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Crop Losses to Pests
Abstract
Productivity of crops grown for human consumption is at risk due to the incidence of pests, especially weeds, pathogens and animal pests. Crop losses due to these harmful organisms can be substantial and may be prevented, or reduced, by crop protection measures. An overview is given on different types of crop losses as well as on various methods of pest control developed during the last century.
Estimates on potential and actual losses despite the current crop protection practices are given for wheat, rice, maize, potatoes, soybeans, and cotton for the period 2001–03 on a regional basis (19 regions) as well as for the global total. Among crops, the total global potential loss due to pests varied from about 50% in wheat to more than 80% in cotton production. The responses are estimated as losses of 26–29% for soybean, wheat and cotton, and 31, 37 and 40% for maize, rice and potatoes, respectively. Overall, weeds produced the highest potential loss (34%), with animal pests and pathogens being less important (losses of 18 and 16%). The efficacy of crop protection was higher in cash crops than in food crops. Weed control can be managed mechanically or chemically, therefore worldwide efficacy was considerably higher than for the control of animal pests or diseases, which rely heavily on synthetic chemicals. Regional differences in efficacy are outlined. Despite a clear increase in pesticide use, crop losses have not significantly decreased during the last 40 years. However, pesticide use has enabled farmers to modify production systems and to increase crop productivity without sustaining the higher losses likely to occur from an increased susceptibility to the damaging effect of pests.
The concept of integrated pest/crop management includes a threshold concept for the application of pest control measures and reduction in the amount/frequency of pesticides applied to an economically and ecologically acceptable level. Often minor crop losses are economically acceptable; however, an increase in crop productivity without adequate crop protection does not make sense, because an increase in attainable yields is often associated with an increased vulnerability to damage inflicted by pests.
... However, food security is influenced by various parameters such as reducing pollinators, climate change, plant diseases, and others. Plant disease is a major concern in the agronomy business since it causes a reduction in yield quality and production [2]. The consequences of certain plant diseases vary from minor symptoms to severe damage to the whole area of the cultivated crops, which causes high financial costs and massively influences the agriculture economy. ...
... The consequences of certain plant diseases vary from minor symptoms to severe damage to the whole area of the cultivated crops, which causes high financial costs and massively influences the agriculture economy. The environment contains several germs or infectious agents, which can critically affect the crops and their corresponding soil [2]. Several patterns or shaded and colorful patches on the plant leaves are significant to identify the occurrence of the disease [2,3]. ...
... The environment contains several germs or infectious agents, which can critically affect the crops and their corresponding soil [2]. Several patterns or shaded and colorful patches on the plant leaves are significant to identify the occurrence of the disease [2,3]. Pests, weeds, and infections are the primarily responsible factor for agricultural crop production loss: especially in India, these characteristics are majorly responsible for 15-25% loss of total crop-production. ...
Plant disease management in agriculture science is the primary concern for every country, as the food demand is increasing fast due to an increase in population. Furthermore, modern technology has improved the efficacy and precision of disease detection in plants and animals. Plant disease identification using various image processing approaches has recently been employed on a big scale to help farmers monitor their plantation areas. Based on the perpetuation and spread, the diseases can be floral, foliar, and soilborne. Grain production is typically affected by foliar diseases, which reduce photosynthetic area, duration, and function. Soil-borne conditions include vascular wilt, root rot, and damping-off; and can exhibit symptoms such as wilting of foliage, root decay, and sudden death. This paper highlights the significant issues and challenges for leaf disease classification. A comparative study of different methods based on the agricultural product, methodology, efficiency, advantages, and disadvantages is also included. The review study analyzes the most frequently used machine learning algorithms in the last five to seven years, revealing that Support Vector Machine (SVM) has been extensively used for disease classification. An analysis of specific Techniques (Feature Extraction plus machine learning-based Classification algorithm) and their associated accuracy is also performed, demonstrating that (ORB) features combined with Linear SVM provide the highest accuracy of 99.98%.
... Agricultural pests have pervasive impacts on various forms of agricultural production from animals to crops. Globally, an estimated 30% of crop loss is attributed to pests in both soybeans and corn, the two main crops produced in the Midwest (Oerke, 2005). Protecting crops against animal pests remains difficult and costly, and relies heavily on synthetical chemicals (Oerke, 2005). ...
... Globally, an estimated 30% of crop loss is attributed to pests in both soybeans and corn, the two main crops produced in the Midwest (Oerke, 2005). Protecting crops against animal pests remains difficult and costly, and relies heavily on synthetical chemicals (Oerke, 2005). Globally, the associated costs with controlling for these pests can surpass $10 billion yearly, with an additional $12 billion in external damages (Pimentel, 2009). ...
As demand for food increases, agricultural production is poised to increase dramatically. Pesticides are commonly used to maintain high crop yield, though they have several drawbacks, including reduced efficacy over time and harmful effects to human and ecosystem health. Bats are highly effective predators of crop pests and have great potential to reduce crop damage resulting from insects. However, few studies have investigated how pest control by bats might change over large expanses of continuous row crop agriculture, which is common in the Midwest. Agricultural landscapes offer few roosting opportunities and could be difficult for bats to traverse, which might affect the degree of ecosystem services provided by bats. We hypothesized that with increasing distance into uninterrupted row crop agriculture 1) bat activity would decrease and 2) bat species richness would decrease, but that these effects would be buffered when insect pest abundance is high. We deployed 50 acoustic bat detectors over 10 transects in east-central Illinois from July to September 2021. In each transect, we placed detectors on crop field edges at increasing distance from a large riparian corridor assumed to be frequented by bats. Bat activity was high across the landscape but declined by 56% from the forest edge to 4000m into row crop agriculture, while bat diversity decreased by 34%. Pest abundance seemed to decrease overall bat activity but had no effect on bat diversity. These results indicate that bats, although able to have a large effect on crop pest reduction, might not be as efficient in suppressing crop pests in vast uninterrupted agricultural landscapes which offer scant roost availability. Our work will inform recommendations to landowners and private lands managers on ways to increase bat access to roosts and forest cover near agricultural areas, thereby enhancing the potential for bats to provide pest control services.
... Pests are very lethal for agriculture [10]. From being the agents to spread pathogens to deforming the whole plants [11] they can generate multiple damages to the crops [12]. Most damage to plants caused by insects is a result of direct feeding on above-ground and belowground plant parts [13]. ...
... Some insects with chewing mouthparts-These insects bore or tunnel into plant tissue [14,17]. Leaf mining insects feed between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves [11], creating distinctive tunnel patterns visible as translucent lines or blotches on leaves [13]. Stemboring insects can kill or deform individual stems or whole plants [19]. ...
In Egypt, the irrigation water deficit is one crops production troubles, and thereby saving irrigation water is the main target for our country. So, a field trial was executed aiming to assess the impact of irrigation water requirements such as 100, 80 and 60% of irrigation requirements (IR), compost as soil addition [with compost or without] and foliar application of pesticides [control (without), chemical pesticide and bio pesticide] on the performance of faba bean during two different stages. Through irrigation rates, may be controlled insects movement and their presence. However cannot prevent the insect from damaging the crops, in this experiment, reading the behavior of Insects was done then monitoring according to their behavior. The results indicated that faba bean plants irrigated with 60 % of IR had a low growth performance as well as yield traits compared to faba bean plants irrigated with 80% of IR , which came in the second-order, then the faba bean plants irrigated with 100% of IR which realized the highest growth performance as well as yield traits. Soil treated with compost caused improvement in the growth performance as well as yield traits compared to the corresponding soil without compost. The highest infestation was observed in 100% irrigated with 65.55 and 74.53 aphids/ ten leaves in the two seasons, respectively, however, the lowest aphid number was recorded in 80% irrigated with 33.87 and 30.28 aphids/ ten leaves in the two seasons, respectively, followed insignificantly by 60% irrigated in the second season. The foliar application with two pesticides (Chemical and Bio) reduced aphid infestation by about 50% and 30%, respectively, compared with control in both seasons. It is clear that the two pesticides did not differ significantly in both seasons and the control recorded 58.22 aphids/ ten leaves, respectively, in the first season, and 55.65 aphids/ ten leaves, respectively, in the second season.
... Pests are very lethal for agriculture [10]. From being the agents to spread pathogens to deforming the whole plants [11] they can generate multiple damages to the crops [12]. Most damage to plants caused by insects is a result of direct feeding on above-ground and belowground plant parts [13]. ...
... Some insects with chewing mouthparts-These insects bore or tunnel into plant tissue [14,17]. Leaf mining insects feed between the upper and lower surfaces of leaves [11], creating distinctive tunnel patterns visible as translucent lines or blotches on leaves [13]. Stemboring insects can kill or deform individual stems or whole plants [19]. ...
