The impact of agricultural practices and pesticide use in integrated pest management, organic and conventional farming, in vineyards and apple and pear orchards

Abstract

Monitoring farming practices and the use of pesticides, through environmental indicators, allows evaluating the impacts of agriculture and of agricultural and environmental policies. IPM in Portugal and its contribution to reducing agricultural environmental impact by adopting environmentally friendly' farming practices and the sustainable use of pesticides, is described based on the results of a survey to the farming practices adopted and on biodiversity monitoring on integrated pest management, organic and conventional farms in two crops in which the use of pesticides is worrying: vineyards (Douro, Vinhos Verdes, Dão and Alentejo regions) and apple and pear orchards (Dão and Ribatejo e Oeste regions). IPM farms provides a greater contribution to the ecosystems balance, not by reducing the amount of pesticides used but due to the adoption of sustainable practices that effectively contributed to reduce the effects of pesticides on the environment and to increase farm biodiversity. Pesticide use was higher in vineyards, mainly due to the use of fungicides, in the Douro region, although in this case the use of insecticides was lower than in other regions. Arthropods diversity was higher in apple and pear orchards, for most taxa and diversity indices considered (richness, Simpson and Berger-Parker, abundance, presence and richness on indicator species). Higher levels of diversity were observed in Dão and Douro regions and weeds richness was higher in vineyards in Douro and in orchards in Dão.