Abstract
Pest management strategies involve a complex set of considerations, circumstances, and decision-making. Existing research suggests that farmers are reflexive and reflective in their management choices yet continue to employ curative rather than preventative strategies, and opt for chemical over biological solutions. In this piece, we detail work from a two-year, multidisciplinary, mixed-methods study of insect pest management strategies in alfalfa in Wyoming, integrating data from four focus groups, a statewide survey, and biological sampling of production fields. We outline how these different sources of data together contribute to a more complete understanding of the challenges and strategies employed by farmers, and specifically on biological pest control. We applied this approach across alfalfa hay and seed crop systems. Relatively few farmers acknowledged biological control in focus groups or surveys, yet biological exploration yielded abundant parasitism of common pest alfalfa weevil. On the other hand, parasitism of seed alfalfa pestLyguswas far less common and patchy across fields. It is only in integrating quantitative and qualitative, biological and social data that we are able to generate a more complete portrait of the challenges and opportunities of working with farmers to embrace a preventative paradigm. In doing so, we offer insights on possible barriers to the adoption of preventative insect management strategies and provide a case study of integrating social science and biophysical techniques to better understand opportunities to expand biological pest control in cropping systems.
Highlights
Farmer decision-making has long been an area of interest to scientists to increase efficiency and provide useful scientific insight to assist growers
Insect pests are a costly challenge to producing both quality alfalfa hay and seed crops, with alfalfa weevil Hypera postica (Gyllenhal) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) and Lygus spp. (Hemiptera: Miridae), respectively, identified as problematic pests in these distinct management systems
We found evidence of biological control by parasitoids of both alfalfa weevil and Lygus in both hay and seed fields, the parasitism rate varied widely between individual production fields (Figures 4, 5)
Summary
Farmer decision-making has long been an area of interest to scientists to increase efficiency and provide useful scientific insight to assist growers. A Multi-Disciplinary, Mixed-Methods Approach to IPM but are not limited to, conservation or augmentative biological control (Landis et al, 2000) and systems-level diversification of an agroecosystem, for instance via increased crop or habitat diversity across spatial and temporal scales or integration of crop and livestock systems (Kremen and Miles, 2012) These preventative approaches are in contrast with preventative prophylactic pesticide applications common in many conventional cropping systems (i.e., calendar sprays, seed treatments). Lygus plant bugs include a few closely related species whose nymphs and adults primarily feed on terminals, buds, flowers, and developing seeds, their pernicious role in seed production (Blodgett, 2006) Growers of both hay and seed crops primarily rely on chemical control of alfalfa insect pests, the type and timing of management disturbances differ greatly across these systems
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