One of the cornerstones of France’s attempts to reduce pesticide use in agriculture is the DEPHY network which, alongside an experimental system, comprises 1,900 farms which are taking various approaches to ensure a more parsimonious use of pesticides. These farms now have several years of experience behind them and thanks to the production of ‘trajectory sheets’, which chart the motives for change, the steps taken, the successes and the setbacks, it is possible to get a fascinating insight into real-life examples of change.
While these trajectory sheets are only available in French, those with knowledge of the language or with a translation program can get access to more than 120 examples of change in a large variety of
contexts. Not only do the trajectory sheets cover a wide range of crops (including arable crops, vegetables, orchards and viticulture) but a wide range of geographical locations and a broad range of motivations, from a general desire to reduce pesticide use through to solving a very particular problem.
Each farm in the DEPHY network is supported by an ‘engineer’ (a local expert adviser) and the trajectory sheets include their input and a summary of the effects of the changes made, not only in terms of their agricultural impact but also their social and economic consequences.
To take an example of a major overhaul of a cropping system, one of the trajectory sheets charts the changes made by Denis Pla, a market gardener in the Pyrénées Orientales in the south of France. Prior to his entry in the DEPHY network (the acronym is derived from the French for the demonstration, experimentation and production of references for systems which are more parsimonious in their pesticide use), his open field production was centred on artichokes and lettuce. However, crop losses caused by frosts in 2012 prompted a radical rethink.
With certain clear goals, such as improving soil quality and organic matter, progressively eliminating some weeds, breaking the cycle of soil-borne diseases and significantly reducing his Treatment
Frequency Index (TFI), Denis has introduced other crops into the rotation. This includes not only other vegetables (cauliflower) but non-vegetables too (sunflower, maize and durum wheat). The result has been a fall in TFI from an initial 15.5 to 6.42 and the climatic, economic and commercial risks have been significantly reduced.
The trajectory sheets include very specific problems, too. For example, there is the case of a strawberry producer in Vendée, western France, who faced a very uncertain future because of problems with fungal diseases in his early crops. With no possibility of constructing another polytunnel or glasshouse to rotate the crops, the producer has instead switched to tray plants rather than producing his own. This comes at a cost and a new irrigation system has had to be installed. However, these costs have been more than offset by increased yields, and there has been a significant reduction in TFI. To ensure this solution remains sustainable, the producer is being encouraged to consider the introduction of a green manure, such as sorghum, to reduce disease in subsequent crops and stimulate microbial activity in the soil.
More information is available on EcophytoPIC, the French IPM website:
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