Emerging Technologies For Integrated Pest Management

This new book examines key scientific and technological advances within the last decade that have the potential to dramatically improve the practice of integrated pest management (IPM). Entomologists, pest management consultants, plant pathologists, weed scientists, agriculture chemical industry professionals, agricultural regulatory personnel, commodity association professionals, educators and students will find Emerging Technologies for Integrated Pest Management: Concepts, Research and Implementation a useful resource.

The implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has been a great success in temperate areas, but its role in tropical regions is less known. The tropics face specific challenges, namely weather that impacts insect life cycles and pesticide application. Beginning by reviewing the current state of pests, biological and chemical control and emerging technologies, this book then addresses specific crops, providing an up-to-date, research-oriented overview of IPM in tropical regions. This book will be a useful resource to entomologists, agronomists, horticulturists, and environmental scientists, nature conservation in tropics. The book is aimed to serve as reference book for students, teachers, researchers, extension functionaries and policy planners associated with insect pest management in tropics. This book can also be used as supplementary reading material in graduate and post graduate courses.

The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization defines integrated pest management (IPM) as "the careful consideration of all available pest control techniques and subsequent integration of appropriate measures that discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides and other interventions to levels that are economically justified and reduce or minimize risks to human health and the environment. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms. "Although this is a concept championed since the 70s, recent advances in agricultural biotechnologies and unfortunately, new problems brought on by global climate change warrant a reevaluation of how IPM can be implemented. This book aims at bringing out a comprehensive collection of information on all aspects of advances in integrated pest management technology in agriculture systems worldwide. The main focus of this book is to address the nano-biotechnology as sustainable solutions, biogenetic insect resistant plants in integrated pest management technology (IPMT), and DNA barcoding of insects and role of protease inhibitors in recent management trends. It also highlights the advances in integrated management of insect pests of stored grains, and use of bee pollinator’s as a livelihood security to the people worldwide. Step-by-step descriptions, accompanied by numerous photographs and schematic drawings, are provided on IPMT under changing climate, and habitat manipulation in crops. This book thus provides a forward-looking foundation for IPMT systems and its use in crop production.

"In May 2009, the Government of Canada, through the Pest Management Regulatory Agency (PMRA) of Health Canada, asked the Council of Canadian Academies to appoint an expert panel to answer the question, "What is the scientific status of the use of integrated testing strategies in the human and environmental regulatory risk assessment of pesticides?" The charge to the Panel was further specified in a series of sub-questions: [1] What is the state of the science of the tools and data sources associated with integrated testing strategies? [2] What is the current status of the use of integrated testing strategies for the risk assessment of pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, and other chemical substances by regulatory agencies around the world? [3] Could there be potential impacts on the public's perception and confidence in regulatory risk assessment and risk management decisions for pesticides if integrated testing strategies were implemented?"--P. xiii-xiv.

As food demand has grown worldwide, agricultural production has intensified with a concomitant expansion in pesticide use. Concerns over pesticide-induced health and environmental problems, increased pest resistance to pesticides, and continued losses due to pests, have stimulated the search for alternative pest management solutions. As a result integrated pest management (IPM) approaches have been developed and applied that rely on genetic, cultural, biological and information-intensive pest management alternatives. This book presents and critiques the participatory approaches that can be used to globalize IPM. It describes the development, deployment, and evaluation of participatory IPM. All the chapters include perspectives from both the US and developing country scientists who are on the front lines of IPM generation and diffusion. The book is unique amongst IPM books in that it stresses policy analysis, social and economic impact assessment, multidisciplinary field research and technology transfer mechanisms.

This, the first volume of the ‘Integrated Management of Plant Pests and Diseases’ book series, presents general concepts on integrated pest and disease management. Section one includes chapters on infection models, resurgence and replacement, plant disease epidemiology and effects of climate change in tropical environments. The second section includes remote sensing and information technology. Finally, the third section covers molecular aspects of the subject.

Pest and disease management continues to challenge the agricultural community. The rise in new pest and crop problems juxtaposed with public concern over pesticide use and more stringent environmental regulations creates the need for today's agricultural producers to stay current with new technologies for producing quality crops profitably. Biological and Biotechnological Control of Insect Pests presents an overview of alternative measures to traditional pest management practices, utilizing biological control and biotechnology. The removal of some highly effective broad-spectrum chemicals, caused by concerns over environmental health and public safety, has resulted in the development of alternative, reduced risk crop protection products. These products, less toxic to the environment and easily integrated into biological control systems, target specific life stages or pest species. Predation - recognized as a suitable, long term strategy - effectively suppresses pests in biotechnological control systems. Biological and Biotechnological Control of Insect Pests covers these topics and more. It explores the current approaches in alternative solutions such as: biological control agents, parasites and predators, pathogenic microorganisms, pheromones, botanical insecticides, genetic control, genetic engineering of plants and biocontrol agents, and government regulations for biocontrol agents and recombinant DNA technology. This book will be a useful resource to entomologists, agronomists, horticulturists, and environmental scientists.