Scientists warn about the dangerous interaction of plant protection products

Pest control is one of the vital services provided by insects in agroecosystems. Natural methods relying on biological control agents, such as parasitoid wasps, represent a highly effective way to supress crop pest populations. Conventional practices in agriculture typically involve applying various synthetic pesticides (e.g. insecticides, fungicides, herbicides) simultaneously, in the form of a tank-mixture, to protect crops. However, current standard practices in pesticide risk assessment on biocontrol insects only examine the effects of individual pesticides.