Integrated crop protection and environment exposure to pesticides: methods to reduce use and impact of pesticides in arable farming

Prototypes of Integrated Farming Systems for arable farming are being developed in the Netherlands based on a coherent methodology elaborated in an European Union concerted action. The role of crop protection in Integrated systems is, additional to all other methods, to efficiently control the remaining harmful species, with minimal use of well selected pesticides. The overall aim of more sustainable farming systems is to reduce the exposure of the environment to pesticides in order to prevent short- and long term effects on all species over all the biosphere. An innovative approach to quantify this exposure of the environment to pesticides, based on molecular-chemical properties of the pesticides, is presented. The results of prototyping on an experimental farm in the Netherlands shows that not only drastic reductions in pesticide use are possible but that subsequent careful selection of pesticides can also lead to minimal environmental impact