Sowing flower strips in a wheat field to enhance biological control of aphids and support pollinators

Insect pests are responsible, among other factors, for reducing the productivity of crops. While chemical insecticides used to control them cause harmful effects on human health and the environment, conservation biological control, i.e. managing habitats in agricultural landscapes to support pest natural enemies, turns out to be a promising approach. Moreover, the decline of pollinators in agricultural areas is observed since a few decades, being partly due to the intensification of agriculture which homogenizes and degrades agricultural landscape. To reduce the detrimental effects of agricultural intensification on biodiversity, ecosystem functioning and ecosystem services, farmers have the opportunity to adopt agri-environmental measures. Among them, the establishment of flower strips, with a recognized interest in biological control and the conservation of pollinators, is proposed. However, their establishment is not systematically efficient and profitable for the farmers. Adapting mixture composition to farmer’s need may encourage their adoption. Thus, the research project has a double goals (i) to provide intercropping flower strips for promoting the attraction of beneficial insects against pests and for promoting pollinators diversity; and (ii) to suggests diversification of farm income by planting monospecific oilseed flower strips.