In Egypt, the irrigation water deficit is one crops production troubles, and thereby saving irrigation water is the main target for our country. So, a field trial was executed aiming to assess the impact of irrigation water requirements such as 100, 80 and 60% of irrigation requirements (IR), compost as soil addition [with compost or without] and foliar application of pesticides [control (without), chemical pesticide and bio pesticide] on the performance of faba bean during two different stages. Through irrigation rates, may be controlled insects movement and their presence. However cannot prevent the insect from damaging the crops, in this experiment, reading the behavior of Insects was done then monitoring according to their behavior. The results indicated that faba bean plants irrigated with 60 % of IR had a low growth performance as well as yield traits compared to faba bean plants irrigated with 80% of IR , which came in the second-order, then the faba bean plants irrigated with 100% of IR which realized the highest growth performance as well as yield traits. Soil treated with compost caused improvement in the growth performance as well as yield traits compared to the corresponding soil without compost. The highest infestation was observed in 100% irrigated with 65.55 and 74.53 aphids/ ten leaves in the two seasons, respectively, however, the lowest aphid number was recorded in 80% irrigated with 33.87 and 30.28 aphids/ ten leaves in the two seasons, respectively, followed insignificantly by 60% irrigated in the second season. The foliar application with two pesticides (Chemical and Bio) reduced aphid infestation by about 50% and 30%, respectively, compared with control in both seasons. It is clear that the two pesticides did not differ significantly in both seasons and the control recorded 58.22 aphids/ ten leaves, respectively, in the first season, and 55.65 aphids/ ten leaves, respectively, in the second season.
... Among those plant diseases can cause huge damage to the crop. Roughly, direct yield losses caused by pathogens, animals, and weeds, are altogether responsible for losses ranging between 20 and 40% of global agricultural productivity (Oerke, 2006). Sustaining the production levels demands devising newer strategies for mitigating the ill-effects of these adverse factors. ...
... The potential yield of agricultural and horticultural crops is affected by various kinds of biotic and abiotic stress factors which can reduce the quantity and quality of crop production. Roughly, direct yield losses caused by pathogens, animals, and weeds, are altogether responsible for losses ranging between 20 and 40 percent of global agricultural productivity (Oerke 2006). The worldwide demand for agricultural products exceeds the supply; hence there is a need to manage the production of agricultural commodities more efficiently. ...
The potential yield of agricultural and horticultural crops is affected by
various kinds of biotic and abiotic stress factors which can reduce the
quantity and quality of crop production. Roughly, direct yield losses caused
by pathogens, animals, and weeds, are altogether responsible for losses
ranging between 20 and 40 percent of global agricultural productivity (Oerke
2006). The worldwide demand for agricultural products exceeds the supply;
hence there is a need to manage the production of agricultural commodities
more efficiently. Without the use of modern technologies, it will be not
feasible to work against this trend (Mahlein et al., 2012). Innovative
technologies like ‘Remote sensing’ is a rapid, non-invasive and efficient
technique which can acquire and analyze spectral properties of earth surfaces
from various distances, ranging from ground-based platforms to satellites
(Gogoi et al., 2018). Principle of the remote sensing involves mainly the
identification of change in pigmentation, chemical composition, water
uptake and gas exchange, structural and textural differences that causes
variation in the spectral reflectance in affected crops compared to normal
plants. Various imaging and non-imaging spectroscopic techniques were
used for monitoring various crops (Sankaran et al., 2010). Different optical
sensors like RGB, hyperspectral, multispectral, thermal and chlorophyll
fluorescence sensors are used in plant disease detection. Global Positioning
Systems (GPS) and Geographic Information Systems (GIS) are additional
technologies that scientists can implement to help farmers maximize the
economic and environmental benefits precision agriculture (Huang et al.,
2008). Forecasting with the help of remote sensing for pests and diseases
outbreak in agro-ecosystem provides opportunity to inform farmers to carry
out timely management practices. Eventually this will lower the cost of
production and serve as a tool in precision farming.
Keywords: forecasting, management practices, precision farming, remote
sensing, sensing technology
... One of the most detrimental impediments to efficient cotton production is the presence of weeds. Weeds cause an average yield loss of 34% if not properly controlled (Oerke 2006). Palmer amaranth is considered the most common and troublesome weed among all broadleaf crops as well as in fruit and vegetable production (Van Wychen 2019). ...
The southern United States produces 90% of the nation’s cotton, and the Texas High Plains is the largest contiguous cotton producing region. Since 2011, glyphosate-resistant Palmer amaranth has complicated cotton production, and alternatives to glyphosate are needed. Integrating soil residual herbicides into a weed management program is a crucial step to control glyphosate resistant weeds before emergence. The recent development of p -hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD)-resistant cotton by BASF Corporation may allow growers to use isoxaflutole in future weed management programs. In 2019 and 2020, field experiments were conducted in New Deal, Lubbock, and Halfway, Texas, to evaluate HPPD-resistant cotton response to isoxaflutole applied preemergence (PRE) or early postemergence (EPOST) and to determine the efficacy of isoxaflutole when used as part of a season-long weed management program. At the New Deal location, cotton response was observed following the EPOST application, but it never exceeded 10%. Cotton response was greatest following the PRE application in Lubbock in 2019 but did not exceed 14%. In 2020 in Lubbock, cotton was replanted due to severe weather. There was <1% cotton response following the PRE application, and maximum cotton response observed was 9% following EPOST and mid-postemergence (MPOST) applications. Cotton lint yields were not different from those of the nontreated, weed-free control at either location. In non-crop weed control studies in Halfway, all treatments controlled Palmer amaranth ≥94% 21 d after the EPOST application. Twenty-one days after the MPOST treatment, systems with isoxaflutole applied EPOST controlled Palmer amaranth by 88% to 93%, while systems with isoxaflutole PRE controlled Palmer amaranth by 94% to 98%. End-of-season Palmer amaranth control was lowest in the system without isoxaflutole (88%) and when isoxaflutole was used EPOST (88% to 91%). These studies suggest that the use of isoxaflutole in cotton weed management systems may improve season-long control of several troublesome weeds with no adverse effects on cotton yield and quality.
... Insect pests are one of the major menaces adversely affecting crop production in agricultural ecosystem. Crops and vegetables are infested by a variety of insects ranging from Orthopterans to Lepidopterans resulting in huge damage and losses of crop plants, which has serious economic implications (Oerke 2006). Helicoverpa armigera is the most dreaded and significant pest of crops across the globe. ...
Chitinase plays a vital role in plant defense against insect pests and fungal pathogens due to its ability to hydrolyse chitin, which forms the major portion of the lining of gut membrane of insects and the cell wall of fungi. Earlier we reported a ~ 76 kDa chitinase protein isolated from Xenorhabdus nematophila strain (ATCC 19061). Purified chitinase protein was tested against the larvae of Helicoverpa armigera,a major crop pest and when fed orally to the larvae, it proved to be toxic. In the present study, we report the generation of transgenic tobacco plants expressing the chitinase gene of X. nematophila. The stable integration of the chitinase gene was confirmed by Southern blot while the expression of the gene was checked by RT-PCR analysis and quantification of chitinolytic activity. The transgenic lines were phenotypically normal and healthy. The result of bioassays revealed that the tobacco lines expressing increased level of chitinase protein showed 93–100% mortality of larvae of H. armigera when fed on the transgenic leaves expressing chitinase. A considerable reduction in leaf damage (55–76%) was also observed in transgenic lines as compared to the damage in untransformed control plants when the larvae were allowed to feed on the transgenic leaves. The larvae feeding on transgenic leaves showed adverse effect on their growth, development and survival. Thus we propose, the chitinase gene can prove to be a potent candidate for pest control in crop plants in future.
... The first is to improve crop yield, especially for cereal crops, which can be accomplished through different procedures, such as genetic modification, selective breeding, avoiding waste in irrigation as well as fertilization regimes (Beddington, 2010;Godfray et al., 2010;Singh et al., 2022). Second, curtail crop losses due to pests and diseases, which have been causing losses on the order of 20-40%, in addition to the indirect effects on livelihoods and the environment (Oerke, 2006;Beddington, 2010;Godfray et al., 2010;Savary et al., 2012;McDonald and Stukenbrock, 2016). ...
Plant microbiome (or phytomicrobiome) engineering (PME) is an anticipated untapped alternative strategy that could be exploited for plant growth, health, and productivity under different environmental conditions. It has been proven that the phytomicrobiome has crucial contributions to plant health, pathogen control, and tolerance under drastic environmental (a)biotic constraints. Consistent with plant health and safety, in this article we address the fundamental role of the plant microbiome and its insights into plant health and productivity. We also explore the potential of plant microbiome under environmental restrictions and the proposition of improving microbial functions that can be supportive for better plant growth and production. Understanding the crucial role of plant-associated microbial communities, we propose how the associated microbial actions could be enhanced to improve plant growth-promoting mechanisms, with a particular emphasis on plant-beneficial fungi. Additionally, we suggest possible plant strategies to adapt to a harsh environment by manipulating plant microbiomes. However, our current understanding of the microbiome is still in its infancy, and the major perturbations, such as anthropocentric actions, are not fully understood. Therefore, this work highlights the importance of manipulating the beneficial plant microbiome to create more sustainable agriculture, particularly under different environmental stressors.
