Integrated Pest And Disease Management

The International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies (CIHEAM), established in 1962, is an intergovernmental organization of 13 countries: Albania, Algeria, Egypt, France, Greece, Italy, Lebanon, Malta, Morocco, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. Four institutes (Bari, Italy; Chania, Greece; Montpellier, France; and Zaragoza, Spain) provide postgraduate education at the Master of Science level. CIHEAM promotes research networks on Mediterranean agricultural priorities, supports the organization of specialized education in member countries, holds seminars and workshops bringing together technologists and scientists involved in Mediterranean agriculture and regularly produces diverse publications including the series Options Méditerranéennes. Through these activities, CIHEAM promotes North/South dialogue and international co-operation for agricultural development in the Mediterranean region. Over the past decade, the Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Zaragoza has developed a number of training and research-supporting activities in the field of agroecology and sustainability of agricultural production systems. Some of these activities have been concerned with the rational use of pesticides and more particularly with the implementation of integrated control systems in order to gain in efficacy and decrease both the environmental impact and the negative repercussions for the commercialization of agricultural products.

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.

The present book consist of 30 reviews on important pest and diseases of cash, cereals, oilseed, vegetables, fodders, fruits and pulses etc. Most of these articles have been prepared by authorities in their receptive areas. There is worldwide swing to the use of ecologically safe, environment friendly methods of protecting crops from pests and pathogens.

Integrated control of pests was practiced early in this century, well before anyone thought to call it "integrated control" or, still later, "integrated pest management" (IPM), which is the subject of this book by Mary Louise Flint and the late Robert van den Bosch. USDA entomologists W. D. Hunter and B. R. Coad recommended the same principles in 1923, for example, for the control of boll weevil on cotton in the United States. In that program, selected pest-tolerant varieties of cotton and residue destruction were the primary means of control, with insecticides consid ered supplementary and to be used only when a measured incidence of weevil damage occurred. Likewise, plant pathologists had also developed disease management programs incorporating varietal selection and cul tural procedures, along with minimal use of the early fungicides, such as Bordeaux mixture. These and other methods were practiced well before modern chemical control technology had developed. Use of chemical pesticides expanded greatly in this century, at first slowly and then, following the launching of DDT as a broadly successful insecticide, with rapidly increasing momentum. In 1979, the President's Council on Environmental Quality reported that production of synthetic organic pesticides had increased from less than half a million pounds in 1951 to about 1.4 billion pounds-or about 3000 times as much-in 1977.

This book represents a new, completely updated, version of a book edited by two of the current editors, published with Springer in 1999. It covers pest and disease management of greenhouse crops, providing readers the basic strategies and tactics of integrated control together with its implementation in practice, with case studies with selected crops. The diversity of editors and authors provides readers a complete picture of the world situation of IPM in greenhouse crops.

This collection reviews current advances in integrated pest management (IPM) for horticultural crops, including the use of biological control mechanisms, technological developments such as proximal sensors, agronomic practices and physical control.

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.