Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields

Rice production is often associated with high pesticide input. To improve farmers’ practice, sustainable management approaches are urgently needed, such as ecological engineering (EE), which aims at enhancing beneficial arthropods while reducing pesticides. Here, we implemented and tested EE in Camb...

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Autores principales: Sattler, Cornelia, Schrader, Julian, Flor, Rica Joy, Keo, Makarakpakphea, Chhun, Sokunroth, Choun, Saban, Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna, Settele, Josef
Formato: Journal Article
Lenguaje:Inglés
Publicado: MDPI 2021
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/164309
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author Sattler, Cornelia
Schrader, Julian
Flor, Rica Joy
Keo, Makarakpakphea
Chhun, Sokunroth
Choun, Saban
Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna
Settele, Josef
author_browse Chhun, Sokunroth
Choun, Saban
Flor, Rica Joy
Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna
Keo, Makarakpakphea
Sattler, Cornelia
Schrader, Julian
Settele, Josef
author_facet Sattler, Cornelia
Schrader, Julian
Flor, Rica Joy
Keo, Makarakpakphea
Chhun, Sokunroth
Choun, Saban
Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna
Settele, Josef
author_sort Sattler, Cornelia
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Rice production is often associated with high pesticide input. To improve farmers’ practice, sustainable management approaches are urgently needed, such as ecological engineering (EE), which aims at enhancing beneficial arthropods while reducing pesticides. Here, we implemented and tested EE in Cambodian rice fields by comparing: (i) fields not treated with pesticides (control); (ii) fields not treated with pesticides but with non-rice crops planted in the surrounding (EE); and (iii) conventionally farmed fields using pesticides (CR). Using benefit-cost analysis, we compared the economic value of each treatment. The non-rice crops preferred by men and women farmers as well as farmers’ willingness to implement EE were assessed using surveys. We sampled arthropod abundance and richness in rice fields and bunds during two seasons. During the dry season, we compared EE and CR among three Cambodian provinces. During the wet season, we specifically assessed the differences in EE, control and CR in arthropod abundance and rice yield in one province. While withholding from using pesticides did not result in a decrease in yield in EE and control treatments, parasitoid abundance was higher in both treatments during the wet season. The benefit–cost ratio was highest for EE and control treatments. Pesticides were likely the main driver causing low arthropod abundance, without any benefit towards increased rice yield. The proper implementation of EE coupled with farmers’ knowledge of ecologically based pest management is a promising solution towards sustainable rice production.
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spelling CGSpace1643092024-12-22T05:44:44Z Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields Sattler, Cornelia Schrader, Julian Flor, Rica Joy Keo, Makarakpakphea Chhun, Sokunroth Choun, Saban Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna Settele, Josef insect science Rice production is often associated with high pesticide input. To improve farmers’ practice, sustainable management approaches are urgently needed, such as ecological engineering (EE), which aims at enhancing beneficial arthropods while reducing pesticides. Here, we implemented and tested EE in Cambodian rice fields by comparing: (i) fields not treated with pesticides (control); (ii) fields not treated with pesticides but with non-rice crops planted in the surrounding (EE); and (iii) conventionally farmed fields using pesticides (CR). Using benefit-cost analysis, we compared the economic value of each treatment. The non-rice crops preferred by men and women farmers as well as farmers’ willingness to implement EE were assessed using surveys. We sampled arthropod abundance and richness in rice fields and bunds during two seasons. During the dry season, we compared EE and CR among three Cambodian provinces. During the wet season, we specifically assessed the differences in EE, control and CR in arthropod abundance and rice yield in one province. While withholding from using pesticides did not result in a decrease in yield in EE and control treatments, parasitoid abundance was higher in both treatments during the wet season. The benefit–cost ratio was highest for EE and control treatments. Pesticides were likely the main driver causing low arthropod abundance, without any benefit towards increased rice yield. The proper implementation of EE coupled with farmers’ knowledge of ecologically based pest management is a promising solution towards sustainable rice production. 2021-03-21 2024-12-19T12:53:43Z 2024-12-19T12:53:43Z Journal Article https://hdl.handle.net/10568/164309 en Open Access MDPI Sattler, Cornelia; Schrader, Julian; Flor, Rica Joy; Keo, Makarakpakphea; Chhun, Sokunroth; Choun, Saban; Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna and Settele, Josef. 2021. Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields. Insects, Volume 12 no. 3 p. 267
spellingShingle insect science
Sattler, Cornelia
Schrader, Julian
Flor, Rica Joy
Keo, Makarakpakphea
Chhun, Sokunroth
Choun, Saban
Hadi, Buyung Asmara Ratna
Settele, Josef
Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title_full Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title_fullStr Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title_full_unstemmed Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title_short Reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers—A case study in Cambodian rice fields
title_sort reducing pesticides and increasing crop diversification offer ecological and economic benefits for farmers a case study in cambodian rice fields
topic insect science
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/164309
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