Outcome of Enhancing insect pest management in organic systems using genotypically diverse cultivar mixtures

This project showed that genotypic diversity has the potential to be just as successful as plant-species diversity in moderating insect populations. In soybeans, the 3- and 6-line mixes had significantly lower numbers of soybean aphids than the monoculture plots. This is thought to be based on the cultivars in the mix creating a "synergy" and subsequently having a greater resistance to the aphids. Wheat plots experienced very low levels of pest pressure, which resulted in no statistical significant in aphid numbers between mixed and monocrop plots.