雅思阅读模拟题：Alternative Farming Methods in Oregon_雅思英语阅读

雅思阅读模拟题：Alternative Farming Methods in Oregon

　　In addition, the new system produced crops of very large onions, rated super colossal and highly valued by the restaurant industry and food processors. Art Pimms, one of the researchers at Malheur comments: Growers are finding that when they adopt more environmentally benign practices, they can have excellent results. The new practices benefit the environment and give the growers their success.

　　OSU researchers in Malheur next tested straw mulch and found that it successfully held soil in place and kept the ground moist with less irrigation. In addition, and unexpectedly, the scientists found that the mulched soil created a home for beneficial beetles and spiders that prey on onion thrips a notorious pest in commercial onion fields a discovery that could reduce the need for pesticides. I would never have believed that we could replace the artificial pest controls that we had before and still keep our good results, commented Steve Black, a commercial onion farmer in Oregon, but instead we have actually surpassed expectations.

　　OSU researchers throughout the state have been working to reduce dependence on broad spectrum chemical sprays that are toxic to many kind of organisms, including humans. Consumers are rightly putting more and more pressure on the industry to change its reliance on chemical pesticides, but they still want a picture-perfect product, said Rick Hilton, entomologist at OSUs Southern Oregon Research and Extension Centre, where researchers help pear growers reduce the need for highly toxic pesticides. Picture perfect pears are an important product in Oregon and traditionally they have required lots of chemicals. In recent years, the industry has faced stiff competition from overseas producers, so any new methods that growers adopt must make sense economically as well as environmentally. Hilton is testing a growth regulator that interferes with the molting of codling moth larvae. Another study used pheromone dispensers to disrupt codling moth mating. These and other methods of integrated pest management have allowed pear growers to reduce their use of organophosphates by two-thirds and reduce all other synthetic pesticides by even more and still produce top-quality pears. These and other studies around the state are part of the effort of the IPPC to find alternative farming practices that benefit both the economy and the environment.