Low residue apple production: higher production risk and lower profit

Consumers ask for a reduction of pesticide use in horticulture and an elimination of pesticide residues in fruits in order to minimize the environmental impact and the risk for human health. Fruit growers need research results and advice to establish sustainable production systems that reduce the use and the residues of pesticides. Agroscope tested and evaluated a low residue strategy which allows the production of residue-free apples by maintaining high yield and quality standards. However, the evaluation of the economical sustainability show that the new strategy is linked to higher production risk and lower profit than the integrated production and the organic production strategy. A price premium for low-residue production, which is justified by environmental advantages, could have a positive effect on the economical sustainability of the low residue strategy.