All the news

• Agroecology: nature-based ‘win-win’ model
  

  Researchers from two of France’s leading research institutes have demonstrated for the first time that bee pollination outstrips pesticide use in the yield and profitability of oilseed rape crops. “This new study suggests that agroecology, which promotes nature-based solutions for agricultural production, can be an alternative ‘win-win’ model that ensures agricultural production, incomes for farmers, and environmental protection,” says INRA.

• IPM lessons from EUCLID
  

  The four-year EUCLID project (Europe-China Lever for Integrated Pest Management Demonstration) has now drawn to a close, with its main results shared with various key recipients over the course of two days of meetings at the University of Avignon in France.

• Catch up with DiverIMPACTS
  

  DiverIMPACTS has produced its fifth newsletter, providing readers with the opportunity to catch up with a busy six months for the project, which is striving “to achieve the full diversification potential of cropping systems for improved productivity, delivery of ecosystem services and resource-efficient and sustainable value chains”.

• IYPH 2020: Conference to be a key event
  

  One of the key events of the International Year of Plant Health 2020 will be the first International Plant Health Conference. The event, addressing the theme of ‘Protecting Plant Health in a Changing World’, is being hosted by the government of Finland and will run from 5 to 8 October 2020 at the Paasitorni Conference Centre in Helsinki.

• IYPH 2020: Share your plant health story!
  

  Organisers of the International Year of Plant Health 2020 are on the hunt for human interest stories concerning plant health. In particular, they are seeking stories that show how someone has contributed to plant health (farmer, public or private sector employee, student etc.), the damage caused by plant pests and diseases, and how plant health can help end hunger, reduce poverty, protect the environment or boost economic development.

• Weed diversity for mitigating yield losses
  

  Experts from ENDURE partners in France and Italy have pooled forces to analyse the effects of weed communities on crop yields, revealing that not all communities engender yield losses even when no weeding takes place. Furthermore, they say, there is a link between high weed diversity and a reduced risk of major crop losses.

• Aiming for zero pesticides in arable crops
  

  EcophytoPIC, France’s Integrated Pest Management (IPM) portal, has drawn together details of the experimental work conducted as part of the country’s Rés0Pest network. The Rés0Pest experimental network aims to produce new references and knowledge for designing innovative cropping systems that are less reliant on pesticides, using IPM principles and combining different techniques to limit pest damage in arable crops.

• CDC: Read the flyer!
  

  Europe’s Crop Diversification Cluster has produced a flyer explaining how they are joining forces to help change European agriculture. The cluster brings together six European projects (and partners further afield) addressing multiple facets of crop diversification, including the introduction of species mixtures, innovative plant teams and encouraging legume-based systems.

• September 2020 date for biocontrol group
  

  The International Organization for Biological and Integrated Control West Palearctic Regional Section (IOBC-WPRS) is staging the 16th meeting of its Biological and Integrated Control of Plant Pathogens working group in 2020. Running from September 14 to 17, 2020, the event is being held at Poland’s University of Gdansk.

• Country profile: Lithuania
  

  In the latest of our country profiles, Ilma Rimkeviciene, from the PI Lithuanian Agricultural Advisory Service, introduces us to the integrated plant protection information, consulting and training information service the country has introduced as part of its drive towards more sustainable agriculture.