Designing insecticide-free cropping systems

Biological Control through Habitat Conservation and Management mobilizes a vast array of levers to encourage the presence of crop beneficials (=organisms useful to agricultural production), in order to regulate pest populations (=organisms that cause damage to crops), and thus limit the use of pesticides. Today, the presence of beneficial organisms is limited by prevailing agricultural practices. Crop specialization has reduced landscape diversity, contributed to the elimination of hedges and other semi-natural features, and separated animal and plant production. The levers of Biological Control through Habitat Conservation and Management often need to be considered on a regional scale, and thus need to be devised in consultation with farmers. Promoting the adoption of biological control must necessarily take into account the psycho-sociological context, and support measures specific to that context.

The research question of this project is "How can the diagnostic approach to semi-natural habitats and practices (current and potential) provide useful knowledge for designing insecticide-free cropping systems?" The study area is located within the Parc Naturel Régional du Pilat, which has a Charter on maintaining biodiversity and the landscape, and developing environmentally-friendly farming practices. Farmers in this area are faced with technical impasses when it comes to regulating pests (codling moth, aphids, drosophila).