The influence of crop sequence on fungicide and herbicide use intensities in North German arable farming

The reduction of pesticide use intensity is a societal and political ambition. Crop rotation is one important method to control pests and diseases in arable farming. We investigated the contribution of crop rotation to the variability of herbicide and fungicide use of 60 farms in four regions of Northern Germany. Our study aimed at answering the question: do diverse crop sequences lead to reduced herbicide and fungicide use in arable farming? Ten-year data on chemical plant protection measures and field management were examined for six field crops. We classified crop sequences (triplets of three succeeding crops) according to their susceptibility for weeds and diseases (= 'riskiness'). The Treatment Frequency Index (TFI) of the last crop in the triplet was set in relation to the crop triplet riskiness, additionally also in combination with tillage. In general, herbicide and fungicide use intensities were smaller in more diverse crop sequences. Diversified cereal sequences, involving roots and tubers, maize or spring cereals were less dependent on herbicides. Cultivation of maize in three subsequent years increased herbicide use. Crop sequences including high proportion of winter cereals increased fungicide use in cereals, while roots and tubers, winter oilseed rape and set-aside in the crop sequence decreased it. In winter oilseed rape, sequences with roots and tubers also increased fungicide use. In sugar beets, sequences with maize or a high concentration of sugar beets led to increasing fungicide use. If farmers chose riskier crop sequences tillage by plough decreased the need for herbicide and fungicide use. To reduce herbicide and fungicide use intensities we recommend increasing the diversity of crop rotations, including a higher number of crops per rotation together with ploughing. Simplifying both crop sequence diversity and tillage intensity implies higher use of herbicides and fungicides. Results will be useful for convincing farmers to diversify crop sequences. (C) 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.