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Copyright of Journal of Cultivated Plants / Journal für Kulturpflanzen is the property of Verlag Eugen Ulmer and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The history of the Colorado Potato Beetle (CPB) (Coleoptera, Chrysomelidae, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (SAY, 1824)) in Germany is an object lesson in the uncontrolled spread of a pest that, without regular control measures, would cause severe yield reductions in one of our most important food crops. Its lack of natural and effective enemies and its tremendous adaptability to pesticides make it a potent adversary that will continue to challenge future generations. Historical pest control of the CPB is traced from its appearance in 1936 to the present. In the past, the intensive and exclusive use of insecticides has always led to resistance to the active substances used. Preventive measures such as keeping a distance of 500m from the previous year's fields, avoiding potato overgrowth, pre-sprouting and using early varieties are not sufficient to control the Colorado Potato Beetle in the long term. New results in organic farming show the high efficacy of biological control agents of spinosad and neem. In the future, resistance properties of wild species (e.g. leptin glycoalkaloids) can be used within classical breeding methods to breed resistant potato varieties and thus contribute to an integrated pest management concept against Colorado Potato beetle. In gardens and on small fields, hand collection also remains an effective control measure. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The expansion of organic farming requires intensive and applied research on yield stability. Plant health of the plant and the quality of the harvested products play an important role here. The article describes the importance of the long-term field trials of the Julius Kühn-Institut in Dahnsdorf (State of Brandenburg) for this task. The measures for weed control, for potato beetle control (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say) and for copper minimization in the regulation of late blight (Phytophthora infestans (Mont.) De Bary) were tested in the system of a crop rotation typical for organic farming and according to EU organic guidelines. The benefits of organic farming on soil activity, abundance and biodiversity of insect communities in general could be confirmed even under small-scale conditions of an experimental field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The authorization for using copper pesticides against bacteria and fungi in European agriculture was extended to expire on 31 January 2018, following the receipt of an application for renewal of approval. The EU issued the authorization under the condition to provide efforts to reduce the use of copper pesticides to the minimum required to achieve the desired effects. Since 2011, the Federal Research Centre for Cultivated Plants (Julius Kühn-Institut) and the Bund Ökologische Lebensmittelwirtschaft e.V. (BÖLW) are documenting continuously the efforts of minimizing copper and the search for alternative solutions. Important progress was made in recent years to continually reduce copper application rates. The applied amounts of copper per hectare in conventional crop protection in grape, hop and potatoes are well below the amounts of copper used in organic farming whether they are nearly the same in apple growing. Due to the different farming area, only 24% (26.5 t) of the total amount of copper was applied in organic farming; 76% (84.8 t) was applied in conventional farming. While in integrated pest management, copper preparations are very important in terms of a necessary change of effective substances and a successful resistance management, the availability of such preparations is often essential e.g. for organic wine, hops and fruit production and for the expansion of organic farming of these crops. A complete renunciation of copper as a pesticide is not yet practicable in organic farming, because that would make the production of several crops unprofitable and would lead to reconversion to conventional production. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the permission for using copper pesticides against bacteria and fungi in European agriculture expires on 31 January 2018, the search for minimization and alternative pest management strategies is an important goal of research. Since 2001, the Federal Agency for Agriculture and Food (BLE) promotes research institutions in Germany through the Federal Research Program (Bundesprogramm Ökologischer Landbau und andere Formen nachhaltiger Landwirtschaft, BÖLN) to find practical solutions in this area. The copper research and minimization strategy was funded with 10.2 million Euros in total. The overview of the status quo of the research in this field points out the progress made in the continuous reduction of the copper application rate in recent years. Furthermore, it shows that a complete renunciation of copper as a pesticide is not practicable in organic farming yet, because that would make the production of several crops unprofitable and would lead to reconversion to conventional production. The research on the reduction and substitution of copper must therefore be pursued continuously and intensively. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]