An Overview of Pest and Disease Occurrence in Organic Pome Fruit Orchards in Europe and on the Implementation of Practices for Their Control

There is limited data regarding the specific problems faced by organic fruit growers when
dealing with plant protection, particularly at a European Union level, though some general knowledge
about pest and disease incidence can be found. Such information is crucial to improve the efficacy of a
targeted knowledge transfer to organic fruit growers and advisors aiming at an increased adoption of
innovative practices. A survey was thus carried out in seventeen European countries (16 EU member
states and Switzerland), within the framework of the EU-funded project BIOFRUITNET, aiming
at filling this knowledge gap also in terms of research needs. A questionnaire including a section
about general aspects of orchard management (functional biodiversity, fertilization management,
varietal/rootstock selection) and a section specifically dedicated to pest and disease occurrence and
management in organic orchards was utilized to interview about 250 professionals (farmers and
advisors), 155 of which were involved in pome fruits (including apple and pear) production. The
analysis of the answers related to plant protection pointed out a varied situation about pest and
disease occurrence in apple and pear orchards across Europe, though related to the zonal location
of the respondent. However, more than 50% of respondents generally considered just few among
the most damaging ones, normally co-occurring in the orchards. Interestingly, regardless of the
respondents’ nationality or zonal location, more pests than diseases were indicated as relevant agents
threatening organic pome fruits production. Nevertheless, only few measures promoting functional
biodiversity in the orchards resulted in being broadly implemented in all regions. The analysis
of the data underlines the strong demand for the development of a toolbox of measures that can
be integrated successfully into the general orchard management strategy including the successful
enhancement of functional or general biodiversity