Network for monitoring enemies of cultivated plants

Establishment and optimisation of a network for monitoring emerging enemies of crops in a climate change context (RESECC)

Analysis of climate data in Switzerland indicates that temperatures have increased by about 1.7°C in 150 years. The latest climate scenarios for Switzerland (CH2011) indicate that the climate will continue to change significantly in the future. Adaptation to the consequences of these climate changes will thus increase in importance over the next few decades and is now a new theme for cantons, regions and communes. The climate change adaptation strategy has recently been incorporated into the revised CO2 law (which came into force on 1 January 2013). The implementation of this strategy has resulted in the development of a pilot programme «Adaptation to Climate Change» in partnership with the Federal Office for Population Protection (OFPP), the Federal Office of Public Health (OFSP), the Federal Office of Agriculture (OFAG), the Federal Office of Spatial Planning (AER) and the Federal Office for Food Safety and Veterinary Affairs (OSAV). This program allows for the initiation and implementation of local pilot projects in different sectors such as agriculture.

Changing temperatures can affect fauna and promote the spread of emerging pests and invasive alien species. Indeed, with global warming, several species not listed in Switzerland are likely to exert increasing pressure on crops, especially in cross-border regions. The main objective of the pilot project «establishment and optimization of a network for monitoring emerging enemies of crop plants in the context of climate change» is to establish an early monitoring system for emerging undesirable organisms in order to curb their dissemination and consequently their impact on the quality of agricultural habitats and crops in Switzerland.

Under the Agriculture Law, the Plant Protection Ordinance (OPV) and the Convention for the establishment of the European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organisation (EPPO), the cantons are responsible for monitoring the health status of crops. In addition to monitoring regulated organisms already identified in the territory, the cantons participate in the national observation networks set up by the Confederation on emerging organisms. The canton of Geneva, characterized by a long international border, numerous cross-border movements and an airport hosting intercontinental flights, plays a particularly important role in these surveillance activities. In order to optimise the surveillance and early detection of emerging undesirable organisms, particularly those likely to be favoured by climate change, it is useful to develop a programme that incorporates targeted observations. To this end, this pilot project has been defined according to the following objectives and timetable:

1. Identify enemies of crops (arthropods, weeds, pathogens) with a high potential for agricultural harm in a climate change context (2014);
2. Implement a forward-looking surveillance strategy for these enemies in the canton of Geneva (2014-2016);
3. Establish a protocol for the early and effective detection of these organisms for the main horticultural crops in the canton of Geneva and surrounding regions (2014-2016);
4. Analyse the vulnerabilities of the agricultural sector in the canton of Geneva and surrounding regions to climate change for the target organisms (2015-2016);
5. Develop recommendations on alternative, curative or preventive methods to limit the phytosanitary risks of these organisms in Switzerland in connection with the developed climate scenarios (2016).

The identification of emerging pests, the establishment of monitoring networks and the development of methods for the early detection of these crop enemies (objectives 1, 2 and 3) were carried out in the canton of Geneva during the years 2014, 2015 and 2016 for the following three pest categories:

• Harmful arthropod species (responsible: Sophie Rochefort)
• Weed species (responsible: Nicolas Delabays)
• Tree pathogens (responsible: François Lefort)

The term «emerging» in this study refers to organisms likely to arrive in the canton in a context of climate change or organisms already present but for which seasonal ecology changes due to climate change could cause these pests to increase in crops.