Answers to modern-day agricultural challenges can often be found by looking into the past. Cover crops were not an unusual site on farms until artificial fertilizers came onto the scene decades ago.

Intense grazing, biologicals and other innovations are also a nod to working with nature instead of working against it.

During my weekly reading, Yale Climate Connections shared an interesting story from India’s Maharashtra state. Farmer Rafik Danwade had for years been pumping more pesticides on his acre-long field in the village of Jambhali, but the chemicals were getting less effective at protecting his 3,200 chili plants from nematodes and other pests.

So he turned to a practice his grandfather taught him in the 1970s. He planted 1,000 marigolds on the border and alternating rows of the field. “Sometimes you must look into the past to find solutions for the present and future problems,” he told YCC in their post.

Trap crops are becoming a more popular way of dealing with pests on farms worldwide. Experts argue that climate change has led to increased temperatures and humidity and increased pest attacks in many regions.

The YCC article notes that marigolds produce compounds that suppress root-knot nematodes, killing them as they enter the root systems or contact soils that has marigold’s bioactive compounds.

YCC also says the bright yellow and orange flowers released compounds that deter aphids and whiteflies, and act as a natural barrier – confusing pests looking for his chili plants.

Yale says pests already destroy 20% to 40% of crop production worldwide every year. According to the U.N.’s Food and Agriculture Organization, insect attacks cause a loss of $70 billion annually, while plant diseases cause a staggering loss of $220 billion.

“Trap crops could lower these losses while reducing the need to use excess chemical pesticides, which in addition to harming health, also contribute to climate change,” Yale says.

Note Yale’s statement says trap craps could reduce the need to use chemical pesticides, rather than arguing they should be an immediate outright placement. This is what some studies are showing about cover crops being used in conjunction with herbicides to cut back on herbicide use and lessen the impact of herbicide resistance.

Don’t be Afraid to Experiment

Trap crops are used in the U.S. as a tool of integrated pest management programs, where a field margin of a susceptible variety or host crop is planted that concentrates a pest in a trap area -- resulting in treating a smaller area with a pesticide.

For example, a susceptible chemically preferred variety of hard red spring wheat can be planted around the field edges for wheat stem sawfly.

Penn State University Extension has suggested letting cover crops grow a little longer to be used as a trap crop for slugs, who will feed on the cover instead of the cash crop farmers are trying to get to maturity. This is especially true with cereal rye, which slugs love, around a corn crop. This may not work as well around soybeans, experts say, because the crop is high in protein and like candy to slugs and voles.

In conclusion, strip-tillers looking for a new tool to fight pests might look back at history again and see what a trap crop might do on a small area of their farm. You’ll never know for sure unless you experiment.