Abstract
Conventional cotton cultivation relies heavily on synthetic inputs, driving environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, serious human health impacts, and widespread pest resistance. Transitioning to organic systems integrating agroecological practices offers a promising pathway toward more sustainable production. This study assessed short-term pest management performance and economic viability of five cotton-based management systems during the first year of conversion in Benin, West Africa: a conventional farmer-practice system and four systems transitioning from conventional to organic production combining sole-cotton cropping or cotton-soybean intercropping, with or without biopesticide applications. Across sites, pest species composition and abundance varied markedly, yet plant injury metrics showed consistent patterns: pesticide use (synthetic or biopesticides) reduced crop damage and increased the proportion of healthy cotton. In central Benin, where bollworm pressure was lower, biopesticide-treated intercrops reduced key bollworms ( Earias spp. and endocarpics) but increased the sucking pest Bemisia tabaci , while in northern Benin conventional systems reduced Earias spp. and Diparopsis watersi but slightly increased B. tabaci . Transition-to-organic systems generally supported higher abundances of natural enemies than conventional ones, although diversification effects were site-dependent. Biopesticides did not suppress predator communities, indicating their potential to sustain pest regulation without disrupting ecological functions. Despite lower cotton yields, intercropping improved overall profitability relative to sole-crops in transition to organic and, in several cases, performed similarly to or better than conventional cotton, mainly due to additional soybean production. These findings demonstrate that biopesticide-treated cotton-soybean intercropping can enhance pest regulation and farm profitability during the first year of transition to organic cotton in West Africa. • Biopesticides reduced cotton pest injury in transition-to-organic systems. • Transition-to-organic systems supported more natural enemies than conventional. • Transition intercrops increased profitability relative to transition sole crops. • Soybean income enabled intercrops to match or exceed conventional profitability. • Cotton–soybean intercrops offer a viable entry point for early organic transition.
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Claims 15
Claim · model-written summary
Pesticide use reduced crop damage in cotton
- Taxon
- cotton
Gossypium hirsutume1 - Treatment
- pesticide usee1
- Outcome
- crop damagee1
- Direction
- reducede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“pesticide use (synthetic or biopesticides) reduced crop damage and increased the proportion of healthy cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
Pesticide use increased the proportion of healthy cotton
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume1
- Treatment
- pesticide usee1
- Outcome
- proportion of healthy cottone1
- Direction
- increasede1
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“pesticide use (synthetic or biopesticides) reduced crop damage and increased the proportion of healthy cotton”
Claim · model-written summary
Pest species composition and abundance in cotton varied markedly across sites
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Outcome
- pest species composition and abundancee0
- Qualifier
- varied markedlye0
- Setting
- Across sitese0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e0“Across sites, pest species composition and abundance varied markedly”
Claim · model-written summary
Biopesticide-treated intercrops reduced key bollworms in cotton in central Benin
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- biopesticide-treated intercropse2
- Interactor
- Earias spp. and endocarpicse2pest
- Outcome
- key bollwormse2
- Direction
- reducede2
- Qualifier
- where bollworm pressure was lowere2
- Setting
- central Benine2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e2“In central Benin, where bollworm pressure was lower, biopesticide-treated intercrops reduced key bollworms ( Earias spp. and endocarpics)”
Claim · model-written summary
Biopesticide-treated intercrops increased the sucking pest Bemisia tabaci in cotton in central Benin
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- biopesticide-treated intercropse2
- Interactor
- Bemisia tabaci
Bemisia tabacie3pest - Outcome
- sucking pest Bemisia tabacie3
- Direction
- increasede3
- Setting
- central Benine2
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e2“In central Benin, where bollworm pressure was lower, biopesticide-treated intercrops reduced key bollworms ( Earias spp. and endocarpics)”
e3“but increased the sucking pest Bemisia tabaci”
Claim · model-written summary
Conventional systems reduced Earias spp. in cotton in northern Benin
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- conventional systemse4
- Outcome
- Earias spp.e4
- Direction
- reducede4
- Setting
- northern Benine4
EariasNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e4“in northern Benin conventional systems reduced Earias spp. and Diparopsis watersi but slightly increased B. tabaci”
