Organic EprintsAufwertung der Kulturlandschaft durch Nützlingsförderung im Gemüse- und AckerbauMany agroecosystems are unfavourable environments for natural enemies due to high levels of disturbance. Fragmentation and loss of suitable habitats has caused natural enemies to decline in species diversity and abundance, and has even resulted in extinctions and loss of biocontrol function. Therefore a diversification through habitatmanagement is essential to create a suitable ecological infrastructure within the agricultural landscape to resources such as food for adult natural enemies, alternative prey or hosts, and shelter from adverse conditions. The concept of a multi-level approach of pest-control on organic farms combines indirect with direct plant protection measures and habitat manipulation using functional biodiversity. Non-crop habitats are known to play an essential role for reproduction and survival of natural enemies offering food resources, overwintering sites and refugees. Using selective plants in field margins adjacent to the crops is a key issue. After a general improvement of biodiversity on-farm a specifically tailored biodiversity to the needs of key antagonists on crop level is necessary to increase pest-control in annual crops. Project aims: - Impact of habitat manipulation on parasitism and predation of key pests in annual crops (lepidopteran pests in cabbage crops). Field trials on-farm. - Analysis of temporal-spatial dispersal pattern of natural enemies between non-crop and crop habitat on local scale. - Development of management techniques of field margins and seed mixtures to conserve a high level of structural and species diversity. Methodology: - Investigation of the parasitism rates of cabbage lepidopteran pest in relation to presence or absence of adjacent sown, species rich wildflower strips on several farms at different sites in arable landscapes of Western-Switzerland. Furthermore using batches of reared eggs the spatial pattern of parasitism in relation to the strip was analysed in an experimental grid design. Using molecular methods to quantify egg-parasitism rates (collaboration with Univ. Innsbruck). - Test of different seed-mixtures and management techniques of field margins on-farm. Results, conclusion, state of the art: - See Pfiffner et al. 2003 and Pfiffner & Wyss 2004 (review on wild flower strip) Crop health, quality, protectionProject description

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