Plant growers' environmental consciousness may not be enough to mitigate pollinator declines: a questionnaire‐based case study in Hungary

Abstract

BACKGROUND Pesticides are one of the most important anthropogenic‐related stressors. In times of global pollinator decline, the role of integrated farming and urban gardens in supporting wild pollinators is becoming increasingly important. We circulated an online questionnaire to survey plant protection practices among Hungarian farmers and garden owners with a particular emphasis on pollinator protection. RESULTS We found that plant growers rely heavily on pesticide use, and pesticides are used widely in otherwise pollinator‐friendly gardens. Whether pesticide use practices were driven by expert opinion and respondent gender were the best predictors of pesticide use. Although most respondents supported pollinators, pesticides are also used widely among home garden owners, which can pose a non‐evident ecological trap for pollinator populations in the gardens. CONCLUSION Special attention should be paid to implementing measures to reduce pesticide use not only in farmland, but also in home gardens. Environmental education and financial support through agroecological schemes could efficiently promote the transition away from pesticide use. However, whereas farmers can be encouraged to reduce pesticide use mostly by expert advice, garden owners are likely to rely on more conventional information channels. The attitudes of Hungarian plant growers can provide an insight into pesticide use practices of Central and Eastern European countries, but similar surveys are needed across Europe for a complete understanding of broad‐scale processes. This work lays the foundations for similar studies that can inform and facilitate the transformation to pesticide‐free farming and gardening. © 2022 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Bridging biodiversity and gardening: Unravelling the interplay of socio-demographic factors, garden practices, and garden characteristics

“…Indeed, although biodiversity-positive activities and garden characteristics, such as having a pond and supporting pollinators, were more typical among the respondents than those that were biodiversity-negative, more than 60% of the respondents used some pesticides (including bio and homemade ones) in their gardens. Albeit alarming, this is in line with a the study of Varga-Szilay & Pozsgai (2022), who found excessive pesticide use even in otherwise biodiversity-friendly farmlands, as well as with a European study (Coisnon et al, 2019) in which Hungary was classified as a country least avoiding pesticide use in gardens. The latter work also pointed to the lower trust in environmental associations and the lack of reliable source of biodiversity-related information as major culprits.…”

“…We focused our work on Hungary, a country characterized by conventional gardening practices in home gardens, widespread in Eastern European countries, including excessive use of pesticides (Varga-Szilay & Pozsgai, 2022).…”

Exposure to an insecticide formulation alters chemosensory orientation, but not floral scent detection, in buff-tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

“…Similar works coupling individual- and colony-level sub-lethal effects could help to clarify whether chronic exposure to acetamiprid can jeopardise colony growth, population persistence or pollination service in this species. Such investigations are especially relevant as acetamiprid is expected to be used in large quantities 8 , 53 , leading to prolonged exposure of pollinators to this substance in agricultural areas 59 . Furthermore, neonicotinoid-substitute active ingredients, such as sulfoxaflor and flupyradifurone, should also deserve the attention of researchers because these substances may have similarly covert detrimental effects on pollinating insects 60 .…”

“…Acetamiprid is an N -cyanoamidine neonicotinoid, which has widely been used as an insecticide in increasing quantity in both small gardens and large cultivations 8 after the regulation change in the EU banned the more potent active ingredients of this group of compounds 9 , 10 . This substance is reported to be non-toxic to pollinators due to its rapid metabolisation 11 , yet recent investigations suggest that in high doses, it can induce various sub-lethal effects and thus pose a threat to pollinators 12 , 13 , natural predators of pests 14 , 15 and other non-target organisms including vertebrates 16 .…”

Chronic acetamiprid exposure moderately affects the foraging behaviour of buff‐tailed bumblebees (Bombus terrestris)

“…Such differences of several orders of magnitude between measurement results suggest that the post‐application concentration of acetamiprid may strongly depend on the spraying technique, crop type, climatic conditions or other extrinsic factors. Because of that, the behavioural effects of high doses similar to the one applied in our experiment should not be discarded as unrealistic, especially given that acetamiprid is becoming a dominant neonicotinoid substance used both in small gardens and large‐scale cultivations (Varga‐Szilay & Pozsgai, 2022) and its more extensive application can be expected to lead to temporary high concentrations in agrarian habitats.…”