Consumers in the EU and beyond are increasingly concerned about the impact of pesticides on the environment and human health. In the context of EU phytosanitary and environmental policies, the common ...EU challenge is to reduce dependence on chemicals, improve food quality and increase the potential for developing more bio-based production systems. Therefore, novel control methods and new strategies that reduce the current dependence on insecticides need to be developed, applied and disseminated among stakeholders. As a cornerstone of sustainable agriculture, integrated pest management (IPM) aims to improve farmers' practices to achieve higher profits while improving environmental quality. Implementing the principles of IPM in agricultural production requires new and up-to-date knowledge generated by science and accepted by farmers. In this Special Issue, we focus on recent advances and methods for IPM in field crops. It contains eight original research articles and two review articles dealing with different aspects of IPM in some of the major field crops: Potato, Maize, Soybean, Sugar Beet, Barley, Rice, Eggplant and Quinoa as well as farmer education issues on IPM. The studies published refer to all the basic principles of IPM and give examples of their implementation in different crops and cropping systems. Research on various aspects of the implementation of IPM in crop production is a continuous need. The research presented helps to provide a mosaic picture with examples of how crop-specific, site-specific and knowledge-intensive IPM practices should be considered and translated into workable practices.
The Special Issue “Integrated Pest Management of Field Crops” contains eight original research articles and two review articles dealing with different aspects of IPM in some of the major field crops, ...including Potato ...
Western corn rootworm (WCR), or
LeConte, became a very serious quarantine maize pest in Europe in the mid-1990s. Between 1995 and 2010, European countries were involved in international projects to ...share information and plan common research for integrated pest management (IPM) implementation. Since 2011, however, common efforts have declined, and an overview of WCR population spread, density, and research is in serious need of update. Therefore, we retained that it was necessary to (1) summarize the research activities carried out in the last 12 years in various countries and the research topics addressed, and analyze how these activities have contributed to IPM for WCR and (2) present the current distribution of WCR in the EU and analyze the current population levels in different European countries, focusing on different management strategies. A review of scientific papers published from 2008 to 2020, in addition to direct interviews with experts in charge of WCR management in a range of European countries, was conducted. Over the past 12 years, scientists in Europe have continued their research activities to investigate various aspects of WCR management by implementing several approaches to WCR control. A considerable amount of new knowledge has been produced, contributing to the development of pest management strategies applicable in EU farming systems. Among the 10 EU countries analyzed, there is no country reporting economic damage on a large scale. Thanks to intensive research leading to specific agricultural practices and the EU Common Agricultural Policy, there are crop-rotation-based solutions that can adequately control this pest avoiding insecticide use.
In this study, we review the wide range of alternative control methods used to this day to control the Colorado potato beetle (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), the biggest potato pest globally. We ...further categorize and highlight the advantages and disadvantages of each method by comparing them to conventional insecticides. In a second step, we point out the current knowledge about positive and negative impacts of using alternative control methods. By this, we illustrate how alternative control methods, farmers’ activities, and environmental factors (e.g., biodiversity and ecosystem health) are heavily linked in a cycle with self-reinforcing effects. In detail, the higher the acceptance of farmers to use alternative control methods, the healthier the ecosystem including the pest’s enemy biodiversity. The following decrease in pest abundance possibly increases the yield, profit, and acceptance of farmers to use less conventional and more alternative methods. Overall, we try to balance the positive and negative sides of alternative control methods and combine them with current knowledge about environmental effects. In our view, this is a fundamental task for the future, especially in times of high species loss and increasing demand for environmentally friendly agriculture and environmentally friendly products.
Seed treatment as a method of local application of pesticides in precise agriculture reduces the amount of pesticides used per unit area and is considered to be the safest, cheapest and most ...ecologically acceptable method of protecting seeds and young plants from pests in the early stages of their development. With the introduction of insecticides from the neonicotinoid group in the mid-1990s, the frequency of seed treatment increased. Due to suspected negative effects on pollinators, most of these insecticides are banned in the European Union. The ban has therefore led to a reduction in the number of active substances approved for seed treatment and to an increased re-use of active substances from the group of pyrethroids as well as other organophosphorus insecticides, which pose potentially very serious risks, perhaps even greater than those of the banned neonicotinoids. The objective of this review is to analyze the advantages and disadvantages of seed treatment and the potential role of insecticide seed treatment in reducing the negative impact of pesticides on the environment. The main disadvantage of this method is that it has been widely accepted and has become a prophylactic protective measure applied to almost all fields. This is contrary to the principles of integrated pest management and leads to an increased input of insecticides into the environment, by treating a larger number of hectares with a lower amount of active ingredient, and a negative impact on beneficial entomofauna. In addition, studies show that due to the prophylactic approach, the economic and technical justification of this method is often questionable. Extremely important for a quality implementation are the correct processing and implementation of the treatment procedure as well as the selection of appropriate insecticides, which have proven to be problematic in the case of neonicotinoids. The ban on neonicotinoids and the withdrawal of seed treatments in oilseed rape and sugar beet has led to increased problems with a range of pests affecting these crops at an early stage of growth. The results of the present studies indicate good efficacy of active ingredients belonging to the group of anthranilic diamides, cyantraniliprole and chlorantraniliprole in the treatment of maize, soybean, sugar beet and rice seeds on pests of the above-ground part of the plant, but not on wireworms. Good efficacy in controlling wireworms in maize is shown by an insecticide in the naturalites group, spinosad, but it is currently used to treat seeds of vegetable crops, mainly onions, to control onion flies and flies on other vegetable crops. Seed treatment as a method only fits in with the principles of integrated pest management when treated seeds are sown on land where there is a positive prognosis for pest infestation.
Colorado potato beetle, CPB (Leptinotarsa decemlineata Say), is one of the most important pests of the potato globally. Larvae and adults can cause complete defoliation of potato plant leaves and can ...lead to a large yield loss. The insect has been successfully suppressed by insecticides; however, over time, has developed resistance to insecticides from various chemical groups, and its once successful control has diminished. The number of available active chemical control substances is decreasing with the process of testing, and registering new products on the market are time-consuming and expensive, with the possibility of resistance ever present. All of these concerns have led to the search for new methods to control CPB and efficient tools to assist with the detection of resistant variants and monitoring of resistant populations. Current strategies that may aid in slowing resistance include gene silencing by RNA interference (RNAi). RNAi, besides providing an efficient tool for gene functional studies, represents a safe, efficient, and eco-friendly strategy for CPB control. Genetically modified (GM) crops that produce the toxins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) have many advantages over agro-technical, mechanical, biological, and chemical measures. However, pest resistance that may occur and public acceptance of GM modified food crops are the main problems associated with Bt crops. Recent developments in the speed, cost, and accuracy of next generation sequencing are revolutionizing the discovery of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and field of population genomics. There is a need for effective resistance monitoring programs that are capable of the early detection of resistance and successful implementation of integrated resistance management (IRM). The main focus of this review is on new technologies for CPB control (RNAi) and tools (SNPs) for detection of resistant CPB populations.
Insect infestations within stored product facilities are a major concern to livestock and human food industries. Insect infestations in storage systems can result in economic losses of up to 20%. ...Furthermore, the presence of insects and their waste and remains in grain and stored foods may pose a health risk to humans and livestock. At present, pests in commercial storage are managed by a combination of different methods ranging from cleaning and cooling to treatment of the stored material with contact insecticides or fumigation. The availability of pesticides for the treatment of grain and other stored products is decreasing owing, in some cases, to environmental and safety concerns among consumers and society, thus emphasizing the need for alternative eco-friendly pest control methods. One of the potential methods is the use of ozone. Although the mechanism of action of ozone on insects is not completely known, the insect’s respiratory system is a likely the target of this gas. The main goal of this investigation was to determine the efficacy of ozone in the suppression of adult wheat weevils Sitophilus granarius. In the experiments conducted, different durations of ozone exposure were tested. In addition to ozone toxicity, the walking response and velocity of wheat weevils were investigated. The results showed the harmful effects of ozone on these insects. In addition to mortality, ozone also had negative effects on insect speed and mobility. The efficiency of the ozone treatment increased with increasing ozone exposure of insects. The ability of ozone to reduce the walking activity and velocity of treated insects is a positive feature in pest control in storage systems, thereby reducing the possibility of insects escaping from treated objects. The results of this investigation suggest that ozone has the potential to become a realistic choice for suppressing harmful insects in storage systems for humans and livestock, either alone or as a complement to other control methods.
The aim of this study was to determine the effects of different pre-sowing operations on the abundance and composition of total soil fauna in soybean cultivation, with special attention to carabids ...as biological indicators of agroecosystem quality. The study was conducted in central Croatia with six different pre-sowing activities (cover crop, mulching, ploughing, glyphosate, fertiliser removal, conventional tillage). Pitfall traps were used to collect soil fauna in April, June and September. After determining the abundance and composition of the fauna, their coenological characteristics were calculated and statistical analysis was performed. During the study, 7836 individuals of soil fauna were collected. The composition consisted of 84% beneficial, 8% harmful and 8% indifferent fauna. Class Insecta was the most numerous with a proportion of 56%, with most members of the family Carabidae (1622 individuals), followed by the class Arachnida (40%). The number of fauna collected was influenced by the interaction between pre-seeding intervention and sampling date. Pre-seeding interventions that did not involve soil activities did not affect the number and composition of soil fauna at the beginning of vegetation. Mechanical interventions in the soil and warmer and drier weather have a negative effect on the number and composition of soil fauna. As the season progresses, the influence of pre-sowing activities on soil fauna in soybean crops decreases. It seems that a reduction in mechanical activities in the shallow seed layer of the soil has a positive effect on species richness or diversity. Of particular note is the large proportion of beneficial insects that currently colonise the study area, characterising soil richness and stable natural equilibrium.
The most damaging Noctuidae pests in sugar beets in Croatia are classified into two groups based on the injuries that their larvae produce: the cutting species (Agrotis ipsilon and Agrotis segetum) ...and the surface‐feeding species (Mamestra brassicae, Lacanobia oleracea and Autographa gamma). The flight activity of male moths was detected and monitored using traps baited with sex pheromone. The study aimed to determine the population dynamics of noctuid pests in sugar beet crops and to propose damage forecasts and thresholds based on male moths capture in pheromone traps in specific weather conditions. A strong positive correlation between captured male moths in pheromone traps and the level of damage to sugar beet crops was established. The population densities were extremely affected by the weather conditions that prevailed in the sugar beet growing period. If the weather conditions are not optimal, the population of the second generation of moths and larvae will be smaller, and the level of damage to plants will decrease accordingly. Thus, intensive monitoring of noctuid male moth flights and weather conditions in the sugar beet growing season enabled forecasting of future damage to a larger area, although visual inspections are necessary to plan insecticide applications.
An analysis of the hind wing morphology (size and shape) within and among western corn rootworm,
Diabrotica virgifera virgifera
LeConte, populations over a large geographic scale in Europe was ...conducted. The changes in hind wing shape and size detected were related to identifiable invasion processes (i.e. multiple introduction events into Europe), first characterised using genetic markers. Overall implications from this work suggest that geometric morphometric techniques can be used to detect population changes related to invasions and could therefore serve as a cheaper and more accessible alternative ‘biomarker’ to more expensive and specialised-use genetic markers, such as microsatellites or SNPs, when investigating biological invasions.
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