Kentucky soybean farmers' supportiveness of two integrated pest and pollinator management tactics
2021
Penn, Hannah | Penn, Jarrod M. | Minnick, Michael | Hu, Wuyang
Beneficial insect conservation in agriculture is often studied in the context of integrated pest management (IPM). For instance, vegetative field edges provide valuable habitat and changing the timing of insecticidal sprays decreases risk for pollinators and natural enemies of crop pests. However, the attitudes and confidence of US growers towards IPM implementation in traditional row-crop management remain understudied. We developed an online survey using a convenience sample and surveyed Kentucky soybean growers to understand their current pest and general management practices, beliefs about sources of pests/weeds, and attitudes towards pollinators. We also asked about their willingness to implement two management tactics – maintaining tree lined field edges and changing the timing of their insecticide sprays to avoid flowering. Our data indicate that Kentucky soybean growers already use several IPM approaches such as crop rotation, no-till soil management, and limited insecticide application for when pests were abundant. When asked about their management of field edges, the most common responses included removal of trees/shrubs, mowing, or herbicide application. Growers also believed that nationally, farmers can influence pollinator populations and that a portion of the soybean yield is due to pollinator activity within crop fields. However, they were less willing to maintain tree lines as habitat for natural enemies and pollinators out of concern for increased spread of weeds and insect pests. Given these findings, we need to evaluate the perceived and actual trade-offs of weed and pest management in future on-farm conservation efforts for beneficial insects such as pollinators and natural enemies.
Show more [+] Less [-]AGROVOC Keywords
Bibliographic information
This bibliographic record has been provided by National Agricultural Library