{"id":20914,"date":"2022-10-06T11:00:51","date_gmt":"2022-10-06T09:00:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/articles\/ricerca-formiche-piante-pesticidi\/"},"modified":"2022-10-20T09:54:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T07:54:34","slug":"ants-study-crops-pesticides","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/resoilfoundation.org\/en\/agricultural-industry\/ants-study-crops-pesticides\/","title":{"rendered":"Ants better than pesticides in protecting soil health and increasing agricultural yields"},"content":{"rendered":"

According to a research ants provide crucial services for crops such as decreasing pest activity and plant damage while leading to higher yields<\/h2>\n

by Matteo Cavallito<\/p>\n

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Ants may be a natural alternative to pesticides<\/strong> in tackling plant pests, says a research<\/a> published in Proceedings B, the British Royal Society’s academic journal of biological sciences. The investigation, which was carried out by a group of scientists from different universities and research centers (Uberl\u00e2ndia, S\u00e3o Paulo and Bel\u00e9m in Brazil; Moncada in Spain; and Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States) examined 17 crops in different areas of the world.<\/p>\n

Researchers, The Guardian explains<\/a>, “looked at 26 species, most of them tree ants<\/strong>, which nest on plants or the ground but often climb plants.” The results highlight how “do best in diversified farming systems such as agroforestry (where trees and crops are grown on the same land) and shade-grown crops because there are more nesting sites and food resources for them.”<\/p>\n

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Pesticides rule in U.S. farmland as 146,000 MT of banned chemicals are in place<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n