... Dans les agrosystèmes de la RD Congo, la nuisance des adventices est l'une des contraintes majeures auxquelles font face les producteurs du maïs (Nyembo Kimuni et al., 2012). Faisant partie des bioagresseurs les plus nuisibles du maïs grain (Oerke, 2006 ;Cordeau et Adeux, 2018 ;Cordeau et Schwartz, 2019), les adventices ont des impacts néfastes sur toutes les phases phénologiques de cette plante. Elles causent le ralentissement voire même l'arrêt de croissance et de développement des plants de maïs (Bouhache et al., 2014 ;Soltani et al., 2016 ;Colbach et al., 2017) suite aux phénomènes biologiques de compétition (nutritionnelle et spatiale) et d'allélopathie (Cordeau et al., 2016 ;Ben-Ghabrit et al., 2017 ;Gfeller et Wirth, 2017 ;Villette, 2017) dont les répercussions négatives s'observent sur le rendement en grains et la rentabilité économique de cette spéculation (Lemieux et al., 2003 ;Bouhache et al., 2014 ;Alletru et Labreuche, 2019). ...
Effet comparé de quatre modes de désherbage sur la croissance végétative du maïs grain (Zea mays L. var. ZM 625) dans les conditions agroécologiques de Beni en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) 123 Parakou (Bénin). Reçu le 26 juin 2020, accepté le 03 juillet 2020, publié en ligne le 12 septembre 2020 RESUME Description du sujet. Dans les agrosystèmes de la RDC, les adventices causent le ralentissement et l'arrêt de croissance des plants de maïs (Zea mays L.) entraînant ainsi une baisse de production. C'est ainsi qu'une étude a été réalisée du 2 août 2019 au 31 janvier 2020 à Beni dans la province du Nord-Kivu en RDC sur quatre modes de désherbage. Objectif. L'objectif de cette étude est de comparer les quatre modes de désherbage (désherbage mécanique manuel à la houe, désherbage à l'aide de l'herbicide Auxo, désherbage par paillage avec la paille de riz et désherbage par paillage avec le film polyéthylène à basse densité noir opaque) en vue de mettre en évidence celui (ou ceux) pouvant améliorer la croissance végétative du maïs (Z. mays L. var. ZM 625) dans la région de Beni en RDC. Méthodes. Les essais ont été conduits suivant un dispositif à quatre blocs randomisés, répartis sur deux sites : Bingo et Lume. Chaque bloc comportait quatre parcelles correspondant aux traitements testés : le désherbage mécanique manuel à la houe (T0 : DMMH), le désherbage à l'aide de l'herbicide Auxo (T1 : DHxo), le désherbage par paillage avec la paille de riz (T2 : DPPR) et le désherbage par paillage avec le film polyéthylène à basse densité noir opaque (T3 : DPFPbdno). L'effet des traitements sur la croissance végétative du maïs a été évalué par l'estimation de la hauteur moyenne des plants et de la hauteur moyenne du point d'insertion de l'épi sur la tige. Résultats. L'analyse de la variance au seuil de probabilité de 5 % n'a pas montré de différences significatives entre les traitements dans chacun de deux sites (P>0,05). Toutefois, une différence significative s'est révélée entre les sites (P<0,05) : le site Lume a donné des valeurs moyennes de hauteurs des plants et du point d'insertion de l'épi sur la tige les plus élevées (241,1 cm et 199,3 cm respectivement) que celles du site Bingo (110,6 cm et 98,1 cm respectivement) pour tous les traitements testés. Conclusion. Des études d'évaluation de l'effet des traitements testés sur le rendement et la rentabilité économique de la culture du maïs grain sont donc nécessaires. ABSTRACT Comparative effect of four modes of weeding on the vegetative growth of grain corn (Zea mays L. var. ZM 625) under the agroecological conditions of Beni in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) Description of the subject. In the DRC agrosystems, weeds cause the maize (Zea mays L.) plants to slow down and stop growing, thus reducing production. Thus, a study was carried out from August 2, 2019 to January 31, 2020 in Beni in the province of North Kivu in the DRC on four modes of weeding. Objectives. The objective of this study is to compare the four modes of weeding (manual mechanical weeding with a hoe, weeding by using of the herbicide Auxo, weeding by mulching with rice straw and weeding by mulching with opaque black low density polyethylene film) in order to highlight that (or those) which can improve the vegetative growth of corn (Z. mays L. var. ZM 625) in the region of Beni in DRC. Methods. The trials were conducted using a randomized four-block system, distributed over two sites: Bingo and Lume. Each block included four plots corresponding to the treatments tested: manual mechanical weeding with a hoe (T0: DMMH), weeding by using the herbicide Auxo (T1: DHxo), weeding by mulching with rice straw (T2: DPPR) and weeding by mulching with opaque black low density polyethylene film (T3: DPFPbdno). The effect Revue Africaine d'Environnement et d'Agriculture 2020; 3(3), 12-21 http://www.rafea-congo.com ISSN (Print): 2708-7743 eISSN: 2708-5422 Dépôt légal: JL 3.01807-57259 13 Revue Africaine d'Environnement et d'Agriculture 2020 ; 3(3), 12-21 of the treatments on the vegetative growth of corn was evaluated by estimating the average height of the plants and the average height of the point of insertion of the ear on the stem. Results. The analysis of variance at the 5% probability threshold did not show any significant differences between the treatments in each of two sites (PV>0,05). However, a significant difference was revealed between the sites (PV>0,05): the Lume site gave higher values of plant height and point of insertion of the ear on the stem (241.1 cm and 199.3 cm respectively) than those of the Bingo site (110.6 cm and 98.1 cm respectively) for all the treatments tested. Conclusion. Studies to assess the effect of tested treatments on the yield and economic profitability of growing grain corn are therefore necessary.
... . However, plant diseases can have devastating economic, social and/or ecological consequences on a global scale and play a significant role in determining plant productivity. It was estimated that the production losses for the major agricultural crops by biotic stress is around 20-40% (Oerke 2006;Savary et al. 2012). To overcome agricultural loss by biotic stress, farmers depend heavily on synthetic route, indeed synthetic chemicals are promising, but problems have been associated with their prolonged usage. ...
In order to achieve the food demand of a growing population, agricultural productivity needs to be increased by employing safe strategies. In the present study we have evaluated ZnONPs that were synthesized from the culture supernatant of Bacillus subtilis. Bio mimetically synthesized ZnONPs showed a surface resonance peak of 355 nm corresponding to NPs formation. Further, NPs were examined for their size, shape and element confirmation by DLS, AFM, SEM, TEM and EDAX, which confirmed the synthesized NPs were nearly spherical in size with average diameter of 32 nm by TEM. Surface charge of + 34.3 mV was observed for NPs with a low poly-dispersity index of 0.21. In vitro efficacy studies against fungi Colletotrichum capsici, Sclerotium rolfsii, Alternaria solani and Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cicero showed up to 99% mycelial growth inhibition at 0.125% ZnONPs. Further, in-vitro disk-diffusion assay showed inhibition zones of 23 ± 0.4 mm and 12.67 ± 0.24 mm for Xanthomonas axonopodis pv. punicae (Xap) and Xanthomonas oryzae pv. oryzae (Xoo) bacterial cultures. Plant toxicity study was observed that ≤ 0.14% NPs concentration was safe under greenhouse conditions. Overall, the present study emphasizes the potential effect of ZnONPs against agricultural pathogens which play an important role in agriculture production.
... Insect pests in agricultural systems are a major cause of damage to crop production worldwide, with productivity losses estimated from 26-80% [1] and economic losses of 300 billion USD [2]. Historically, pest control in industrialized countries has relied on the use of synthetic chemical pesticides [3]. ...
The recently discovered insecticidal protein Mpp75Aa1.1 from Brevibacillus laterosporus is a member of the ETX_MTX family of beta-pore forming proteins (β-PFPs) expressed in genetically modified (GM) maize to control western corn rootworm (WCR; Diabrotica virgifera virgifera LeConte). In this manuscript, bioinformatic analysis establishes that although Mpp75Aa1.1 shares varying degrees of similarity to members of the ETX_MTX2 protein family, it is unlikely to have any allergenic, toxic, or otherwise adverse biological effects. The safety of Mpp75Aa1.1 is further supported by a weight of evidence approach including evaluation of the history of safe use (HOSU) of ETX_MTX2 proteins and Breviballus laterosporus . Comparisons between purified Mpp75Aa1.1 protein and a poly-histidine-tagged (His-tagged) variant of the Mpp75Aa1.1 protein demonstrate that both forms of the protein are heat labile at temperatures at or above 55°C, degraded by gastrointestinal proteases within 0.5 min, and have no adverse effects in acute mouse oral toxicity studies at a dose level of 1920 or 2120 mg/kg body weight. These results support the use of His-tagged proteins as suitable surrogates for assessing the safety of their non-tagged parent proteins. Taken together, we report that Mpp75Aa1.1 is the first ETX-MTX2 insecticidal protein from B . laterosporus and displays a similar safety profile as typical Cry proteins from Bacillus thuringiensis .
... The differential response of genotypes across environments for a given phenotype of interest guide critical decisions in a plant breeding program, including the selection and advancement of genotypes as well as overall logistics and allocation of resources for multi-environment trials (Hill, 1975;Cooper and DeLacy, 1994;Kang, 1997;de Leon et al., 2016). Yield is a highly complex and quantitative trait regulated by numerous large and small-effect genes, of which its expression is immensely dependable on the genotype interaction with various components of the environment including pathogens (Rincker et al., 2017;Vieira et al., 2021), pests (Haile et al., 1998;Rocha et al., 2015), weeds (Oerke, 2006;Soltani et al., 2017), temperature, light, andprecipitation (Runge andOdell, 1960;Goldblum, 2009;Alsajri et al., 2020), and soil-derived factors (Cox et al., 2003;Kaspar et al., 2004;Anthony et al., 2012). Thus, a practical and accurate implementation of genomic selection for yield relies on understanding and accounting for the interaction of molecular markers with the environment and/or its multiple components. ...
