a comprehensive toolbox. The two selected IPM strategies (1) wide crop rotation and (2) cultivation of pathogen resistant cultivars were analysed economically based on two different field trials. Crop rotation (long-term field trial at Dahnsdorf, Brandenburg, Germany, with a sixunit crop rotation) and pesticide reduction by 25% and 50% resulted in no decline in gross margins and thus profitability in silo maize, wheat (E- and A -quality), barley and rye. However, a 25% and 50% reduction in pesticides led to a decline in gross margins by -6.3% (-331 euro ha -1) and -8.3% (-437 euro ha -1) in potatoes. The use of pathogen resistant wheat cultivars and IPM based fungicide application (tested at five field sites across Germany) resulted in reduced fungicide applications and higher gross margins compared to the "non -IPM" strategy by about +45 to 70 euro ha -1. Based on these findings, we conclude that preventive IPM strategies have a good potential to reduce pesticide use and are also economically viable for farmers.
In agriculture, the application of plant protection products to cropland is important to prevent quality and yield reduction. The use of plant protection products implies negative effects on human health and the environment. Thus, a legal measure towards reducing the use of plant protection products is its restriction or ban especially in sensitive areas. This is the first national study to use publicly and freely available geodata to access the area of agricultural land located in different types of sensitive areas according to the proposal for a new EU Regulation on the Sustainable Use of Plant Protection Products (SUR). We assess the impact of different scenarios for a German implementation. In this study we analyse publicly available geodata of CORINE land cover 5 ha of 2018 with geographic information systems (GIS) for different scenarios. The results show that the impact of a pesticide ban or restriction for sensitive areas differs between regions and the type or combination of sensitive area. Using the CLC5-2018 data we estimate 19.6 million hectares of national agricultural area. Landscape Protection Area, Nature Parks and Water Protection Areas contain the largest proportion of agricultural land. A scenario which considers National Parks, Nature Reserves, Biosphere Reserves, Nature Parks, Natural Monuments, Landscape Protection Areas and Natura 2000 sites with Fauna-Flora-Habitat areas and Special Protected Areas for bird sanctuaries and Ramsar sites would affect 46.6% of the agricultural land use in Germany, ranging from 33.4% to 77.9% across different states. Comparing our CLC5-2018 results to a similar study from 2023, which used LBM-DE as land use data, we find that there is little difference between the results of identical scenario definitions when expressed as proportions. Whereas different SUR scenario definitions can lead to significantly different outcomes.
Reducing the intensity of pesticide use is a societal and political issue. One way to realize this is to reduce the dose of applied pesticides. The impact of strict dose reductions on yield and net return in winter rye was examined in a longterm field trial at the experimental field of the Julius Kuhn Institute in Dahnsdorf (Brandenburg) over a 13 -year period (2004-2016). Pesticide treatments included a situation -related strategy (100% strategy) and two other strategies in which the doses were reduced by 25% and 50% compared to the 100% strategy. Treatment decisions were based on control thresholds in the 100% strategy. Fungal pathogens and weeds occurred in all years and had to be controlled. Insect pests were negligible. Averaged over all years, there was a significant difference of 4% in yield between the 100% strategy and the 50% strategy. In contrast, no differences were found in terms of net return. There was also no accumulation of weeds in the reduced strategies. This positive result is due to the close monitoring of the plots as well as the six -year crop rotation and shows that it is possible to reduce pesticide use in winter rye.
Sustainable consumption decisions can be promoted by claims on food. It is essential that the claims are consumeroriented. In this light, the consumer evaluation of different labelling variants for pesticide-free vegetables was recorded for three claims on the pesticide renunciation and four claims on sustainability-related consequences of the pesticide renunciation. An online survey was conducted with 953 German consumers. Each participant was randomly assigned to one of seven subsamples. Each subsample evaluated one of seven claims. The evaluations show that all claims were rated as “moderately” to “quite understandable” and appropriate to the cultivation form and would “perhaps” to “quite probably” be helpful in the purchase decision. Further, the claims on pesticide renunciation were perceived as more understandable, more appropriate for the cultivation form and more helpful for the purchase decision compared to the claims on sustainability-related consequences. The findings are useful for actors in the agricultural and food sector.
In endeavors to manage agricultural cropping systems without the application of chemical-synthetic plant protection products (CSPs), one of the greatest challenges is ensuring yield performance. The literature provides a wealth of data on organic farming yields and the gap between organic and conventional systems, but little knowledge on the yield performance of cropping systems that use mineral fertilizers but not CSPs. This paper presents the first results of field trials at two locations in Germany comparing cultivation systems that are free of chemical-synthetic plant protection, but use mineral fertilizers, with both conventional and organic cropping systems. These system trials are part of the joint research project "Agriculture 4.0 without chemical-synthetic plant protection (NOcsPS)". Initial results show that CSP-free cultivation systems generally achieve lower yields than conventional systems, but considerably higher yields than organic systems.
