An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 3: alternatives to systemic insecticides

Abstract

Over-reliance on pesticides for pest control is inflicting serious damage to the environmental services that underpin agricultural productivity. The widespread use of systemic insecticides, neonicotinoids, and the phenylpyrazole fipronil in particular is assessed here in terms of their actual use in pest management, effects on crop yields, and the development of pest resistance to these compounds in many crops after two decades of usage. Resistance can only be overcome in the longterm by implementing methods that are not exclusively based on synthetic pesticides. A diverse range of pest management tactics is already available, all of which can achieve efficient pest control below the economic injury level while maintaining the productivity of the crops. A novel insurance method against crop failure is shown here as an example of alternative methods that can protect farmer's crops and their livelihoods without having to use insecticides. Finally, some concluding remarks about the need for a new framework for a truly sustainable agriculture that relies mainly on natural ecosystem services instead of chemicals are included; this reinforcing the previous WIA conclusions (van der Sluijs et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res 22:148-154, 2015).

Impacts of neonicotinoid seed treatments on soil-dwelling pest populations and agronomic parameters in corn and soybean in Quebec (Canada)

“…Other methods, such as trap crops using pea and lentil [107] or the use of entomopathogenic fungi such as Metarhizium anisopliae [108,109,110] could be tested on a large scale against wireworms. Furlan et al [111] proposed a mutual funds approach covering the risk of implementing IPM programs for Italian producers, which increased farmer profits while reducing the use of pesticides. In Quebec, a decision support tool was developed based on a boosted regression analysis of all physical and landscape parameters that favour the presence of the main wireworm species in the province, H. abbreviatus.…”

Neonicotinoids: Spreading, Translocation and Aquatic Toxicity

“…Due to the strict restrictions on CLO, IMI and TMX, replacement agrotechnological solutions became a pressing need in the EU, and are also considered in the US. Possible alternative pest management strategies were recently presented [11], to eliminate neonicotinoid-based chemical pest control in cropping systems. These tools provide considerable reduction in the utilization rate of these insecticides by replacing their prophylactic use with applications justified by on-site risk assessment, on the one hand, and by a financial compensation system of unpredicted damages by crop insurance, on the other hand.…”

“…For some pests, data are available to predict years in which heavy infestations may be more common (e.g., pests with multi-year life cycles), although forecast damages can be difficult in given cases due to poor historical experience on temporal pest population dynamics [13]. Insecticides are rarely needed to control early-season pests (e.g., in maize), and related crop loss can be largely eliminated by non-chemical and agroecological methods [11], including mating disruption, attract-and-kill strategies using biological tools (e.g., microbial agents or biological control with flowers grown on the bunds of rice fields), natural or food-derived insecticides, insect repellents (e.g., nettle extract) and trap attractants. Farmers generally relied on alternative seed treatments or more soil/foliar treatments in the first growing season after the restrictions took effect [14].…”

Time-Cumulative Toxicity of Neonicotinoids: Experimental Evidence and Implications for Environmental Risk Assessments

“…For this reason, neonicotinoids are not compatible with integrated pest management (IPM) approaches in agriculture [75,76], despite claims to the contrary made in studies that only looked at the acute toxicity in standard glass plate tests [77,78]. If we are to protect the biodiversity of beneficial arthropods, which are more efficient in controlling pests than chemicals, neonicotinoids have no place in sustainable agriculture [79], as they undermine the natural pest control systems.…”