Luuk Croijmans: Herbivore prevalence poorly predicts yield in diverse cropping systems

Journal of Applied Ecology
Shortlisted for the 2025 Southwood Prize About the research Overview Our study was part of my PhD thesis. I tried to understand how increasing diversity within cropping systems changes trophic interactions and crop damage, together with my knowledgeable promotors, Erik Poelman and Dirk van Apeldoorn; an analytical behemoth, Daan Mertens; and two diligent MSc thesis students, Yufei Jia and Nelson Ríos Hernández. Sustainable alternatives to pesticide …