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 (20212023) 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 x 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.
The application of pesticides has been linked with environmental and health hazards. The reduction of pesticides in agriculture constitutes a major policy issue in Europe. The implementation of pesticide free farming systems can make an important contribution to this issue and to the protection of sensitive natural resources. However, under existing conditions, the uptake of this type of system is often associated with major barriers. It is therefore important to understand which barriers inhibit the introduction of this system and how the acceptance of pesticide -free farming can be increased among farmers. To this end, we use qualitative interviews with conventional and partially pesticide -free farmers in south-west Germany to investigate which factors are decisive for farmers to abandon the use of chemical pesticides. The results show that, in addition to local factors such as soil, weather and farm and marketing structures, personal experience with pesticide -free cultivation and personal expectations regarding yield losses are particularly important acceptance factors. Furthermore, in addition to financial incentives, marketing structures are also needed to achieve cost-covering price increases. Our results provide important insights into the many factors influencing the transition to pesticide -free agriculture and thus contribute to the design of sustainable production systems.
This research evaluates the use of housefly larvae meal (HLM) as an alternative protein replacing fishmeal (FM) present in feeds for bullfrog tadpoles and froglets. The treatments consisted of the formulation of four feeds for tadpole stage with 30% of protein and four inclusion percentages of HLM (T30(0) - 0%; T30(25) - 25%; T30(50) - 50%; T30(75)-75%). Likewise, for pre-fattening stage (froglet), four feeds with 40% of protein and the same inclusion percentages of HLM were managed (T40(0) - 0%; T40(25 )- 25%; T40(50) - 50%; T40(25) -75%). Weight gain (WG), survival rate (SR), feed conversion rate (FCR), protein efficiency rate (PER) and metamorphosis process (start and duration) were established as response variables. Statistical analyses were performed using ANOVA and Tukey's test. The results suggest that in the tadpole stage T30(25) contributes more to weight gain (4401.39 +/- 36.66%) and metamorphosis process (started at 35 +/- 0.5 and duration of 169 +/- 7 hours). On the other hand, T30(50 )did not show differences with respect to T30(0) for WG and start of metamorphosis. In the pre-fattening stage, treatments T40(0) and T40(25) presented outstanding values in WG (154.13 +/- 5.91 and 149.80 +/- 6.33%, respectively) and SR (88.3 +/- 1.2 and 87.6 +/- 1.5%, respectively). Finally, considering the productive performance at the end of both stages, the diets with 0 and 25% inclusion of HLM did not show differences for the variables of WG, FCR and PER. The values obtained suggest that HLM has nutritional characteristics that allow it to replace fishmeal between 25-50% in the formulation of balanced feeds for bullfrog culture.
Early contact to plant-based feed (creep feed) should stimulate the adaption of the gastrointestinal system and promote gut development, with the desired effect of less physiological stress at weaning, lower incidence of diarrhoea and higher growth rates due to better feed efficiency. From May 2013 to July 2015 we studied the feed intake behaviour of piglets during a 6-week suckling period (93 farrowings, 917 weaned piglets). The piglets were born in one of two different free farrowing systems for one sow, after two weeks half of the farrowing batches were transferred to a group suckling system from their initial housing system (2x2 factorial design: initial housing organic or conventional intake of the piglets.
The aim of the research reported here was to assess the potential of alfalfa as a local protein resource when fed to-different species and at different life stages. A total of 236 samples was taken from a commercial drying plant to assess the variation in nutrients of alfalfa and to evaluate the influence of hot air drying on the feed value. Samples of fresh material were compared to end products (hay, pellets). No significant nutritional differences were detected between the end products and the fresh material. In a further part of the research, the nutrient profiles of the output of the fractionation of dried alfalfa (fine, medium, long) were examined. Crude protein (CP), lysine, methionine and UDP 5 (rumen undegradable protein, the respective UDP content in CP assuming a passage from the forestomach of 5 % per hour) were concentrated in the fine fraction which had a lower concentration of fibre. A high protein content in the fine fraction points to its use as a source of protein for pigs and poultry. Furthermore, supporting ecosystem services were considered and additional factors influencing the content of valuable nutrients were identified (cuttings, vegetation stage, saponins, variety). The results of this study serve as the basis for the development of a quality-differentiation concept for alfalfa to make use of the variation in nutrients for all farm animals and to demonstrate resulting synergy effects. It is concluded that alfalfa is a valuable feed resource. Due to the high quality in several samples of alfalfa, it can be assumed that it is not only suitable for ruminants but also as a feed component for monogastric animals. However, this applies only if the large variation found in both whole plants and in plant fractions is thoroughly considered and used as a starting point for a target-oriented application designed to best fit the corresponding requirements of farm animals.
