EVOLVING TOWARDS LESS PESTICDE USE IN APPLE FARMS: WHICH INDICATORS REFLECT THE DIVERSITY OF FARM PRACTICES?

摘要

Pesticides are the most common solution used by French apple growers to deal with the numerous pests and diseases that damage the fruits. But European consumers are concerned about the impact of pesticides on the environment and health. Through the Sustainable Pesticide Use Directive, public authorities encourage growers to decrease their pesticide use. Thus, assessing the use of pesticide at crop, farm and regional level becomes instrumental for informing all the stakeholders involved in the apple supply chain. The Treatment Frequency index (TFI) was created in the 80s in Denmark to better understand pesticide consumption and evaluate their intensity of use (Halberg, 2005). This study aims to analyze the values and limits of this indicator for evaluating and comparing different types of protection strategies.