Tag: orchard

Agriculture, Human-wildlife interactions, Pollinators, Research summaries

Smart orchard design improves crop pollination

In their new research article, Mina Anders (University of Göttingen, Germany) and colleagues compared the effects of agronomic practices, including agronomic inputs (irrigation and managed honey bees), orchard design without external inputs (spatial orchard structure), and landscape factors on nut production in South African macadamia orchards. The need for sustainable agricultural practices Conventional agricultural intensification causes biodiversity loss and environmental degradation. To reduce these impacts, … Continue reading Smart orchard design improves crop pollination

Journal of Applied Ecology2 Comments
Agriculture, Infographic, Pollinators, Research summaries

Loss of bumblebees is a loss to farmers 

New research by Néstor Pérez‐Méndez et al. highlights the economic implications of declining pollinator species. Here the authors summarise their work. Recent expansion and intensification of agriculture to meet growing food demands is among the main drivers of the alarming loss of insect diversity worldwide. This decline can lead to a marked degradation of the ecosystem services that insects provide, such as pollination or regulation of crop … Continue reading Loss of bumblebees is a loss to farmers 

Journal of Applied Ecology1 Comment
Agriculture, Editor's Choice

Editor’s Choice 56:4 – A worm in the apple

Issue 56:4’s Editor’s Choice, Management trade-offs on ecosystem services in apple orchards across Europe: Direct and indirect effects of organic production highlights the need for more environmentally friendly pest control approaches in order to keep up with increasing production demands and avoid damage to pollination services. Associate Editor, Juan Corley, comments on the article. Strategy to minimize the negative effects of pests and weeds is … Continue reading Editor’s Choice 56:4 – A worm in the apple

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Research summaries

The orchard guardian: pest vole control by owls

Following the recently published article, Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards, Chie Murano highlights the vital role predators such as Ural owls play in protecting farmers’ produce from pests.   Voles are one of the world’s major pests. For the past few decades, Japanese farmers, especially apple producers have suffered from escalating levels of apple tree damage caused by the Japanese field … Continue reading The orchard guardian: pest vole control by owls

Journal of Applied Ecology3 Comments