Threshold-based management reduces insecticide use by 44% without compromising pest control or crop yield
Ashley Leach, Arnol Ariel Gómez-Santos, Ian Kaplan
Abstract
Pest control is critical to agricultural production and protects agronomic yield from damaging pest populations. Threshold-based programs, where insecticides are only applied when pest densities exceed a pre-determined population, can reduce agrichemical inputs. However, the impacts of these programs are poorly characterized and case-specific. To assess the broader impact of threshold-based insecticide programs for arthropod pests in agriculture, we conducted a meta-analysis of 126 studies reporting 466 trials in 34 crops where thresholds were compared to calendar-based (i.e., weekly or pest-independent) insecticide programs and/or untreated control. Threshold-based programs reduced insecticide applications by 44% and associated costs by 40%, without compromising pest control or overall yield compared to calendar-based programs. Threshold-based insecticide programs featured higher beneficial insect abundance and provided similar levels of arthropod-vectored disease control. Given the extent and consistency of these benefits, greater policy and financial support are needed to encourage this practice in agriculture. Pest control programs using pest density thresholds cut insecticide uses by 44% and costs by 40%, while maintaining yield and pest suppression, and enhancing beneficial insect populations, as revealed by a meta-analysis of 126 studies reporting 466 trials in 34 crops.