Reducing Pesticide Use

Problem

Can corn and soybean producers use less insecticide and still maintain competitive yields?

• No-till producers of corn and soybeans often apply insecticides multiple times each growing season to reduce pests that can destroy crops.
• Widespread pesticide use can have significant negative impacts, including elimination of beneficial insect predators and pollinators, losses to adjacent crops, and contamination of groundwater.

Findings

Researchers conducted a six-year comparison of two types of crop rotations under no-till production: standard corn-soybean rotation with preventative insecticides applied twice annually to suppress caterpillars and other pests, and a diverse rotation of corn, perennial forages, and cover crops that received insecticides only as needed.

• Yields produced by the two systems were similar, with the more diverse rotations that promoted predatory insects averaging only about 10 percent reduced establishment of corn plants due to early season pests.

Impact

Diversified crop rotations that avoid preventative insecticides create conditions that promote populations of predatory insects to combat pests. Considering the cost of multiple insecticide applications and an ongoing struggle with commodity prices, this research demonstrates that high-diversity rotations incorporating integrated pest management can compete with low-diversity systems that include preventative insecticides.

Related Research Areas: Advanced Agricultural and Food Systems, Environmental Resilience

Research Credits

Team

• John Tooker, Heather Karsten, Anna Busch, Margaret Douglas, Glenna Malcolm

Participating Departments

• Entomology
• Plant Science

Competitive Funding

• USDA Northeast Region SARE

Other Supporting Sponsors

• USDA Agricultural Research Service, Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences

Federal and State Appropriations

• USDA NIFA Hatch Projects PEN04606and PEN04600, Accession #1009990 and #1009362

Emerging Discoveries

'Sustainable intensification' of cropping systems good for farmers, environment

March 12, 2020

By diversifying their crop rotations to create conditions that promote beneficial, predatory insects to combat pests, farmers can reduce their reliance on insecticides to control early-season crop pests, such as caterpillars, and still produce competitive yields of corn and soybeans.

Cover crops more effective than insecticides for managing pests, study suggests

March 31, 2022

Promoting early season plant cover, primarily through the use of cover crops, can be more effective at reducing pest density and crop damage than insecticide applications, according to a Penn State-led team of researchers.

Published Research

A high-diversity/IPM cropping system fosters beneficial arthropod populations, limits invertebrate pests, and produces competitive maize yields

• Busch, A. K., Douglas, M. R., Malcolm, G. M., Karsten, H. D., & Tooker, J. F. (2020). A high-diversity/IPM cropping system fosters beneficial arthropod populations, limits invertebrate pests, and produces competitive maize yields. Agriculture, Ecosystems and Environment, 292, [106812]. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agee.2019.106812

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