Evidence that organic farming promotes pest control
2018
Muneret, Lucile | Mitchell, Matthew | Seufert, Verena | Aviron, Stéphanie | Djoudi, El Aziz | Petillon, Julien | Plantegenest, Manuel | Thiery, Denis | Rusch, Adrien | Santé et agroécologie du vignoble (UMR SAVE) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Bordeaux (UB)-Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin (ISVV)-Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Sciences Agronomiques de Bordeaux-Aquitaine (Bordeaux Sciences Agro) | Institute for Environment and Sustainability, Rural, Water, and Ecosystem Resources Unit ; European Commission [Brussels] | Institute for Meteorology and Climate Research (IMK) ; Karlsruhe Institute of Technology = Karlsruher Institut für Technologie (KIT) | Biodiversité agroécologie et aménagement du paysage (UMR BAGAP) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST-Ecole Supérieure des Agricultures (ESA) | Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution [Rennes] (ECOBIO) ; Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement - CNRS Ecologie et Environnement (INEE-CNRS) ; Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des sciences de l'environnement de Rennes (OSERen) ; Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE) | Institut de Génétique, Environnement et Protection des Plantes (IGEPP) ; Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Rennes (UR)-AGROCAMPUS OUEST
International audience
Show more [+] Less [-]English. Ecological intensification of agro-ecosystems, based on the optimization of ecological functions such as biological pest control, to replace agrochemical inputs is a promising route to reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture while maintaining commodity production. However, the performance of organic farming, often considered as a prototype of ecological intensification, in terms of pest control remains largely unknown. Here, using two distinct meta-analyses, we demonstrate that, compared to conventional cropping systems, (i) organic farming promotes overall biological pest control potential, (ii) organic farming has higher levels of overall pest infestations but (iii) that this effect strongly depends on the pest type. Our study shows that there are lower levels of pathogen infestation, similar levels of animal pest infestation and much higher levels of weed infestation in organic than in conventional systems. This study provides evidence that organic farming can enhance pest control and suggests that organic farming offers a way to reduce the use of synthetic pesticide for the management of animal pests and pathogens without increasing their levels of infestation.
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