As climate change pushes temperatures ever higher and more extreme weather events take place, farmers must find new ways to protect their crops from pests. A new study reveals one promising solution: diversifying crop fields. The research, which was published in the journal Science Advances, found that diversifying crop fields by planting more varieties of crops could reduce pest abundance and increase crop yields. The researchers found that when crops were grown in a more diverse field, the abundance of insect pests was significantly reduced. Additionally, they found that crop yields were higher when the field was composed of multiple, different crops. This result suggests that diversifying crop fields could be an effective way for farmers to protect their crops and increase their yields.

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source: Phys.org