Research led by Charles Sturt University demonstrates that the type of landscape surrounding a vegetable farm is an important influencer of beneficial numbers within crops. In turn, the surrounding landscape can influence in-crop pest pressure.
Landscapes are typically a mix of cropland, shelterbelts, roads, pastures, riparian zones, and dams.
Using extensive farm survey results and geospatial analyses, this fact sheet shares evidence-based actions to guide optimal placement of vegetable crops in relation to landscape features and, in the longer term, to manage landscapes to support beneficials and suppress pests.
Beneficial insects and other invertebrates (‘beneficials’) include pollinators, nutrient cyclers and predators or parasitoids of plant pests. The role that predators and parasitoids play in pest suppression on farms is becoming increasingly evident.