Functional agrobiodiversity in apple and pear pest management in Belgium

Summary

In the framework of both ‘Eco-Orchard’ CORE Organic+ ERA NET project, and a research project with financial support of the Rural Development Administration (RDA) of the Republic of Korea, a study started in 2015 with as first aim the comparison of the type and abundance of beneficials in Belgium orchards under conventional and organic production systems applying different Functional AgroBiodiversity (FAB) techniques and this during two growing seasons. The second aim of this study is to collect existing information about FAB and its management techniques to improve knowledge and practical experience between scientists, advisors and owners of the fruit orchards. The final aim of this study focus on the co-design and establishment of innovative fruit-based agroforestry cropping systems, including the best registered FAB techniques, in order to conduct a long-term sustainability study of such systems.
The first results concerning relationship between beneficial’s and FAB techniques, show that (i) beneficial’s are more abundant (x 3.1) in organic compared to conventional orchards and (ii) the diversity of beneficial are significantly higher (x 2.2) in organic compared to conventional orchards. A total of 34 techniques have been described. The most Functional Agro-Biodiversity techniques, as ranked by farmers, are (i) flower strip, (ii) hedgerows, (iii) to reduce pesticides uses and (iv) to adapt interrow mowing. Concerning innovative fruit-based agroforestry cropping system, an experimental agroforestry orchard was planted in 2014 at Gembloux (Belgium) with the aim of testing various hypotheses. (i) a mixture of selected robust fruit and vegetable cultivars creates a functional biodiversity that significantly reduces the risk of pest and disease damages; (ii) the useful impact on soil functions and biological processes; and (iii) where distances between vegetables and trees in intensified alley-cropping systems are optimized, tree shading does not reduce light levels below the threshold of light saturation.