IPM Tactics
Pest Monitoring Monitoring target insect pests in the agricultural environment is like tracking the communicable disease in our society. Both monitoring programs help us to develop an effective management plan and avoid unnecessary management expenses if control measures occur at the most opportune time. I am a firm believer that pro-activeness in pest monitoring programs can help crop producers implement management decisions. My pest monitoring philosophy is that early initiation leads to less expensive management options and often prevention of large pest populations. My research approach is to use/refine monitoring tools and techniques that are available in the IPM toolbox. I have been involved in developing novel monitoring techniques for new approaches. I utilize a wide variety of tools including sex pheromone lures, traps, sticky cards, and sweep nets to monitor agronomical crop pests.
Biological control (biocontrol) involves the use of living organisms (such as predators, parasitoids, and pathogens) to minimize the population density or impact of a specific pest organism, making it less abundant or less damaging than it (Eilenberg et al. 2001). I believe biocontrol is one of the best practical options for minimizing the pest population in the agricultural crop production systems. First, biocontrol agents are target pest-specific and are easy and safe to use. Second, while compared with broad-spectrum insecticides, biocontrol agents provide environmentally sound methods of pest control. Third, the use of biological control agents helps to minimize the use of synthetic insecticides. Fourth, it can be implemented as part of an IPM. Among different types of biocontrol programs, my research interest and experiences are on augmentative and classical biocontrol programs. I am specifically interested on evaluation of biocontrol agents and how multiple factors (e.g., host stage, life-history traits, host species, persistence, and intraguild predation) influence the efficacy of biocontrol agents against target insect pests in agricultural crop environment.
Biopesticide and synthetic elicitor pest control products can be placed into the category of relatively safe and non-toxic products to environment and humans than traditional synthetic pesticides. Biopesticides are the pesticides derived from natural materials, such as animals, plants and microorganisms, while synthetic elicitors are chemically diverse compounds (e.g., jasmonic acid and salicylic acid) that induce plant defense response against pest and disease attack. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency, biopesticides are classified into three categories: 1) biochemicals that are derived naturally occurring substances such as plant extract ( e.g., neem oil and citrus oil) and insect pheromones, 2) microbial pesticides that contain micro-organisms as the active ingredient (e.g., a bacterium, fungus or virus), and 3) plant-incorporated protectants are pesticidial substances which plants produce from genetic material that has been incorporated to the plant (Bt cotton).Synthetic elicitor pest control technique work similar to vaccines that we use to our body against microbes (e.g., flu shot).
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