Handbook of Pest Management (ePub)

Pest Management (control) refers to the regulation or management of a species defined as a pest, usually because it is perceived to be detrimental to a person's health, the ecology or the economy. Pest control is as old as agriculture, as there has always been a need to keep crops free from pests. In order to maximize food production, it is advantageous to protect crops from competing species of plants, as well as from herbivores competing with humans. The conventional approach was probably the first to be employed, since it is comparatively easy to destroy weeds by burning them or plowing them under, and to kill larger competing herbivores, such as crows and other birds eating seeds. Biological pest control is the control of one through the control and management of natural predators and parasites. Integrated pest management (IPM) is a broad based approach that integrates a range of practices for economic control of pests. IPM emphasizes the growth of a healthy crop with the least possible disruption to agro-ecosystems and encourages natural pest control mechanisms. This immensely useful book is designed to update the knowledge of undergraduate and postgraduate students of economic entomology, mycology, nematology and plant protection. It will also provide ample guidance to all persons engaged in Agriculture Research System, professors and teachers of agriculture universities as well as progressive farmers, orchardists and plant protection workers.