Companion plants to increase Colorado potato beetle’s natural enemies

Summary in the original language of the document

In Switzerland, biodiversity in agricultural areas continues to decline despite the implementation of biodiversity promotion programs(Fischer, 2015). More than a third of plant, animal and fungal species has been classified as threatened (Fischer, 2015). The main causes of biodiversity loss are the massive use of chemicals, the high amount of land devoted to livestock production, the short time frame for crop rotation, the loss of valuable semi-natural areas such as dry meadows, hedges or trees, the urbanization and the homogenization of the landscape (Fischer, 2015). Biodiversity loss impacts ecosystem services essential for securing food supplies. It also has consequences on the regulation of climate, pests and soil health. The insects decrease, for instance, is worrying as they are necessary for the pollination of many crops and play an important role in natural pest control. Currently, the proportion areas in arable land is about 1,2% and recent estimates pointed out that to the fact that this percentage would need to be increase and be combined with low-input cultivation methods in arable land, such as organic production, to preserve biodiversity and fertile soils in arable farming areas (Guntern and al., 2013).