Pest Management and Chemical Protection

Chemical Crop Protection Products

• Chemical crop protection products are highly regulated.
• They include insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, sanitizers, growth regulators, rodenticides, and soil fumigants.
• They play a vital role in controlling pests and diseases that threaten our food supply.
• Help control insects, diseases, weeds, fungi, and other undesirable pests.

Pests

• Derived from the French word ‘Peste’ and Latin term ‘Pestis,’ meaning plague or contagious disease.
• Unwanted organisms that are a nuisance to humans or domestic animals.
• Cause injury to humans, animals, plants, and property.
• Reduce yield and/or quality in plants.

Categories of Pests

• Negligible pests: Cause less than 5% loss in yield.
• Minor pests: Normally cause a loss ranging from 5 to 10%.
• Major pests: Cause a loss of more than 10%. Examples include:
  • Eggplant Fruit and Shoot borer (Luecinodes orbonalis)
  • White flies (Bemisia tabaci)

Pest Identification

• Importance:
  • Important tool for crop protection managers.
  • Helps determine appropriate control options.
• Classification based on origin:
  • Exotic pest: Introduced from outside the locality; of foreign origin.
    • Example: Scotinophara coarctata in the Philippines (originally from Malaysia).
  • Endemic pest: Local in origin; evolved with crops or plants in the same area; native pests.
    • Example: Scotinophara coarctata in the Philippines (originally from Malaysia).

Four Main Categories of Pests

• Insects:
  • The most diverse group of animals on Earth, with over a million known species.
  • Cause significant damage to crops, livestock, and human infrastructure.
  • Transmit diseases, affecting human and animal health.
  • Play crucial roles in pollination, decomposition, and food webs.
• Weeds:
  • Compete with crops for sunlight, water, and nutrients.
  • Produce toxins that can harm livestock and contaminate crops.
  • Can inhibit the growth of other plants (allelopathy).
  • Harbor pests and diseases that can spread to crops.
• Bacteria:
  • Cause a wide range of diseases in humans, animals, and plants.
  • Can contaminate food, leading to spoilage and potential health risks.
  • Play important roles in nutrient cycling and decomposition but can contaminate water and soil.
• Rodents:
  • Highly adaptable, thriving in various environments.
  • Cause extensive damage to crops, buildings, and stored food.
  • Carry and transmit diseases such as plague, impacting human and animal health.

Damage Boundary

• The lowest level of injury where the damage can be measured.
• Insect pests are divided into two categories:
  • Negligible pest: Cause less than 5% loss in yield.
  • Minor pest: Normally cause a loss ranging from 5 to 10%.
  • Major pest: Cause a loss of more than 10%.