Diversifying Agriculture to Control Pest Outbreaks

by Kathy Keatley Garvey, UC Davis
May 17, 2022

Newly published research led by UC Davis ecologist Daniel Paredes suggests that pest abundances are less variable in diverse landscapes comprised of multiple crop types and patches of natural habitat.

“As a result, pest outbreaks are less likely in diverse landscapes,” said Paredes, who analyzed a 13-year government database of diversified landscapes encompassing more than 1300 olive groves and vineyards in Spain. The database documented pests and pesticide applications.

The paper appears in the journal Ecological Applications. Co-authors are UC Davis distinguished professor Jay Rosenheim of the Department of Entomology and Nematology, and Daniel Karp, associate professor, Department of Wildlife, Fish, and Conservation Biology. 

Keep reading: https://www.ucdavis.edu/blog/diversifying-agriculture-control-pest-outbreaks

Read the Ecological Applications paper: https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/eap.2607