Avlingen vokser etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner.

Etter hvert som is a fixed expression meaning as, as/while, or more specifically in step with a gradual change.

So it does not just mean that two things happen at the same time. It suggests a process:

• the pests gradually disappear
• the crop gradually grows

That is why etter hvert som fits very naturally here.

Avlingen is the definite singular form of avling.

• en avling = a crop / a harvest / a yield
• avlingen = the crop / the harvest / the yield

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

So:

• avling = crop
• avlingen = the crop

Avling can mean crop, harvest, or yield, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally refers to the crop or the yield from the field. Since the sentence talks about it growing, crop is probably the clearest English equivalent.

So the word is about agricultural production, not just any plant growth.

Skadedyrene is the definite plural form of skadedyr.

• et skadedyr = a pest
• skadedyret = the pest
• skadedyr = pests
• skadedyrene = the pests

The sentence is talking about a specific group of pests affecting the crop, so the definite plural makes sense: the pests.

Skadedyr is a compound noun:

• skade = damage, harm
• dyr = animal

So skadedyr literally means something like harm-animal, but in normal English we translate it as pest.

This is very common in Norwegian: nouns are often built by combining smaller words into one compound.

Both verbs are in the present tense:

• vokser = grows / is growing
• forsvinner = disappears / are disappearing

Norwegian often uses the present tense where English might use either:

• the simple present: grows, disappear
• or the present progressive: is growing, are disappearing

So Norwegian present tense is often more flexible than English.

Here it describes an ongoing process or a general relationship, so present tense is very natural.

Because etter hvert som introduces a subordinate clause, and in Norwegian subordinate clauses usually have subject + verb order.

So:

• skadedyrene forsvinner = subject + verb

That is normal after words like som, fordi, at, når, etc.

If you started with the subordinate clause, the main clause would change word order because of the normal verb-second rule in the main clause:

• Etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner, vokser avlingen.

That is also correct.

Not really. Here som is part of the fixed expression etter hvert som.

In other contexts, som can be a relative word, like:

• mannen som bor der = the man who lives there

But in this sentence, you should learn etter hvert som as a whole expression, not as separate words with separate meanings.

You could sometimes say mens, but it changes the nuance.

• mens = while, simply showing that two things happen at the same time
• etter hvert som = as, with the idea of gradual development or change over time

So:

• Avlingen vokser mens skadedyrene forsvinner
  sounds more like simple simultaneity

• Avlingen vokser etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner
  emphasizes that the crop improves progressively as the pests disappear

In this sentence, etter hvert som is better.

Yes.

Without som, etter hvert usually means gradually, eventually, or as time goes on.

For example:

• Det ble bedre etter hvert. = It got better gradually / in time.

With som, it connects two developments:

• Etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner, vokser avlingen.

So:

• etter hvert = adverbial expression on its own
• etter hvert som = conjunction-like expression introducing a clause

Yes, but vokser is more natural here.

• vokser = grows
• blir større = gets bigger

Since the sentence is about crops and agricultural growth, vokser is the more direct and idiomatic choice.

Blir større is understandable, but it sounds a bit less specific and less natural in this context.

Yes. You can also say:

• Etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner, vokser avlingen.

This is completely correct.

When the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause follows normal Norwegian verb-second order:

• vokser avlingen
• not avlingen vokser

So both versions are correct:

• Avlingen vokser etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner.
• Etter hvert som skadedyrene forsvinner, vokser avlingen.

The second version gives a little more emphasis to the time/process relationship.