1st Place: Interaction between landscape complexity and local management influences pest management and yield services in ecologically intensified farms in Kenya

On-Demand

Presenting Author(s)

TL

Timothy Luttermoser

Graduate Student
Cornell University
Newfield, New York

Co-Author(s)

BM

Bester T. Mudereri

International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology (icipe)
Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya
YC

Yann Clough

Lund University
Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
WM

Wilhelm May

Lund University
Lund, Skane Lan, Sweden
EA

Elfatih M. Abdel-Rahman

International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology (icipe)
Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya
ZK

Zeyaur R. Khan

International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology (icipe)
Nairobi, Nairobi Area, Kenya
CM

Charles Midega

Poverty and Health Integrated Solutions
Kisumu, Nyanza, Kenya
DN

Dickens Nyagol

International Centre of Insect Physiology & Ecology (icipe)
Mbita, Nyanza, Kenya
KP

Katja Poveda

Associate Professor
Cornell University
Ithaca, New York

Ecological intensification in agriculture aims to manage biodiversity to maintain or improve crop yield, while reducing negative impacts of agricultural management. Growers often increase local plant diversity as part of ecological intensification, using techniques such as flower strips and companion cropping, but the success of these techniques is also dependent on local and landscape biodiversity. Using data collected from the push-pull system (a maize companion cropping system using both a legume intercrop and a grass perimeter planting), we examined how the interaction between farmer management practices, landscape composition, and climate influenced pest abundance (for both insects and a parasitic weed) and yield. In total, our dataset contained 686 observations, each with both a push-pull and control plot, representing 192 unique farmers collected over four growing seasons in 2015 and 2016. Preliminary results showed that insect pest and striga weed abundance both increased with intensified agriculture in the surrounding landscape, but the correlation was stronger for insect pests in control fields than in push-pull fields. We also found an interactive effect between push-pull management and landscape context on yield: while maize grain yields were consistently higher in push-pull than in control plots, the effect was stronger on farms with a greater proportion of surrounding natural area. These data show that conserving natural areas has benefits for ecosystem services and can enhance the benefits of ecologically intensified management practices.