The availability of high-dimensional molecular markers has allowed plant breeding programs to maximize their efficiency through the genomic prediction of a phenotype of interest. Yield is a complex quantitative trait whose expression is sensitive to environmental stimuli. In this research, we investigated the potential of incorporating soil texture information and its interaction with molecular markers via covariance structures for enhancing predictive ability across breeding scenarios. A total of 797 soybean lines derived from 367 unique bi-parental populations were genotyped using the Illumina BARCSoySNP6K and tested for yield during 5 years in Tiptonville silt loam, Sharkey clay, and Malden fine sand environments. Four statistical models were considered, including the GBLUP model (M1), the reaction norm model (M2) including the interaction between molecular markers and the environment (G×E), an extended version of M2 that also includes soil type (S), and the interaction between soil type and molecular markers (G×S) (M3), and a parsimonious version of M3 which discards the G×E term (M4). Four cross-validation scenarios simulating progeny testing and line selection of tested–untested genotypes (TG, UG) in observed–unobserved environments [OE, UE] were implemented (CV2 [TG, OE], CV1 [UG, OE], CV0 [TG, UE], and CV00 [UG, UE]). Across environments, the addition of G×S interaction in M3 decreased the amount of variability captured by the environment (−30.4%) and residual (−39.2%) terms as compared to M1. Within environments, the G×S term in M3 reduced the variability captured by the residual term by 60 and 30% when compared to M1 and M2, respectively. M3 outperformed all the other models in CV2 (0.577), CV1 (0.480), and CV0 (0.488). In addition to the Pearson correlation, other measures were considered to assess predictive ability and these showed that the addition of soil texture seems to structure/dissect the environmental term revealing its components that could enhance or hinder the predictability of a model, especially in the most complex prediction scenario (CV00). Hence, the availability of soil texture information before the growing season could be used to optimize the efficiency of a breeding program by allowing the reconsideration of field experimental design, allocation of resources, reduction of preliminary trials, and shortening of the breeding cycle.
... In recent decades, the use of natural biocides has increased as an eco-friendly alternative to chemical pest control in agricultural production [1,2]. Most commercialized products are based on hypocrealean entomopathogenic fungi (EF) and play a key role in integrated pest management programs (IPM) and organic farming [3]. Currently, EF comprises a significant slice of important markets in Brazil, the USA, and Europe [2,4,5]. ...
The use of fungal-based biopesticides to reduce pest damage and protect crop quality is often considered a low-risk control strategy. Nevertheless, risk assessment of mycopesticides is still needed since pests and beneficial insects, such as pollinators, co-exist in the same agroecosystem where mass use of this strategy occurs. In this context, we evaluated the effect of five concentrations of three commercial entomopathogenic fungi, Beauveria bassiana, Metarhizium anisopliae, and Cordyceps fumosorosea, by direct contact and ingestion, on the tropical stingless bees Scaptotrigona depilis and Tetragonisca angustula, temperate bee species, the honey bee Apis mellifera, and the bumble bee Bombus terrestris, at the individual level. Furthermore, we studied the potential of two infection routes, either by direct contact or ingestion. In general, all three fungi caused considerable mortalities in the four bee species, which differed in their response to the different fungal species. Scaptotrigona depilis and B. terrestris were more susceptible to B. bassiana than the other fungi when exposed topically, and B. terrestris and A. mellifera were more susceptible to M. anisopliae when exposed orally. Interestingly, increased positive concentration responses were not observed for all fungal species and application methods. For example, B. terrestris mortalities were similar at the lowest and highest fungal concentrations for both exposure methods. This study demonstrates that under laboratory conditions, the three fungal species can potentially reduce the survival of social bees at the individual level. However, further colony and field studies are needed to elucidate the susceptibility of these fungi towards social bees to fully assess the ecological risks.
... Pests is thought to be responsible for 20-40% of global crop output loss (Douglas, 2018). Pests adversely affect crop yield and quality through direct damage and transmission of plant diseases (Oerke, 2006). In recent years, agricultural losses caused by pests have increased as the climate has warmed (Deutsch et al., 2018), but widespread use of pesticides can have a negative impact on the environment. ...
Abiotic stress such as cold, drought, saline-alkali stress and biotic stress including disease and insect pest are the main factors that affect plant growth and limit agricultural productivity. In recent years, with the rapid development of molecular biology, genome editing techniques have been widely used in botany and agronomy due to their characteristics of high efficiency, controllable and directional editing. Genome editing techniques have great application potential in breeding resistant varieties. These techniques have achieved remarkable results in resistance breeding of important cereal crops (such as maize, rice, wheat, etc.), vegetable and fruit crops. Among them, CRISPR/Cas (clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats/CRISPR-associated) provides a guarantee for the stability of crop yield worldwide. In this paper, the development of CRISRR/Cas and its application in different resistance breeding of important crops are reviewed, the advantages and importance of CRISRR/Cas technology in breeding are emphasized, and the possible problems are pointed out.
... The quantum of total crop losses is much more than apparent and the repercussions can lead to food insecurity. Biotic stresses can cause a 37.4% loss of rice production (Oerke 2006) in which loss due to plant parasitic nematodes constitutes a key component. The ecological conditions suitable for the cultivation of rice crop are very well congenial for the multiplication of nematodes infecting rice (Jain et al. 2012). ...
Meloidogyne graminicola (nematode) mostly attacks young roots of plants; hence, age of host becomes a predominant factor in infection and pathogenesis. A pot experiment was conducted in the net house condition during kharif, 2018 in complete randomized design to find out the changes in growth and yield parameters of rice cv. Naveen due to inoculation of M. graminicola at different plant age. The nematode infested rice plants showed chlorosis, stunting and characteristic terminal galls on the roots which ultimately resulted in severe reduction in growth, unfilled spikelets, reduction in tiller development and other growth attributes over control. Nematode inoculation at early crop stage retarded the plant growth and yield attributes by reducing the rice yield up to 57.4%. The maximum percentage of reduction in plant height (19.8%), tiller number (39.6%), dry weight of shoot (43.6%), dry weight of root (45.6%) and total biomass (49.6%) was observed in the plants inoculated at two weeks after sowing. Bangladesh J. Bot. 51(3): 411-416, 2022 (September)
... Losses in crop yield caused by plant diseases account for between 16 and 18 % of global agricultural productivity [1], which result in a substantial economic impact and endanger food security. Plant diseases caused by bacteria are the main factors limiting crop production. ...
The control of plant diseases caused by bacteria that seriously compromise crop productivity around the world is still one of the most important challenges in food security. Integrated approaches for disease control generally lack plant protection products with high efficacy and low environmental and health adverse effects. Functional peptides, either from natural sources or synthetic, are considered as novel candidates to develop biopesticides. Synthetic peptides can be obtained based on the structure of natural compounds or de novo designed, considering the features of antimicrobial peptides. The advantage of this approach is that analogues can be conveniently prepared, enabling the identification of sequences with improved biological properties. Several peptide libraries have been designed and synthetized, and the best sequences showed strong bactericidal activity against important plant pathogenic bacteria, with a good profile of biodegradability and low toxicity. Among these sequences, there are bacteriolytic or antibiofilm peptides that work against the target bacteria, plant defense elicitor peptides, and multifunctional peptides that display several of these properties. Here, we report the research performed by our groups during the last twenty years, as well as our ongoing work. We also highlight those peptides that can be used as candidates to develop novel biopesticides, and the main challenges and prospects.
... Particularly, plant diseases cost approximately US$220 billion per year, and it is estimated that such losses deprived more than 800 million people of adequate consumable food (FAO, 2021;Mitra, 2021). Referring to wheat, about 10% of estimated yield losses were due to fungal pathogens, whereas viral and bacterial diseases are usually less impacting (Oerke, 2006;Aboukhaddour et al., 2020;Simoń et al., 2021). Thus, it is clear to the scientific community that an early disease detection system based on the fundamental understanding of host-pathogen interactions can aid in decreasing such losses, further prevent the spread of diseases, and enhance the total agricultural yield (Sankaran et al., 2010;Mitra, 2021). ...
The wheat crop is one of the most cultivated and consumed commodities all over the world. Fungal diseases are of particular concern for wheat cultivation since they cause great losses and reduced quality, and also for the accumulation of toxin compounds into the final product. In this scenario, optimal disease management strategies are a key point to boosting food production and sustainability in agriculture. Innovative and point-of-care diagnostic technologies represent a powerful weapon for early detection of fungal pathogens and preventively counteract diseases on wheat with the aim to drastically reduce the fungicides as inputs. Indeed, in-field diagnostics devices are fast, sensitive, and ready-to-use technologies able to promptly detect a low inoculum concentration even at the pre-symptomatic stage of the disease. Promising isothermal molecular and phenomics-based methods have been developed to detect wheat fungal pathogens directly in the field. Such technologies could be potentially coupled to directly detect the presence of a certain pathogen and indirectly disclose the plant-pathogen interactions since spectral-based methodologies detect host perturbations following the infection. The present review reports the main in-field isothermal molecular-based and phenomics-based detection technologies for fungal pathogens in wheat discussing their advantages, disadvantages, and potential applications in the near future.
... Weeds cause significant crop losses by competing for nutrients, water or light (Oerke, 2006). While non-chemical weed control methods can be effective (Bond and Grundy, 2001), synthetic herbicides are still the most widespread weed control tool in modern agriculture (Délye et al., 2013). ...
Multiple resistance mechanisms to ALS inhibitors and auxin mimics in two Papaver rhoeas populations were investigated in wheat fields from Portugal. Dose-response trials, also with malathion (a cytochrome P450 inhibitor), cross-resistance patterns for ALS inhibitors and auxin mimics, alternative herbicides tests, 2,4-D and tribenuron-methyl absorption, translocation and metabolism experiments, together with ALS activity, gene sequencing and enzyme modelling and ligand docking were carried out. Results revealed two different resistant profiles: one population (R1) multiple resistant to tribenuron-methyl and 2,4-D, the second (R2) only resistant to 2,4-D. In R1, several target-site mutations in Pro197 and enhanced 34 metabolism (cytochrome P450-mediated) were responsible of tribenuron-methyl resistance. For 2,4-D, reduced transport was observed in both populations, while cytochrome P450-mediated metabolism was also present in R1 population. Moreover, this is the first P. rhoeas population with enhanced tribenuron-methyl metabolism. This study reports the first case for P. rhoeas of the amino acid
substitution Pro197Phe due to a double nucleotide change. This double mutation could cause reduced enzyme sensitivity to most ALS inhibitors according to protein modelling and ligand docking. In addition, this study reports a P. rhoeas population resistant to 2,4-D, apparently, with reduced transport as the sole resistance mechanism.
... Amongst all the pests causing yield losses weeds alone account for 37% of total annual crop yield loss in India, where the contribution of insects, diseases and other pests are respectively 29%, 22% and 12% (Yaduraju, 2006). Looking at the global scenario the main contributors of crop loss are again weeds, followed by animals and pathogens (Oerke, 2006). According to Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR), India loses agricultural produce worth over $11 billion to weeds every year. ...
... Biotic threats such as weeds, insects, bacteria, fungi, and viruses are major factors influencing crop quality and yield. Weed problems are the main threat causing huge losses in crop yields globally [113]. Weeds are the main competitors for crops in obtaining their nutrients [114], light [115], space [116], and water [117]. ...
Oil palm has become one of the largest plantation industries in Malaysia, but the constraints in terms of manpower and time to monitor the development of this industry have caused many losses in terms of time and expense of oil palm plantation management. The introduction to the use of drone technology will help oil palm industry operators increase the effectiveness in the management of oil palm cultivation and production. In addition, knowledge gaps on drone technology were identified, and suggestions for further improvement could be implemented. Therefore, this study reviews the application and potential of drone technology in oil palm plantation, and the limitation and potential of the methods will be discussed.
... Green pigweed can be controlled with tillage or the use of effective soil-applied and postemergence (POST) dicot herbicides [4]. Due to their high efficacy, low cost, and ease of use, herbicides have replaced tillage as the most utilized method of weed control [11]. Repeated applications of the same herbicides have contributed to the evolution of herbicide resistance by selecting biotypes that are able to survive and reproduce following the application of a previously lethal herbicide dose [12][13][14]. ...
Green pigweed [Amaranthus powellii S. Wats.] is a competitive, annual, broadleaf weed that can significantly reduce soybean yield due to rapid early growth and biomass production. As a consequence of green pigweed’s high competitiveness with crops, the weed species is generally managed with the use of herbicides; this may, however, lead to the selection of resistance. A green pigweed biotype with resistance to MCPA, mecoprop, dichlorprop-p, aminocyclopyrachlor (synthetic auxins), and imazethapyr (acetolactate synthase-(ALS)-inhibitor) was recently confirmed in Ontario, Canada. Research was conducted to identify alternative effective preemergence (PRE) and postemergence (POST) herbicides for the control of multiple-herbicide-resistant (MHR) green pigweed in Ontario soybean production. Four field trials, two with PRE and two with POST herbicides were conducted near Dresden, Ontario in 2019 and 2020. Visible soybean injury, green pigweed control, density, aboveground biomass, and soybean yield were evaluated following application with 19 PRE herbicide treatments and 12 POST herbicide treatments in separate studies. At 8 wk after application (WAA), pyroxasulfone/flumioxazin applied PRE controlled green pigweed 95% and was the most effective soil-applied herbicide. In the POST study, glyphosate was the most effective herbicide, controlling green pigweed 94% at 8 WAA. Imazethapyr, applied PRE or POST did not control this green pigweed biotype as it is also resistant to ALS-inhibitors. Control with other ALS-inhibiting herbicides as well as with PPO-inhibiting herbicides was variable, and further research is needed to determine the reason for variable control with these herbicides.
... Moreover, the potential of the method is strengthened by applying a pseudo-colored approach that helps to magnify the visual contrast between healthy and diseased tissues, or between different stages of the disease. We believe that the use of polarimetric methods, which are non-invasive and non-contact, for the early detection of plant diseases are of interest because they may contribute to prevent large product (and economical) losses in crops 38,39 . ...
This paper highlights the potential of using polarimetric methods for the inspection of plant diseased tissues. We show how depolarizing observables are a suitable tool for the accurate discrimination between healthy and diseased tissues due to the pathogen infection of plant samples. The analysis is conducted on a set of different plant specimens showing various disease symptoms and infection stages. By means of a complete image Mueller polarimeter, we measure the experimental Mueller matrices of the samples, from which we calculate a set of metrics analyzing the depolarization content of the inspected leaves. From calculated metrics, we demonstrate, in a qualitative and quantitative way, how depolarizing information of vegetal tissues leads to the enhancement of image contrast between healthy and diseased tissues, as well as to the revelation of wounded regions which cannot be detected by means of regular visual inspections. Moreover, we also propose a pseudo-colored image method, based on the depolarizing metrics, capable to further enhance the visual image contrast between healthy and diseased regions in plants. The ability of proposed methods to characterize plant diseases (even at early stages of infection) may be of interest for preventing yield losses due to different plant pathogens.
... NHEJ mediated gene editing is the most direct application of CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing. Biotic stress imposed by pathogenic micro-organisms account for more than 42% of potential yield loss and contributes to 15% of global declines in food production [22]. The negative regulators of disease resistance and grain development can be knocked out to obtain greater yield, host resistance against targeted pathogens and abiotic stresses like drought and salinity. ...
CRISPR/Cas systems are the third-generation genome editing systems, which appeared in 2012 and quickly became a superstar in genome editing tools because of their great simplicity and usability compared to with ZFN and TALEN. CRISPR/Cas was originally identified as an effective acquired immune system in bacteria against virus infection and relies on RNA-DNA binding to achieve sequence specificity in genome editing. CRISPR/Cas9 system has become widely used in plants for characterizing gene function and crop improvement. Crops such as tomato, rice, banana and wheat are excellent model plants for biological research and are most important applied plants for genome editing. Genome editing has also been applied in plant breeding for improving fruit yield and quality, increasing stress resistance, accelerating the domestication of wild tomato, and recently customizing tomato cultivars for urban agriculture. In addition, genome editing is continuously innovating, and several new genome editing systems such as the recent prime editing, a breakthrough in precise genome editing, have recently been applied in plants. In this review, the advances in applications of CRISPR/Cas systems genome editing technology to enhance specific features in plants in order to mitigate postharvest losses and wastes are summarized.
... availability of food. Before the first herbicides were launched in the late 1940s, weed management in agriculture was labor-intensive and only moderately effective (Oerke, 2006). The most successful weed-control methods ever established are herbicides, which eliminate 90 to > 99% of the target weeds (Foster et al., 1993). ...
... Weeds are responsible for the greatest potential yield losses in agricultural production, making control of weeds of considerable importance to growers [1]. Weed control measures are also associated with significant costs, both financially, and in terms of time taken to implement control [2]. ...
Weed infestation is a global threat to agricultural productivity, leading to low yields and financial losses. Weed detection, based on applying machine learning to imagery collected by Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) has shown potential in the past; however, validation on large data-sets (e.g., across a wide number of different fields) remains lacking, with few solutions actually made operational. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of automatically detecting weeds in winter wheat fields based on deep learning methods applied to UAV data at scale. Focusing on black-grass (the most pernicious weed across northwest Europe), we show high performance (i.e., accuracy above 0.9) and highly statistically significant correlation (i.e., ro > 0.75 and p < 0.00001) between imagery-derived local and global weed maps and out-of-bag field survey data, collected by experts over 31 fields (205 hectares) in the UK. We demonstrate how the developed deep learning model can be made available via an easy-to-use docker container, with results accessible through an interactive dashboard. Using this approach, clickable weed maps can be created and deployed rapidly, allowing the user to explore actual model predictions for each field. This shows the potential for this approach to be used operationally and influence agronomic decision-making in the real world.
