Crop pest control

Trap crops Pest control Deguine et al. (2009) Kalinova (2009) Runyon et al. (2009) Torres et al. (2009)... 

Every continent, except Antarctica, grows com 40% of the present world crop is produced in the United States. In the 1987—1988 crop year, 12 states (Iowa, HI., Nebr., Minn., Ind., Ohio, Wis., Mo., S. Dak., Mich., Kans., and Tex. in order of production) produced 157.5 million metric tons (6.2 biUion bushels) that was 88% of the United States and 36% of the world s crop (66). Yield is influenced by many factors, including climate, pest control, planting density, and fertilization. Yield in the United States has increased from about 1.5 metric tons /hectare in the 1930s to about 7.5 metric tons /hectare. In 1985, a test plot produced 23.2 metric tons /hectare and yields approaching 40 metric tons /hectare are considered possible com is the most productive of the principal food crops. 

Many factors affect the mechanisms and kinetics of sorption and transport processes. For instance, differences in the chemical stmcture and properties, ie, ionizahility, solubiUty in water, vapor pressure, and polarity, between pesticides affect their behavior in the environment through effects on sorption and transport processes. Differences in soil properties, ie, pH and percentage of organic carbon and clay contents, and soil conditions, ie, moisture content and landscape position climatic conditions, ie, temperature, precipitation, and radiation and cultural practices, ie, crop and tillage, can all modify the behavior of the pesticide in soils. Persistence of a pesticide in soil is a consequence of a complex interaction of processes. Because the persistence of a pesticide can govern its availabiUty and efficacy for pest control, as weU as its potential for adverse environmental impacts, knowledge of the basic processes is necessary if the benefits of the pesticide ate to be maximized. 

Sustainable Agriculture. The third factor that will influence the future of pesticide sales is the emphasis on sustainable agriculture systems that rely on more natural pest control methods and reduced pesticide usage. These are integrated systems that requke nutrients and crop protection chemicals from on-farm natural sources and cultural methods. Many current sustainable farms are site-specific systems that may depend on the soils in a... 

Genetic Control. Some Insect pests have been successfully controlled by releasing sterile Insect males in sufficient quantity so that the pest population cannot reproduce. This has proven particularly effective in the control of the screwworm fly, a major pest of cattle (33). Genetic engineers may be able to provide other genetic techniques that will enhance the control of crop pests (34). 

Most biological and cultural pest controls return greater profits than pesticides. For example, biological pest controls are reported to return from 30 to 300 per dollar invested in control (16). Various cultural controls like host plant resistance, crop rotations, and tillage, also return 30 to 300 per dollar Invested in pest control (16). 

Selective toxicity is also important in relation to the development of resistance or tolerance to pollutants from two distinct points of view. On the one hand, there is interest among scientists concerned with crop protection and disease control in mechanisms by which crop pests, vectors of disease, plant pathogens, and weeds develop resistance to pesticides. Understanding the mechanism should point to ways of overcoming resistance, for example, other compounds not affected by resistance mechanisms or synergists to inhibit enzymes that provide a resistance mechanism. On the other hand, the development of resistance can be a useful indication of the environmental impact of pollutants. 

HCH, sometimes misleadingly termed benzene hexachloride (BHC), exists in a number of different isomeric forms of which the gamma isomer has valuable insecticidal properties. These were discovered during the 1940s, and HCH came to be widely used as an insecticide to control crop pests and certain ectoparasites of farm animals after the Second World War. Crude technical BHC, a mixture of isomers, was the first form of HCH to be marketed. In time, it was largely replaced by a refined product called lindane, containing 99% or more of the insecticidal gamma isomer. 

Limited pesticide must be applied to protect the crops from disease and insect pests in order to cultivate healthy crops, according to recommendations for pest control. However, crop protection agents that could interfere with the residue analyses must be used. 

Proper understanding of allelopathic crop and weed plants including their growth stages at which toxin production occurs and characterization of allelopathic agents frcm these plants provide new avenues for developing technologies in weed control, crop efficiency, pest control and plant diseases. 

The Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act affords added protection against the dangers inherent in the use of newer means of pest control. The manufacturer has greater responsibility for furnishing specific information as to how the product can be used effectively but without damage to the user, crops or animals, or the public. 

Owing to the prohibition of chemosynthetic pesticides under organic farming standards, there is a greatly reduced availability of intervention/treatment-based methods for disease and pest control in organic fruit production systems. The efficacy of the permitted biological control, extract or mineral element (e.g. S and Cu)-based crop protection products is also usually lower than of chemosynthetic pesticides. Permitted plant protection products show efficacies of between 60 and 80% while chemosynthetic fungicides and pesticides often have efficacy levels >95% (Tamm et al., 2004). 

Evans V J and Jenkyn J F (2000), Fungicides for control of ergot in cereal crops , Pest and Diseases, Proceedings of an international conference held at the Brighton Hilton Metropole Hotel, UK, 13-16 November 2000, 511-514. 

Alternative crops Biofortification Diversification Decreases erosion Increases biodiversity Increases yield Increases soil nitrogen Recycles nutrients Pest control Plant disease control (2009) Deguine et al. (2009) Dordas (2009) Etchevers et al. (2009) Kalinova (2009) Knorzer et al. (2009) Malezieux et al. (2009) Palaniappan et al. (2009) Spiertz (2009) Zuo and Zhang (2009)... 

Lincoln University, Canterbury, New Zealand, AERU Research Report n.233 FAO/WHO (2001) Codex Alimentarius-organically produced foods. Rome, 2001 Fenemore PG, Norton GA (1985) Problems of implementing improvements in pest control a case study of apples in the UK. Crop Prot 4 51-70... 

---