Modern agriculture faces a dual challenge: reducing the use of pesticides while preserving biodiversity. By studying 18 apple orchards in Provence, INRAE and IMBE researchers have shown that spontaneous flora plays a key role in protecting crops by providing refuge and resources for pollinating insects and natural predators of pests.
In the Mediterranean apple orchards of the Basse Vallée de la Durance, INRAE researchers, in collaboration with the Institut Méditerranéen de Biodiversité et d'Écologie marine et continentale (IMBE), studied the interactions between spontaneous flora, pollinators and the main pests. They found that 5 to 10 % of flowers among this flora are enough to attract a significant diversity of beneficial insects. These include hoverflies and parasitoid wasps, two valuable allies in the fight against pests such as codling moth (Cydia pomonella) and the apple aphid (Dysaphis plantaginea), which are major threats to apple growing.
However, although spontaneous flora help to attract the natural enemies of insect pests, the results, published in the journal Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment, do not yet guarantee a systematic reduction in infestations. Further research is needed to understand the mechanisms involved, and in particular the complex interactions between the various insects.
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