Crop protection

Reconnecting neighboring specialized crop farms and livestock farms through exchanges of grain, fodder, crop by-products, and manure or grazing animals could be a solution to address limiting factors such as labor organization at the farm level. Despite such potential interests, this kind of collective organization rarely occurs and few initiatives are documented. We here documented existing crop-livestock collaborations and examined perceptions of local actors (including farmers) on their advantages and disadvantages, and potential for mainstreaming. To this end, we focused on a case study in southern France in which livestock were reintegrated in a specialized vineyard region and that involved multiple actors beyond farmers (e.g., farm advisers, municipal and cooperative representatives) and types of land use, such as arable land, vineyards, and scrubland. We conducted and analyzed 27 semi-directed interviews to understand the perceptions of the multiple actors involved. We highlighted the diversity of local partnerships between crop farmers, vine growers, and livestock farmers, including shepherds. Our research documents for the first time the complexity of these organizational systems for reintegrating livestock in a vineyard region, beyond only farmers. Existing coordination systems between crop farmers, vine growers, and shepherds or other livestock farmers provide several advantages for soil quality and management of weeds, interrows, or cover crops. Farmers, advisers, and regional agency representatives have a relatively positive perception of such collaborations and the role of livestock; however, most local cooperative representatives do not consider them relevant and do not encourage them. We highlighted a lack of coordination between farmers and of financial support for shepherds. Strengthening ties with policymakers and researchers could support these agroecological initiatives. Training and funding landscape facilitators and creating targeted policies would allow cross-sectorial options, enhancing rural development while managing the risk of wildfires.

Ryschawy, J., Grillot, M., Moraine, M. et al. Reintegrating livestock in a specialized vineyard region: unravelling actor perceptions in southern France. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 45, 61 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-025-01045-y

Pesticides have caused significant losses of biodiversity and pose a threat to human health. Crop diversification is proposed as a major solution to achieve the needed pesticide reduction in agriculture, by moderating the pressure of weeds, insect pests, and fungal diseases. According to the pest triangle framework, the impact of a pest outbreak depends on the interactions between crop, pest, and the environment. Diversifying crop sequences in a cropping system could impact the interactions between the three factors and recalibrate the need for pesticides to control pests and avoid yield losses. A previous study found that pesticide use, measured by the Treatment Frequency Index at the cropping system level, is affected both by crop species and crop diversity (assessed in this study through the number of crops), with crop species having a greater impact. However, to our knowledge, no study has quantified the role of the farming environment in the effect of crop diversity on regulating pest pressure, and limiting the need for pesticides. In this study, we used the classification and regression trees method to identify six clusters of production situations with contrasting levels of pesticide use, taking into account the nature of crop species grown. Our results show that production situations, the crop species, and crop diversity, jointly shaped pesticide reliance at the cropping system level. Specifically, production situations explained 5.6% of the variance in total pesticide use. Crop diversification by adding one extra crop reduced total Treatment Frequency Index by 0.10, after filtering out the influences of production situation, and this effect was significant across all pesticide groups, namely herbicides, fungicides, and insecticides. Our findings provide evidence that increasing crop diversity consistently reduces pesticide reliance across diverse production conditions. These insights highlight the potential of crop diversification as an effective and scalable strategy for sustainable pest management.

Zhang, Y., Zhang, C., Cong, WF. et al. Increasing crop diversity reduces pesticides across diverse production situations. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 45, 53 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-025-01037-y

Vine is one of the most treated crops. In the Mediterranean area, vineyards are vulnerable to runoff and erosion, both vectors of pesticide dispersion. The substantial pesticide use along with acute dispersal risk threatens the surrounding water bodies. Pesticide sorption contributes to regulate their dispersal. Identifying sustainable management practices enhancing sorption is key to improve water quality. Vineyard cover cropping regulates runoff and erosion. Yet its influence on the sorption of contrasted pesticides and its variability remains to be characterized. Accordingly, this study evaluated the effects of grass cover management on the sorption of widely used pesticides. The study site was a catchment in Southern France, part of a long-term observatory, where grass cover has been monitored for the past 20 years. Topsoil was sampled from the vine rows and inter-rows of 23 vineyards. These vineyards had diverse soils, slopes, and grass cover rates. The adsorption coefficient of the soils was measured for two herbicides, glyphosate and napropamide, and a fungicide, difenoconazole. This study highlights the heterogeneity in cover cropping strategies. Spontaneous cover cropping dominated, and the most popular pattern was to alternate frequently tilled inter-rows and grassed inter-rows. For most of the vineyards, the rows and the tilled inter-rows had low-medium grass cover rate (0–50%). The majority of the grassed inter-rows had high grass cover rate (50–75%). The sorption coefficients of napropamide, difenoconazole, and glyphosate were similar for the vine rows and tilled inter-rows and significantly greater in grassed inter-rows. This was related to an increase of soil organic carbon from the low to high grass cover class. Other catchment characteristics did not affect pesticide sorption. This is the first study evaluating the influence of vineyard cover cropping on the sorption of pesticides at the catchment scale, and it shows that it is an efficient lever to enhance it.

Dollinger, J., Dagès, C., Vinatier, F. et al. Sustainable grass cover management of vineyards enhances pesticide sorption. Agron. Sustain. Dev. 45, 44 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13593-025-01039-w