More plant diversity, less pesticide
Published Date: 11/6/2020
Source: phys.org
Increasing plant diversity enhances the natural control of insect herbivory in grasslands. Species-rich plant communities support natural predators and simultaneously provide less valuable food for herbivores. This was found by a team of researchers led by the German Center for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), who conducted two analogous experiments in Germany and the U.S. Their results were published in Science Advances and show that increasing plant biodiversity could help reduce pesticide inputs in agricultural systems by enhancing natural biological control.