Cover crops for arthropod pest management

Over the last six decades, agriculture has intensified, in part through the widespread use of agrochemicals, which has produced higher yields, but has also resulted in significant long-term negative consequences such as environmental pollution; development of pesticide-resistant insects, pathogens, and weeds; and loss of biodiversity due to monocultures, which collectively is expressed as weakened ecosystem resilience (Rockstrom et al., 2017). The reliance on pesticides has caused contamination of soil and water, disruption of ecosystem services provided by non-target organisms, and potential health risks to humans through direct exposure during applications and indirectly via residues in food (Claeys et al., 2011).