Scientific evidence for sustainable plant disease protection strategies for the main arable crops in Sweden. A systematic map protocol

Abstract Background Efficient and sustainable plant protection is of great economic and ecological significance for global crop production. A number of challenges, e.g. climate change, population growth and global trade, put increasing demands on future crop production and crop protection. This necessitates an increase in crop productivity with less environmental impact while maintaining good food quality and food security. To meet these challenges, it is essential that the recommendations provided to growers are efficient and correct, which can only be ensured by evidence-based  recommendations based on outcomes from scientific studies. Methods and output The aim of these systematic maps is to compile scientific evidence for different plant disease protection strategies for the main arable crops grown in Sweden. Six major crops (wheat, barley, oat, potato, sugar beet and oilseed rape) have been selected based on the area under production, the annual production, the economic importance, and the amount of pesticide used against diseases in these crops in Sweden. All methods to manage diseases will be considered, including cropping system, pesticide application, biological control methods, as well as combinations of methods and integrated pest management. These systematic maps will only deal with field studies of relevance for agricultural practices in Sweden, although we expect that the results will be applicable for northern Europe as a whole. The main outcome to be used will be productivity measured as yield per area. Plant health and pathogen reduction will be included as a proxy for potential increase in crop quality and yield. This will provide a systematic overview of the plant disease protection measures that have been reported in the scientific literature. The study will result in one searchable database per crop that may be used as a catalogue of evidence for researchers and stakeholders, especially authorities and advisory organizations. The systematic maps will aid in the identification of areas that need further research and guide funding agencies and policymakers when deciding where research resources should be allocated. It will also help to select topics for future systematic reviews and meta-studies within the field of plant protection.