We investigate empirically the role of moral and social concerns in farmers' decision to adopt
integrated crop protection (IP) and organic farming (OF). A survey questionnaire has been …

Conventional agriculture is based on a high level of chemical inputs such as pesticides and
fertilisers, leading to serious environmental impacts, health risks and loss of biodiversity in …

Recent European incentive policies clearly targeted decreasing pesticide use in all
agricultural systems as a key option to reduce environmental hazards and health risks. To …

This study under field experimental conditions in apple orchard agroecosystems
investigated the effects of pest management strategies (ie none, organic, conventional and …

BACKGROUND We investigated several aspects that could affect the role of the European
earwig (Forficula auricularia) as a generalist predator in orchards:(i) seasonal activity in …

Abstract The European earwig Forficula auricularia is an effective predator in apple
orchards. It is therefore crucial to study whether insecticides affect this natural pest control …

Apple orchards are agro-ecosystems managed with high levels of inputs and especially
pesticides. Epigeal spider communities were sampled in three seasons using pitfall traps in …

The present study used cholinesterase (ChE) activity in earthworms as a biomarker of
pesticide exposure at 17 apple orchards using different pest protection strategies (organic …

The aim of this thesis, conducted over six growing seasons (2003 2008), is to define new
measures for reducing the use of fungicides and in particular, copper fungicides, for the …

Simple Summary Food security and environmental sustainability are two hot topics
nowadays. Chemical pesticides used with no discretion threaten human health and …