Across 1,193 scientific articles, plant diversification emerges as an effective approach to controlling a wide range of agricultural pests while supporting other ecosystem services. A multidisciplinary team of 31 experts reviewed nine diversification options, from varietal mixtures, intercropping, agroforestry and crop rotations to landscape-scale measures such as smaller fields and more semi-natural habitats. Published in One Earth in 2025, the review finds particularly well-established pest-control benefits from intercropping and diversified rotations, although effectiveness varies with crops, pests and local conditions. Diversified systems also support biodiversity and can maintain or improve productivity, with reported average yield gains of around 15–20 percent for rotations and intercropping.

Despite these benefits, diversification remains insufficiently adopted, particularly in industrialized agricultural systems. The review identifies interacting economic, technical and institutional constraints, including limited short-term profitability, unsuitable equipment and crop varieties, insufficient knowledge and advisory support, rigid processing standards, and weak markets for diversified products. Practices offering substantial ecological benefits, including agroforestry and landscape diversification, can face especially significant implementation barriers.

The authors argue that wider adoption therefore requires action beyond individual farms. Research and participatory experimentation, farmer networks, adapted value chains, territorial coordination and supportive public policies can help address existing lock-ins. Rather than treating diversification solely as a substitute for pesticides, the review presents it as part of a broader redesign of crop protection and agrifood system