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Farm Events: |
Farm News: More Farmland Means More PestscommentsPosted: 07.14.2011
High commodity prices have farmers searching for more and more cropland they can use – and that may mean more pests.
A new study completed by researchers with the Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) shows that the loss of natural habitat gives bugs a better chance. While the relationship between landscape simplification, crop pest pressure, and insecticide use has been suggested before, it has not been well supported by hardl evidence. This study, published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences during the week of July 11, is the first to document a link between simplification and increased insecticide use.
"When you replace natural habitat with cropland, you tend to get more crop pest problems," says lead author Tim Meehan, University of Wisconsin-Madison associate scientist in the Department of Entomology. "Two things drive this pattern. As you remove natural habitats you remove habitat for beneficial predatory insects, and when you create more cropland you make a bigger target for pests - giving them what they need to survive and multiply."
Because landscape simplification has long been assumed to increase pest pressure, Gratton and Meehan were not surprised to find that counties with less natural habitat had higher rates of insecticide use.
One conclusion was that landscape simplification was associated with annual insecticide application to an additional 5,400 square miles in the Midwest - an area the size of Connecticut.
Although simplification of agricultural landscapes is likely to continue, the research suggests that the planting of perennial bioenergy crops - like switchgrass and mixed prairie - can offset some negative effects.
Perennial grasslands that can be used for bioenergy could also provide biodiversity support, specifically beneficial insect support, says Claudio Gratton, UW-Madison professor of entomology.
"If we can create agricultural landscapes with increased crop diversity, then perhaps we can increase beneficial insects, reduce pest pressure and reduce the need for chemical inputs into the environment," he says.
"We are at a junction right now. There is increased demand for renewable energy, and one big question is: where it will come from?" Gratton says. "We hope that these kinds of studies will help us forecast the impacts that bioenergy crops may have on agricultural
landscapes."
The Great Lakes Bioenergy Research Center (GLBRC) is one of three Department of Energy Bioenergy Research Centers funded to make transformational breakthroughs that will form the foundation of new cellulosic biofuels technology. The GLBRC is led by the University of
Wisconsin-Madison, with Michigan State University as the major partner. Additional scientific partners are DOE National Laboratories, other universities and a biotechnology company. For more information on the GLBRC, visit http://www.glbrc.org.
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