... Weeds are unwanted plants that grow outside their natural ecosystems where they may be of no positive economic importance (Oerke 2006). In many cases, the presence of weeds on farmlands affects the productivity of the land, crop development and yield. ...
Weed management and control are essential for successful crop production. In recent years, there has been increased interest in the use of sustainable biological approaches for weed control due to their potential environmental and economic benefits. In this study, the enzyme-induced carbonate precipitation (EICP) approach was adopted to form a soil crust through calcium carbonate bonding using plant-sourced urease enzymes extracted from the weed paddy melon (Cucumis myriocarpus Naud.), urea and calcium chloride solution. The penetration and erosion resistance of the EICP-treated soil crust was then measured. The results from this study show that the EICP-treated soil crust exhibited a significant surface hardening with a maximum penetration resistance of 1307 kPa and significantly high resistance to raindrops and wind erosion compared to untreated soil. The penetration and erosion resistance of the EICP-treated soil crust also increased with an increased number of treatment cycles. The outcome of this study shows that an EICP-approach, using crude enzymes extracted from weeds, can achieve a desirable crust penetration strength that may significantly reduce weed seedling emergence. The technique can also be developed as a potentially sustainable method for weed control for uncultivated land such as roadside shoulders and embankments.
... On the other hand, insect pest complex and cotton leaf curl disease are the main biotic stresses which are responsible for the low production of cotton [5]. According to a survey on cotton production and losses in Pakistan, the annual losses of cotton due to biotic stresses are recorded as up to 2.5 million bales [6,7]. Bemisia tabaci is a sap-sucking insect pest that serves as a vector for viruses causing cotton leaf curl disease (CLCuD) in cotton and several other plants. ...
Cotton is an important crop that produces fiber and cottonseed oil for the textile and oil industry. However, cotton leaf curl virus disease (CLCuD) stress is limiting its yield in several Asian countries. In this study, we have sequenced Mac7 accession , a Gossypium hirsutum resistance source against several biotic stresses. By aligning with the Gossypium hirsutum (AD1) 'TM-1' genome, a total of 4.7 and 1.2 million SNPs and InDels were identified in the Mac7 genome. The gene ontology and metabolic pathway enrichment indicated SNPs and InDels role in nucleotide bindings, secondary metabolite synthesis, and plant-pathogen interaction pathways. Furthermore, the RNA-seq data in different tissues and qPCR expression profiling under CLCuD provided individual gene roles in resistant and susceptible accessions. Interestingly, the differential NLR genes demonstrated higher expression in resistant plants rather than in susceptible plants expression. The current resequencing results may provide primary data to identify DNA resistance markers which will be helpful in marker-assisted breeding for development of Mac7-derived resistance lines. Graphical Abstract Keywords Cotton · Genetic diversity · Mac7 · Resequencing · Expression · CLCuD · Resistant
... The use of pesticides is an integral part of modern agriculture and contributes to the productivity and quality of cultivated crops. It has been estimated that the use of agrochemicals prevents a loss of up to 45% of the world crop production [1]. It is critical to apply agricultural pesticides efficiently and without drift (off-target pesticide depositions), which is the movement of sprayed chemicals to untargeted areas caused by wind. ...
When pesticides are sprayed, a significant portion of the droplets drifts away from the target. Using an adjuvant in spray liquid is an easy option for reducing droplet drift because there is no need to make any changes to the sprayer. The objective of the study was to determine the effects of seven commercially available adjuvants (Surfeco plus, Starguar, Kantor, Sterling, Control, Control WM, and Control DUO) with varying active ingredients on droplet size, surface tension, and viscosity. Since these properties affect droplet formation, these adjuvants were evaluated in terms of their drift-reducing performance in a wind tunnel at various wind speeds (2.0, 3.5, and 5.0 m/s) and spray pressures (3, 4, and 5 bars). The ground and airborne components of drift were evaluated. With the use of a patternator, the potential for the ground drift of adjuvants was measured; for airborne drift, polyethylene lines that were stretched along the cross-section area of the wind tunnel at various heights were employed. The number of deposits of a tracer dye-adjuvant mixture that was sprayed on the polyethylene lines was measured via fluorometric methods for determining the airborne drift potential. The test results showed that the adjuvant Control Duo containing a polymer blend, which had the highest dynamic viscosity (4.27 mPa.s), increased the Dv0.5 droplet diameter up to 192 μm at 3 bar with nozzle XR11002. This adjuvant reduced the ground drift potential (Dc) by 60.53 % compared to tap water. The maximum airborne drift potential reduction percentage (DPRP) was obtained as 85.76% with Surfeco plus containing organic silicone at a pressure of 3 bar and a wind velocity of 5 m/s. When considering the airborne drift-reduction potential of the adjuvants used, it was found that the adjuvants Control WM, Control, Starguar, and Surfeco plus significantly reduced the airborne droplet drift compared to spraying tap water.
... While microbial pathogens cause approximately 15% losses in yield by damage to crops in the field (Oerke 2006), the destruction caused by postharvest disease amounts to an additional 20-25% reduction, depending on the country (Sharma et al. 2009). Current postharvest disease mitigation strategies rely heavily on chemicals, which pose a threat to human health and the environment. ...
The fungal kingdom represents an extraordinary diversity of organisms with profound impacts across animal, plant, and ecosystem health. Fungi simultaneously support life, by forming beneficial symbioses with plants and producing life-saving medicines, and bring death, by causing devastating diseases in humans, plants, and animals. With climate change, increased antimicrobial resistance, global trade, environmental degradation, and novel viruses altering the impact of fungi on health and disease, developing new approaches is now more crucial than ever to combat the threats posed by fungi and to harness their extraordinary potential for applications in human health, food supply, and environmental remediation. To address this aim, the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research (CIFAR) and the Burroughs Wellcome Fund convened a workshop to unite leading experts on fungal biology from academia and industry to strategize innovative solutions to global challenges and fungal threats. This report provides recommendations to accelerate fungal research and highlights the major research advances and ideas discussed at the meeting pertaining to 5 major topics: (1) Connections between fungi and climate change and ways to avert climate catastrophe; (2) Fungal threats to humans and ways to mitigate them; (3) Fungal threats to agriculture and food security and approaches to ensure a robust global food supply; (4) Fungal threats to animals and approaches to avoid species collapse and extinction; and (5) Opportunities presented by the fungal kingdom, including novel medicines and enzymes.
... Climate change has exacerbated the multifarious effects of environmental stresses on crop growth and development, thereby compromising sustainable agricultural productivity worldwide. Biotic stresses in the form of insects, bacteria, viruses, fungi, nematodes, arachnids, and weeds account for over 30% of losses from the annual global food production capacity, or approximately US$500 billion [1]. Abiotic stresses including drought, extreme temperatures, and salinity are major yield-limiting factors of economically important food crops globally [2]. ...
The sessile plant has developed mechanisms to survive the “rough and tumble” of its natural surroundings, aided by its evolved innate immune system. Precise perception and rapid response to stress stimuli confer a fitness edge to the plant against its competitors, guaranteeing greater chances of survival and productivity. Plants can “eavesdrop” on volatile chemical cues from their stressed neighbours and have adapted to use these airborne signals to prepare for impending danger without having to experience the actual stress themselves. The role of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in plant–plant communication has gained significant attention over the past decade, particularly with regard to the potential of VOCs to prime non-stressed plants for more robust defence responses to future stress challenges. The ecological relevance of such interactions under various environmental stresses has been much debated, and there is a nascent understanding of the mechanisms involved. This review discusses the significance of VOC-mediated inter-plant interactions under both biotic and abiotic stresses and highlights the potential to manipulate outcomes in agricultural systems for sustainable crop protection via enhanced defence. The need to integrate physiological, biochemical, and molecular approaches in understanding the underlying mechanisms and signalling pathways involved in volatile signalling is emphasised.
... Weeds are the major constraint to crop production when compared with other foes, such as pathogens and animal pests, in most cropping systems, producing about 43% of global losses annually [1]. There are more than 35,000 weed species distributed widely around the world, of which about 8000 species are considered troublesome for agriculture [2]. ...
Weed interference in the crop field is one of the major biotic stresses causing dramatic crop yield losses, and the development of herbicide-resistant crops is critical for weed control in the application of herbicide technologies. To identify herbicide-resistant germplasms, we screened 854 maize inbreed lines and 25,620 seedlings by spraying them with 1 g/L glufosinate. One plant (L336R), possibly derived from a natural variation of line L336, was identified to have the potential for glufosinate tolerance. Genetic analysis validated that the glufosinate tolerance of L336R is conferred by a single locus, which was tentatively designated as ZmGHT1. By constructing a bi-parental population derived from L336R, and a glufosinate sensitive line L312, ZmGHT1 was mapped between molecular markers M9 and M10. Interestingly, genomic comparation between the two sequenced reference genomes showed that large scale structural variations (SVs) occurred within the mapped region, resulting in 2.16 Mb in the inbreed line B73, and 11.5 kb in CML277, respectively. During the fine mapping process, we did not detect any additional recombinant, even by using more than 9500 F2 and F3 plants, suspecting that SVs should also have occurred between L336R and L312 in this region, which inhibited recombination. By evaluating the expression of the genes within the mapped interval and using functional annotation, we predict that the gene Zm00001eb361930, encoding an aminotransferase, is the most likely causative gene. After glufosinate treatment, lower levels of ammonia content and a higher activity of glutamine synthetase (GS) in L336R were detected compared with those of L336 and L312, suggesting that the target gene may participate in ammonia elimination involving GS activity. Collectively, our study can provide a material resource for maize herbicide resistant breeding, with the potential to reveal a new mechanism for herbicide resistance.
