Abstract A shift to larger farms, bigger equipment and reduced crop diversity has been occurring in North American agriculture for many years. This has resulted in an increased reliance on genetic resistance and pesticides because much of the pest reduction from natural biological control (ecosystem services) associated with crop rotation and biological diversity has been lost. This shift has contributed to erosion of cultivar resistance and loss of sensitivity to pesticides. However, the impending change to autonomous field equipment represents an opportunity to reverse the trend towards ever-larger farm equipment. Small autonomous units have the potential to make intercropping, deployment of multi-lines, precision agriculture and even crop rotation, easier and more cost-effective. Remote sensing using drones, combined with precision application of pesticides and improved weather forecasts to help select optimum conditions, could improve the efficacy of both biocontrol agents and synthetic pesticides. Similarly, technologies such as marker-assisted selection for complex traits, gene editing to provide novel sources of resistance, and RNAi (gene silencing) to manage target pest populations could reduce reliance on synthetic pesticides. Crop rotation and improved strategies for deploying genetic resistance, combined with smaller fields, improved scouting and optimized pesticide application, could shift the balance back towards biological diversity and natural biological control within fields. Adding improved genetics for resistance to this mix could further reduce the need for large-scale pesticide application, and minimize both the use and impact of synthetic pesticides in agricultural systems.

中文翻译：

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新技术可以加强自然生物控制和疾病管理并减少对合成农药的依赖

摘要 多年来，北美农业一直在转向更大的农场、更大的设备和减少的作物多样性。这导致对遗传抗性和杀虫剂的依赖增加，因为与作物轮作和生物多样性相关的自然生物控制（生态系统服务）造成的大部分害虫减少已经丧失。这种转变导致了栽培品种抗性的侵蚀和对杀虫剂的敏感性的丧失。然而，对自主田间设备即将发生的变化代表了一个机会，可以扭转向越来越大的农业设备发展的趋势。小型自治单位有可能使间作、多线部署、精准农业甚至轮作变得更容易且更具成本效益。使用无人机进行遥感，结合精确施用杀虫剂和改进天气预报以帮助选择最佳条件，可以提高生物防治剂和合成杀虫剂的功效。同样，复杂性状的标记辅助选择、提供新抗性来源的基因编辑和管理目标害虫种群的 RNAi（基因沉默）等技术可以减少对合成农药的依赖。轮作和改良的遗传抗性策略，再加上更小的田地、改良的侦察和优化的农药施用，可以将平衡转向田间生物多样性和自然生物控制。增加对这种混合物的抗性的改良遗传学可以进一步减少对大规模杀虫剂应用的需求，