An appetite for aphids
New research reveals how wildflower strips can help protect harvests and farmer incomes
Every year, apple orchards across England produce hundreds of millions of apples. Ripening throughout the summer months and harvested around September and October, this equates to 160,000 tonnes of fruit across hundreds of distinct varieties every single year.
Like many crops, apples are vulnerable to pests which can eat into yields and impact farmer finances.
Like many crops, apples are vulnerable to pests which can eat into yields and impact farmer finances.
But just as with other crops, pests can attack orchards and rapidly eat into a farm's bottom line. For apple producers across England, one of the most damaging pests is the rosy apple aphid (RAA).
These aphids cause leaf curling and discoloration and severely damage fruit, leaving it small, underdeveloped, and unsuitable for the consumer market. In untreated orchards, up to 80 percent of a harvest can be lost.
Wildflower strips can attract aphid predators, protecting apple harvests.
Wildflower strips can attract aphid predators, protecting apple harvests.
Now, new research, supported by Syngenta and UK Research and Innovation, has found that working with nature could significantly reduce the damage caused by pests and could save farmers almost £3,000 (about $4,000) per hectare a year. All by planting and establishing wildflowers.
Wildflower strips create an ideal habitat for beneficial insects such as hoverflies, ladybirds, and lacewings – all of which eat aphids and so reduce the reliance on chemical crop protection.
Dr Charlotte Howard, lead author of the study, explains: "Flowers attract helpful insects that work hard to keep pests under control. Farmers could save money while boosting biodiversity and letting nature do some of the heavy lifting in looking after their crops.”
Wildflower strips can attract aphid predators, protecting apple harvests.
Wildflower strips can attract aphid predators, protecting apple harvests.
Now, new research, supported by Syngenta and UK Research and Innovation, has found that working with nature could significantly reduce the damage caused by pests and could save farmers almost £3,000 (about $4,000) per hectare a year. All by planting and establishing wildflowers.
Wildflower strips create an ideal habitat for beneficial insects such as hoverflies, ladybirds, and lacewings – all of which eat aphids and so reduce the reliance on chemical crop protection.
Dr Charlotte Howard, lead author of the study, explains: "Flowers attract helpful insects that work hard to keep pests under control. Farmers could save money while boosting biodiversity and letting nature do some of the heavy lifting in looking after their crops.”
The research, recently published in the Journal of Agricultural Economics, developed a new model to analyse the efficacy of placing wildflowers in orchards and the economic benefits that this kind of integrated pest management can bring.
During two years of field work, researchers compared rosy apple aphid damage in orchards with and without wildflower strips.
The researchers modelled three different scenarios to predict the most beneficial location for the flower strips – either at the center of the orchard, on land at the end of rows of trees, or as a border to the orchard.
In years with high aphid activity, conventional commercial orchards with flower strips saw a lower percentage of apple trees with aphid fruit damage, dropping significantly from 80 percent to 48 percent. In fact, a wildflower strip in the center of an orchard could put insects closer to aphids and potentially benefit farmers by as much as £2,997, or around $4,000, per hectare per year.
Howard says: “There have been plenty of studies showing the biodiversity benefits of wildflower strips, but it’s really encouraging to show the economic benefits that this kind of integrated pest management could have.”
Even in years of lower pest pressure, the researchers found that investing in wildflower strips made good economic sense as it reduces crop protection costs for farmers as well as protecting yields. As the research paper explains, the model predicted that the wildflower borders could ‘pay for themselves’ compared to standard primarily grass headlands and could provide significant financial benefits in high pest years.
New research shows wildflower strips carry both economic and biodiversity benefits.
New research shows wildflower strips carry both economic and biodiversity benefits.
“There’s still more to learn about the benefits of flower strips,” says Howard, but with farmers always in need of additional options to help protect crops and boost yields, the benefits of working with nature are clear.
This study was carried out by the University of Reading, Cranfield University and the National Institute of Agricultural Botany with the support of Syngenta.