... A nivel mundial, la pérdida de rendimiento real debido a las plagas se estima en un 40 %, siendo las malas hierbas responsables de la mayor parte (32 %) de esta pérdida . Rao y Moody (1994) Oerke (2006) informó que las malezas son responsables del 10 % y el 37 % de la pérdida de rendimiento real y potencial en todo el mundo. ...
Entre los cereales, el arroz (Oryza sativaL.) es uno de los principales cultivos del mundo, ya que es un alimento básico en la dieta humana(Cobos et al., 2020). Los productores de arroz cultivan arroz a mano o siembra directa (Kumar et al., 2017). El trasplante manual es más popular entre los agricultores porque produce rendimientos relativamente más altos y requiere más mano de obra y energía que la labranza cero (Verma, 2010). En promedio, los métodos tradicionales de siembra de arroz requerían 238 horas de mano de obra por hectárea (Dixit y Khan, 2011). La mano de obra en la producción de arroz representa un valor importante en los costos de producción (Clayton, 2010). Décadas de cultivo continuo de arroz inundado debilitan las propiedades físicas del suelo a través de la degradación estructural de los agregados del suelo, los poros capilares y la dispersión de la arcilla, lo que limita la germinación y el enraizamiento de los cultivos posteriores (Tomar et al., 2006). Recientemente, muchos estudios han destacado los desafíos del trasplante manual en suelos inundados, las enormes disparidades de rendimiento en comparación con otras técnicas establecidas (Lobell et al., 2009) y la baja eficiencia en el uso de agua y nutrientes (Humphreys et al., 2010), emisión en gases de efecto invernadero (Wassmann et al., 2004), aumento de la escasez de mano de obra (Devkota et al., 2019a,b) aumenta de los salarios (Bandumula et al., 2018) destaca los impactos significativos de estas prácticas. Combinados estos problemas, han aumentado la
83carga de trabajo de los productores (Akter et al., 2017), lo que ha resultado en mayores costos de producción y menor rentabilidad (Ditzler et al., 2018).
... In addition to identifying weed species, weed interaction and competition with the cultivated plant also closely depends on weed density and frequency of encounter. According to this prevalence (frequency), weeds cause quality and yield loss at different rates in the product (Oerke, 2006). for this is the limited growing areas, the inadequacy of licensed herbicides, and the concern that the chemical used can affect the aroma and medicinal properties by participating in the structure of the plant. ...
... A nivel mundial, la pérdida de rendimiento real debido a las plagas se estima en un 40 %, siendo las malas hierbas responsables de la mayor parte (32 %) de esta pérdida . Rao y Moody (1994) Oerke (2006) informó que las malezas son responsables del 10 % y el 37 % de la pérdida de rendimiento real y potencial en todo el mundo. ...
El arroz es uno de los alimentos básicos más importantes, con más de 3500 millones de personas que dependen de él para obtener el 20 % de su ingesta calórica diaria (CIAT, 2010). Este cultivo forma parte de un grupo de 19 especies de plantas anuales dela familia de las gramíneas; por lo tanto, el arroz común es la única especie importantepara el consumo humano(Reyes et al., 2020). Se estima que la producción de arroz aumentará en 114 millones de toneladas para 2035, pero los agricultores tendrán que hacerlo en medio de las graves amenazas del cambio climático (Suzanne et al., 2012). Sumado a esto, una disminución en la cantidad de tierra agrícola, agua y baja mano de obra disponibles para la agricultura, aumento el costo de todos los insumos
... A stressful environment due to a changing climate is predicted to impact negatively the diversity and abundance of insect-pests, and ultimately to extend the damage to economically important agricultural crops [90]. Outbreaks of insect-pests and diseases have significant consequences for crop production, and existing research has shown that more than 40% of crop losses are due to pests worldwide [91]. The farm operators in NL face insect-pest problems as indicated by 37.5% of the crop farmers who had to use synthetic as well as organic pesticides to control pests and diseases. ...
Newfoundland and Labrador (NL), the easternmost province of Atlantic Canada, has a food security issue caused by shortage of agri-foods produced in the province. This is due to short supply of suitable agricultural land, short growing seasons, a limited range of agricultural produce (industrial or mono cropping) farmed on existing farms and few facilities for secondary processing. The food security issue has been exacerbated in the last decades by climate change (extreme temperatures, heavy rains and more frequent droughts) which has impacted the province's agricultural industry. This research investigates the impact of climate change on crops and food security in the NL province and identifies the measures taken by the provincial farmers to reduce the GHG emissions and aims to assess whether agro-ecological practices could be expanded in the NL province. It is based on quantitative and qualitative data, collected through surveying a sample of NL crop farmers and through a literature review of peer-reviewed articles, published government reports and documents and news articles. The research results show that any attempt to solve the multi-faceted problems of the NL agri-foods sector impacted by climate change should involve policies supporting an agro-ecological approach to farming in the province. Generalizing agro-ecological farming practices on highly integrated and diversified farms (small, medium and large) is one sustainable alternative that can potentially eliminate the negative consequences of modern industrial farming, make the farming sector more resilient to global climate change and enhance food security in the province. The research results show that there are incipient agro-ecological practices in the province, that farmers are aware of climate change and the need to adopt more environmentally friendly farming practices. New policy frameworks and work plans are needed to speed up the transition from the current unsustainable farming practices to a more resilient agro-ecological-food system.
... Weeds are the major biotic factor threatening global food production and security for an increasing global population. Weed interference causes the highest potential loss of global crop yield (34%) compared to other pests and diseases (Oerke 2006). Therefore, efficient weed management is essential for maintaining agricultural yields and ensuring food security. ...
Recently, there has been growing concern over the potential impact of CO2 concentration and temperature on herbicide efficacy. The aim of the study was to examine the influence of single elevated CO2 (400 vs. 800 ppm) and elevated CO2 in combination with temperature (21 °C vs. 25 °C) on the effects of auxin herbicide 4-chloro-2-methylphenoxyacetic acid (MCPA) (0.5–2 × field recommended rate) to wild mustard (Sinapis arvensis L.) grown in mixed-culture with spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). MCPA had a detrimental effect on aboveground and belowground biomass, content of chlorophylls, enzymatic and non-enzymatic antioxidants and induced oxidative stress. The significant decline in photosynthetic rate, stomatal conductance and transpiration with MCPA dose was detected. Elevated CO2 reinforced MCPA efficacy on S. arvensis: sharper decline in biomass, photosynthetic rate and antioxidant enzymes and more pronounced lipid peroxidation were detected. Under elevated CO2 and temperature, MCPA efficacy to control S. arvensis dropped due to herbicide dilution because of increased root:shoot ratio, higher activity of antioxidants and less pronounced oxidative damage. Reinforced MCPA impact on weeds under elevated CO2 resulted in higher H. vulgare biomass, while decreased MCPA efficacy under elevated CO2 and temperature reduced H. vulgare biomass.
... Rising awareness of yield-reducing factors can be the rst step toward yield increase. Several factors can reduce chickpea yield, among which the effect of weeds may be most important factor (Rajput et al., 1986, Oerke, 2006. ...
To evaluate the impacts of weed communities on chickpea yield ( Cicer arietinum L.), an on-farm survey was conducted with a sampling from 85 dryland chickpea fields in a rural district, western Iran. The results showed that chickpea yield tended to decrease with increasing weed density and canopy cover as indicated by a polynomial response. Increasing weed density from 0 to 50 plant m ⁻² reduced the chickpea yield by 36.73% at the four to seven-leaf stage of chickpea. In addition, increases canopy cover from 0 to 55% caused chickpea yield loses by 41.70 g m ⁻² at the early podding stage of chickpea. Weed diversity and evenness had a positive effect on chickpea yield. Wild safflower ( Carthamus oxyacantha M. Bieb.) and chicory ( Cichorium intybus L.) were the most predominant weeds with a significant negative correlation with chickpea yield, weed evenness and diversity. Some weeds, such as licorice ( Glycyrrhiza glabra L.) had a negative correlation with chicory and wild safflower and a positive correlation with weed diversity and evenness. In addition, there was a positive relationship between density and canopy cover of licorice and chickpea yield, weed diversity and evenness.