Claim · model-written summary
Conventional systems reduced Diparopsis watersi in cotton in northern Benin
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- conventional systemse4
- Interactor
- Diparopsis watersie4pest
- Outcome
- Diparopsis watersie4
- Direction
- reducede4
- Setting
- northern Benine4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e4“in northern Benin conventional systems reduced Earias spp. and Diparopsis watersi but slightly increased B. tabaci”
Claim · model-written summary
Conventional systems slightly increased Bemisia tabaci in cotton in northern Benin
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- conventional systemse4
- Interactor
- B. tabaciBemisia tabacie4pest
- Outcome
- B. tabacie4
- Direction
- slightly increasede4
- Setting
- northern Benine4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e4“in northern Benin conventional systems reduced Earias spp. and Diparopsis watersi but slightly increased B. tabaci”
Claim · model-written summary
Transition-to-organic systems supported higher abundances of natural enemies than conventional systems in cotton
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- Transition-to-organic systemse5
- Interactor
- natural enemiese5biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- abundances of natural enemiese5
- Direction
- highere5
- Qualifier
- generallye5
- Comparator
- conventional onese5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e5“Transition-to-organic systems generally supported higher abundances of natural enemies than conventional ones, although diversification effects were site-dependent”
Claim · model-written summary
Diversification effects on pest and natural enemy communities in cotton were site-dependent
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Outcome
- diversification effectse5
- Qualifier
- site-dependente5
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e5“Transition-to-organic systems generally supported higher abundances of natural enemies than conventional ones, although diversification effects were site-dependent”
Claim · model-written summary
Biopesticides did not suppress predator communities in cotton
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Treatment
- Biopesticidese6
- Interactor
- predator communitiese6biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- predator communitiese6
- Direction
- did not suppresse6
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e6“Biopesticides did not suppress predator communities, indicating their potential to sustain pest regulation without disrupting ecological functions”
Claim · model-written summary
Biopesticides are suggested to sustain pest regulation in cotton without disrupting ecological functions
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutumt0
- Outcome
- sustain pest regulatione6
- Qualifier
- without disrupting ecological functionse6
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
t0“in cotton-based cropping systems”
e6“Biopesticides did not suppress predator communities, indicating their potential to sustain pest regulation without disrupting ecological functions”
Claim · model-written summary
Intercropping improved overall profitability relative to sole-crops in transition to organic cotton systems
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume7
- Treatment
- intercroppinge7
- Outcome
- overall profitabilitye7
- Direction
- improvede7
- Qualifier
- mainly due to additional soybean productione7
- Comparator
- sole-cropse7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Despite lower cotton yields, intercropping improved overall profitability relative to sole-crops in transition to organic and, in several cases, performed similarly to or better than conventional cotton, mainly due to additional soybean production”
Claim · model-written summary
Cotton yields were lower under intercropping in the transition to organic systems
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume7
- Treatment
- intercroppinge7
- Outcome
- cotton yieldse7
- Direction
- lowere7
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Despite lower cotton yields, intercropping improved overall profitability relative to sole-crops in transition to organic and, in several cases, performed similarly to or better than conventional cotton, mainly due to additional soybean production”
Claim · model-written summary
In several cases, intercropping in transition to organic cotton performed similarly to or better than conventional cotton in profitability
- Taxon
- cottonGossypium hirsutume7
- Treatment
- intercroppinge7
- Outcome
- profitabilitye7
- Direction
- performed similarly to or better thane7
- Qualifier
- in several casese7
- Comparator
- conventional cottone7
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e7“Despite lower cotton yields, intercropping improved overall profitability relative to sole-crops in transition to organic and, in several cases, performed similarly to or better than conventional cotton, mainly due to additional soybean production”
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See all 12 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.