Better outcomes for pest pressure, insecticide use, and yield in less intensive agricultural landscapes.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural systems have been continuously intensified to meet rising demand for agricultural products. However, there are increasing concerns that larger, more connected crop fields and loss of seminatural areas exacerbate pest pressure, but findings to date have been inconclusive. Even less is known about whether increased pest pressure results in measurable effects for farmers, such as increased insecticide use and decreased crop yield. Using extensive spatiotemporal data sampled every 2 to 3 d throughout five growing seasons in 373 cotton fields, we show that pests immigrated earlier and were more likely to occur in larger cotton fields embedded in landscapes with little seminatural area (<10%). Earlier pest immigration resulted in earlier spraying that was further linked to more spra

SUBMITTER: Gagic V 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8000202 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature