Maize, as a major global staple crop, faces a wide range of biotic stresses that significantly affect its growth, yield, and quality. Biotic stresses in maize are caused by living organisms, such as insects, pathogens, nematodes, and weeds. These stresses can lead to reduced productivity, loss of quality, and increased costs for farmers who must manage or mitigate their effects. IPM is a holistic approach to managing pests in maize using sustainable, environmentally friendly practices. Combines cultural, biological, mechanical, and chemical control methods. Cultural practices include crop rotation, resistant maize varieties, and habitat manipulation. Biological control involves using natural enemies such as parasitoid and predators to manage pest populations. Chemical control focuses on bio-pesticides and selective insecticides with minimal environmental impact. Regular monitoring and early pest detection are critical for timely interventions and informed decision-making. Reduces reliance on chemical pesticides, minimizing harm to the environment and non-target organisms. Improves maize productivity by preventing pest-related damage. Promotes ecological balance and long-term agricultural sustainability. IPM is vital for meeting the growing global demand for maize while conserving natural resources.
Sorghum, known for its resilience and high nutritional value, is a crucial millet that plays a vital role in ensuring global food security. India is a significant contributor to the world's sorghum production. Despite this, the cultivation of sorghum faces numerous challenges due to the presence of various insect pests that can cause substantial yield losses and affect the quality of the harvested crops. To address these issues effectively, the implementation of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies is imperative. In this chapter, a detailed account of the primary insect pests infesting sorghum in India is presented, highlighting their biology and nature of damage. Furthermore, the chapter emphasizes the diverse array of IPM techniques that can be employed to combat these pests, encompassing cultural, mechanical, biological control practices and judicious use of chemical pesticides. By equipping farmers with the knowledge and tools necessary to apply these strategies, sustainable sorghum production can be safeguarded, enhancing both productivity and crop quality in the long term.
Mustard is a key oilseed crop in India and globally, requiring precise management for sustained production. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is essential for controlling pests in mustard cultivation. This chapter underscores the importance of systematic field monitoring, scouting, and establishing Economic Threshold Levels (ETLs) to guide timely interventions. Cultural practices like early sowing, clean cultivation, and deep ploughing are highlighted for reducing pest pressure. It also covers mechanical and physical controls, such as sticky traps and manual removal, alongside biological control using natural enemies and biopesticides as eco-friendly alternatives. The use of neem-based botanical insecticides is discussed for their effectiveness and minimal environmental impact. Chemical control is considered, emphasizing insecticide application based on ETLs to protect pollinators and maintain ecological balance. This comprehensive approach is crucial for sustainable pest management in mustard cultivation, ensuring productivity and environmental stewardship.
Horticultural mineral oils (HMOs), highly refined paraffinic oils, are a keystone of modern pest management, used extensively in agriculture for over a century. Their primary efficacy from a physical, rather than chemical, mode of action. HMOs act as contact insecticides predominantly by forming an oil film that physically blocks the spiracles of insects, leading to suffocation. They also function as powerful ovicides by hindering gas exchange through the egg surface and exhibit strong repellent and antifeedant properties, disrupting pest behaviour. HMOs show a broad spectrum of activity and environmental safety, with no documented pest resistance and low risk to groundwater or soil. Their effectiveness is demonstrated across several major pest orders. In hemipteran management, HMOs provide significant control of scales (Quadraspidiotus perniciosus), aphids (Aphis glycines, Myzus persicae), and psyllids (Diaphorina citri), often matching or synergizing with synthetic chemicals. Against lepidopteran pests like the oblique-banded leafroller (Choristoneura rosaceana) and citrus leaf miner (Phyllocnistis citrella), HMOs excel as oviposition deterrents and ovicides. For coleopteran control, they display high contact toxicity against pests such as the sugar beet flea beetle (Cassida vittata). HMOs are indispensable in mite pest management, controlling species like the European red mite (Panonychus ulmi) and yellow mite (Polyphagotarsonemus latus), frequently achieving more than 80% mortality. Furthermore, recent data highlights their potent use against thrips, where they often outperform other biorational insecticides. Their low environmental impact and utility in resistance management ensure that HMOs remain an essential, highly effective, and sustainable tool for global crop protection.
Owing to its great flexibility, the sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) crop is quickly spreading throughout the Indian subcontinent to various agroecological niches and cropping systems. Pests are by far the most common biological limitation on sunflower output. The sunflower environment is home to a wide range of useful and dangerous bug species. Even though more than fifty insect species have been documented on sunflowers, the main pests of economic concern are capitulum borer (Helicoverpa armigera Hubner), defoliators (Spilosoma obliqua Walker, Spodoptera litura Fabricius), cutworms (Agrotis spp.), sucking pests, leaf and plant hoppers (Amrasca biguttula biguttula Ishida, Empoasca spp.), thrips (Thrips palmi), whitefly (Bemisia tabaci Gennadius). H. armigera is a very polyphagous and destructive insect pest that affects sunflowers with more than 180 host plants, including significant agricultural species like vegetables, cotton, oilseeds, and pulses. This chapter emphasis socioeconomic and ecological aspects of integrated pest management (IPM), as well as information on major pests, their management (bioecology, degree of damage and various integrated pest management (IPM) strategies.
Black gram is an important pulse crop grown in India for food, fodder and as a mulch crop since it fixes enormous amount of nitrogen in the soil. The crop is very good source of nutrients with a huge amount of up to 26% of protein. Being highly nutritious this crop has been the target of several pests both in field and storage. Integrate Pest Management is a holistic sustainable approach for pest management that still supports the ecological treasure. It is ecofriendly and sustainable and cost saving too which combines cultural, physical, mechanical and biological approaches together. The cultural methods involve Fallowing, Growing Barrier crops, resistant varieties, Removal of crop residues, effective Water management practices and habitat manipulation. Biological control methods involving the usage of predators and parasitiods and use of plant-based insecticides. Mechanical methods like oil coating and coating with kaolinite clay sounds effective in the storage of black gram. Employing behavioral control methods is much effective in the case of black gram. Light traps and sticky traps sound good here. However, chemical control has to be followed at time necessary which could mainly focus on bio-pesticides and chemicals with green labels that safe to the non-target organisms and have minimal impact on environmental pollution.
Cassava (Manihot esculenta) is an important crop in many tropical countries, and while it's relatively resilient, it faces threats from a variety of pests and diseases that can reduce yields. Cassava is susceptible to a variety of insect pests that can cause significant damage to the plant, affecting both the aboveground parts (such as leaves and stems) and the underground roots. Effective management of these pests is crucial for ensuring healthy cassava crops and maximizing yields. Implementing IPM can help manage these threats while minimizing chemical use. Pest management for cassava involves a range of strategies aimed at controlling pest populations while minimizing the negative impacts on the environment, human health, and the crop itself. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in cassava involves using a combination of practices to control pest populations in a sustainable and environmentally friendly way.
ISBN : 978-81-981855-3-2
