Setting malaise traps to catch and genetically sequence flying insects. Credit: Ben Roberts New research shows that lower-intensity management of coconut palm plantations can sustain, or even increase, crop yields while improving soil health. The new approach, published in Plants, People, Planet , reduces harmful pathogens and promotes beneficial mycorrhizal fungi, providing a practical model for more sustainable tropical agriculture. Co-author of the study, Ben Roberts, said, "Palm species are fantastic and extremely important crops. Oil palm, for example, produces over 40% of the world's vegetable oil while using less than 6% of the global land allotted to vegetable oils. If we can find ways to maintain these high yields while reducing the environmental issues which palm crops are so famous for, that's really quite exciting." The study was conducted at one of the world's longest-running experimental coconut plantation plots in Côte d'Ivoire, leveraging detailed, DNA-based soil biodiversity inventories.…