Wicked weeds may be agricultural angels

Toni DiTommaso, discusses pesticide-resistant weeds on a field day at Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora, New York in July 2015.
Toni DiTommaso, discusses pesticide-resistant weeds on a field day at Musgrave Research Farm in Aurora, New York in July 2015.

Cornell Chronicle [2016-11-11]:

Farmers looking to reduce reliance on pesticides, herbicides and other pest management tools may want to heed the advice of Cornell agricultural scientists: Let nature be nature – to a degree.

“Managing crop pests without fully understanding the impacts of tactics – related to resistance and nontarget plants or insects – costs producers money,” said Antonio DiTommaso, professor of soil and crop science and lead author of a new study, “Integrating Insect, Resistance and Floral Resource Management in Weed Control Decision-Making,” in the journal Weed Science (October-December 2016).

“We are taking a renewed look at a holistic, sustainable integrated pest management (IPM) approach,” DiTommaso said.

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