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Determinants of chemical and non-chemical weed control in vineyards
Pesticide risk reductions are at the top of the agricultural policy agendas worldwide, and viticulture is at the forefront when it comes to pesticide use in Switzerland. This Master Thesis studies determinants of chemical and non-chemical weed control in viticulture and contributes to a better understanding of pesticide risk reductions. This Thesis offers a unique opportunity to work with recent and highly-detailed plot-level data.
Keywords: Viticulture, weed control, pesticide reduction, machine learning, big data
Pesticide risk reductions are at the top of the agricultural policy agendas worldwide (Möhring et al. 2020) and discussions on how to reduce risks have emerged in society (Finger 2021). Perennial crops such as grapevines rank among the most intensively treated crops in terms of pesticide use (de Baan, Spycher, and Daniel 2015; Pertot et al. 2017).
Although fungicides are the major pesticide type used, and herbicide applications are only responsible for 4.6% of active ingredients sprayed, it is crucial to understand the determinants of chemical and mechanical weed control in vineyards to reduce risks resulting from weed control.
This Master Thesis investigates the determinants of chemical and non-chemical weed control. What determines adoption of herbicide free practices? The thesis can use plot specific census data. For example, in a sample from 2021 of around 23'000 plots cultivated with grapevines in the regions of Geneva and Vaud. It analyses what factors influence the use of chemical weed control vis-à-vis mechanical weed control at the plot level. Potential determinants are the training system of the vines (5 different systems), the soil type, the average plot slope, presence of resistant weeds, farm-specific factors, the proportion of greening under the vines, the age of the vines, the presence of irrigation systems, or spatial spill-overs. The thesis contributes to a bigger project on pesticide reductions in Swiss agriculture https://aecp.ethz.ch/research/Sinergia1.html.
**Literature**
Baan, Laura de, Simon Spycher, and Otto Daniel. 2015. “Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln in Der Schweiz von 2009 Bis 2012.” Agrarforschung Schweiz 6 (2): 48–55.
Finger, Robert. 2021. “No Pesticide-Free Switzerland.” Nature Plants 7 (10): 1324–25. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41477-021-01009-6.
Möhring, Niklas, Karin Ingold, Per Kudsk, Fabrice Martin-Laurent, Urs Niggli, Michael Siegrist, Bruno Studer, Achim Walter, and Robert Finger. 2020. “Pathways for Advancing Pesticide Policies.” Nature Food 1 (9): 535–40. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00141-4.
Pertot, I., T. Caffi, V. Rossi, L. Mugnai, C. Hoffmann, M.S. Grando, C. Gary, et al. 2017. “A Critical Review of Plant Protection Tools for Reducing Pesticide Use on Grapevine and New Perspectives for the Implementation of IPM in Viticulture.” Crop Protection 97 (July): 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2016.11.025.
Pesticide risk reductions are at the top of the agricultural policy agendas worldwide (Möhring et al. 2020) and discussions on how to reduce risks have emerged in society (Finger 2021). Perennial crops such as grapevines rank among the most intensively treated crops in terms of pesticide use (de Baan, Spycher, and Daniel 2015; Pertot et al. 2017). Although fungicides are the major pesticide type used, and herbicide applications are only responsible for 4.6% of active ingredients sprayed, it is crucial to understand the determinants of chemical and mechanical weed control in vineyards to reduce risks resulting from weed control. This Master Thesis investigates the determinants of chemical and non-chemical weed control. What determines adoption of herbicide free practices? The thesis can use plot specific census data. For example, in a sample from 2021 of around 23'000 plots cultivated with grapevines in the regions of Geneva and Vaud. It analyses what factors influence the use of chemical weed control vis-à-vis mechanical weed control at the plot level. Potential determinants are the training system of the vines (5 different systems), the soil type, the average plot slope, presence of resistant weeds, farm-specific factors, the proportion of greening under the vines, the age of the vines, the presence of irrigation systems, or spatial spill-overs. The thesis contributes to a bigger project on pesticide reductions in Swiss agriculture https://aecp.ethz.ch/research/Sinergia1.html.
**Literature**
Baan, Laura de, Simon Spycher, and Otto Daniel. 2015. “Einsatz von Pflanzenschutzmitteln in Der Schweiz von 2009 Bis 2012.” Agrarforschung Schweiz 6 (2): 48–55.
Möhring, Niklas, Karin Ingold, Per Kudsk, Fabrice Martin-Laurent, Urs Niggli, Michael Siegrist, Bruno Studer, Achim Walter, and Robert Finger. 2020. “Pathways for Advancing Pesticide Policies.” Nature Food 1 (9): 535–40. https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-020-00141-4.
Pertot, I., T. Caffi, V. Rossi, L. Mugnai, C. Hoffmann, M.S. Grando, C. Gary, et al. 2017. “A Critical Review of Plant Protection Tools for Reducing Pesticide Use on Grapevine and New Perspectives for the Implementation of IPM in Viticulture.” Crop Protection 97 (July): 70–84. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cropro.2016.11.025.
The aim of this Master Thesis is twofold. First, a literature review is conducted to identify the relevant determinants of weed control in vineyards from the literature. Then, the identified determinants are empirically tested in an econometric model.
The aim of this Master Thesis is twofold. First, a literature review is conducted to identify the relevant determinants of weed control in vineyards from the literature. Then, the identified determinants are empirically tested in an econometric model.
Lucca Zachmann (lzachmann@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)
Lucca Zachmann (lzachmann@ethz.ch), Robert Finger (rofinger@ethz.ch)