Weeds are unwanted plants, which interfere with the crop production. Weeds compete with crops for resources, causing severe yield loss. Chemical weed control through herbicides is a quite effective and reliable strategy to manage weeds. Herbicides constitute a major share of the global pesticide market. However, the applied herbicides undergo losses in the agroecosystem in different ways (chemical degradation, microbial decomposition, photo-degradation, leaching, run-off, and volatilization), thus lowering the herbicidal action coupled with contaminating ecosystem and groundwater. Encapsulation of herbicides is an innovative approach that addresses issues associated with the application of herbicides for controlling weeds. Encapsulation represents the embedding of an active ingredient in shell of polymeric material to achieve the controlled release of the active ingredient at the desired rate. The encapsulation of herbicides enhances stability, solubility, and bioactivity and alters the release pattern of herbicide resulting in improved weed control efficiency. Further, encapsulation lowers the application rate of herbicides, which in turn reduces the residue carryover of herbicide in soil and minimizes the environmental hazards. Therefore, encapsulated herbicide formulation has greater significance in the future weed management and will become ground-breaking technology in the chemical era of weed control.
Phytophthora palmivora is a destructive plant pathogenic oomycete that has caused lethal diseases in a wide range of hosts. It is a pan-tropical distributed pathogen that can infect plants at all growth stages. Extensive studies have linked P. palmivora to severe diseases in several crops, such as black pepper, rubber, cocoa, and durian, causing global economic losses. This review covers the following topics in depth: (i) P. palmivora as phytopathogen; (ii) identification and infection mechanism in rubber, cocoa, and durian; and (iii) management and control applied for P. palmivora diseases. Effective management strategies were studied and practiced to prevent the spread of P. palmivora disease. Genetic resistance and biocontrol are the best methods to control the disease. A better understanding of P. palmivora infection mechanisms in our main crops and early disease detection can reduce the risk of catastrophic pandemics.
Efficacité de quatre modes de désherbage sur le contrôle des adventices de la culture du maïs grain (Zea mays L. var. ZM 625) dans les conditions agroécologiques de Beni en République Démocratique du Congo (RDC) Abstract The choice of an effective weed control technique is one of the major issues on which the success of grain maize (Zea mays L.) production depends. With the aim of evaluating the effectiveness of four weed control methods on the control of weeds in grain corn (Z. mays L. var. ZM 625) in the Beni region, two trials were carried out in the sites of Bingo and Lume. The trials were carried out using a system with four randomized blocks each comprising four plots corresponding to the treatments tested: manual mechanical weeding with a hoe (T0: DMMH), weeding using the herbicide Auxo (T1: DHxo), weed control by organic mulching with rice straw (T2: DPPR) and weed control by plastic mulch with opaque black low density polyethylene film (T3: DPFPbdno). The effectiveness of these treatments on weeds was evaluated by analyzing the floristic composition and estimating the density of weeds present on the test plots. The results obtained showed a difference in effectiveness on the control of weeds by the treatments tested. Weed control efficiency was excellent for T3 (DPFPbdno), medium for T2 (DPPR), low for T1 (DHxo) and poor for T0 (DMMH). Therefore, these results would provide arguments in favor of the adoption of T3 (DPFPbdno) to durably control grain maize weeds (Z. mays L. var. ZM 625) in the Beni region.
Non-pathogenic bacteria can largely contribute to plant health by mobilizing and supplying nutrients and by providing protection against pathogens and resistance to abiotic stresses. Yet, the number of GWAS reporting the genetic architecture of the response to individual members of the beneficial microbiota remains limited. In this study, we established a GWAS under field conditions to estimate the level of genetic variation and the underlying genetic architecture, among 162 accessions of Arabidopsis thaliana originating from 54 natural populations located south-west of France, in response to 13 strains of seven of the most abundant and prevalent non-pathogenic bacterial species isolated from the leaf compartment of A. thaliana in the same geographical region. Using a high-throughput phenotyping methodology to score vegetative growth-related traits, extensive genetic variation was detected within our local set of A. thaliana accessions in response to these leaf bacteria, both at the species and strain levels. The presence of crossing reaction norms among strains indicates that declaring a strain as a plant-growth promoting bacterium is highly dependent on the host genotype tested. In line with the strong genotype-by-genotype interactions, we detected a complex and highly flexible genetic architecture between the 13 strains. Finally, the candidate genes underlying the QTLs revealed a significant enrichment in several biological pathways, including cell, secondary metabolism, signalling and transport. Altogether, plant innate immunity appears as a significant source of natural genetic variation in plant-microbiota interactions and opens new avenues for better understanding the ecologically relevant molecular dialog during plant-microbiota interactions.
Worldwide every year around 34% of agriculture production is affected by various pests which create hurdles in our goal “food for all.” To solve this issue, large amounts of pesticides are used to control crop losses due to pests and increase agriculture production. However, pesticides are highly toxic chemicals and designed to kill pests (insect, fungi, weeds, rodents, etc.) and showed harmful effects on humans and animals when in contact. Their unwanted release in the environment through surface runoff and leaching at agriculture fields contaminated water, soil, and food. That is why pesticides residue contamination turns out to be a huge crisis for human health and environment. Hence, development of simple analytical tools to determine pesticides contamination is highly demanded. Meanwhile, available sophisticated instrumentation methods are suffering from expensive analysis, lengthy procedures, and long analysis time. Utilizing fluorescence properties of carbon dots it can be used as a selective and sensitive fluorescence sensor to detect pesticides. Also, combinations of carbon dots–based fluorescence sensor with simple spectrofluorometer enhance performance of sensor near equal to sophisticated instruments. This book chapter provides a detailed description on carbon dots–based fluorescence sensors used for the detection of pesticides. Also, here we discussed the practicality of carbon dots–based fluorescence sensors to detect trace level pesticides residues in complex sample matrices.
As demand for food increases, agricultural production is poised to increase dramatically. Pesticides are commonly used to maintain high crop yield, though they have several drawbacks, including reduced efficacy over time and harmful effects to human and ecosystem health. Bats are highly effective predators of crop pests and have great potential to reduce crop damage resulting from insects. However, few studies have investigated how pest control by bats might change over large expanses of continuous row crop agriculture, which is common in the midwestern USA. Agricultural landscapes offer few roosting opportunities and could be difficult for bats to traverse, which might affect the degree of ecosystem services provided by bats. We hypothesized that with increasing distance into uninterrupted row crop agriculture 1) bat activity would decrease and 2) bat species richness would decrease, but that these effects would be buffered when insect pest abundance is high. We deployed 50 acoustic bat detectors over 10 transects in east-central Illinois from July to September 2021. In each transect, we placed detectors on crop field edges at increasing distance from a large riparian corridor assumed to be frequented by bats. Bat activity was high across the landscape but declined by 56% from the forest edge to 4000 m into row crop agriculture, while bat diversity decreased by 34%. Pest abundance seemed to decrease overall bat activity but had no effect on bat diversity. These results indicate that bats, although able to have a large effect on crop pest reduction, might not be as efficient in suppressing crop pests in vast uninterrupted agricultural landscapes which offer scant roost availability. Our work will inform recommendations to landowners and private lands managers on ways to increase bat access to roosts and forest cover near agricultural areas, thereby enhancing the potential for bats to provide pest control services.
Alternative non-chemical or chemical-reduced weed control tactics are critical for future integrated weed management, especially for herbicide-resistant weeds. Through weed detection and localization, machine vision technology has the potential to enable site- and species-specific treatments targeting individual weed plants. However, due to unstructured field circumstances and the large biological variability of weeds, robust and accurate weed detection remains a challenging endeavor. Deep learning (DL) algorithms, powered by large-scale image data, promise to achieve the weed detection performance required for precision weeding. In this study, a three-class weed dataset with bounding box annotations was curated, consisting of 848 color images collected in cotton fields under variable field conditions. A set of 13 weed detection models were built using DL-based one-stage and two-stage object detectors, including YOLOv5, RetinaNet, EfficientDet, Fast RCNN and Faster RCNN, by transferring pretrained the object detection models to the weed dataset. RetinaNet (R101-FPN), despite its longer inference time, achieved the highest overall detection accuracy with a mean average precision (mAP@0.50) of 79.98%. YOLOv5n showed the potential for real-time deployment in resource-constraint devices because of the smallest number of model parameters (1.8 million) and the fastest inference (17 ms on the Google Colab) while achieving comparable detection accuracy (76.58% mAP@0.50). Data augmentation through geometric and color transformations could improve the accuracy of the weed detection models by a maximum of 4.2%. The software programs and the weed dataset used in this study are made publicly available (https://github.com/abdurrahman1828/DNNs-for-Weed-Detections; www.kaggle.com/yuzhenlu/cottonweeddet3).
The study was undertaken to devise an efficient herbicide treatment combination for efficient weed control and higher yield and nutrient uptake. A field experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of different herbicides for weed control and increasing yield as well as nutrient uptake in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, during rabi season in 2016–17. The commonly used herbicides for restricting weed growth in wheat crop were taken in various combinations and appropriate doses. The study comprised 12 treatments (3 replications), of which 10 treatments were of various herbicidal combinations while the rest 2 were weed free and weedy checks. The weed control measure that involved Sulfosulfuron +Metsulfuron-methyl @20+2 g a.i/ha was found to be an efficient weed control measure that satisfactorily enhanced nutrient uptake and gave highest yield among various treatment combinations. The total biological yield of wheat in this treatment was around 1.4 times higher than that of weedy check. Therefore, the post emergence application of sulfosulfuron and metsulfuronmethyl @20+2 g a.i/ha can be an effective measure for weed control giving a higher productivity and nutrient uptake in wheat crop. The results were even comparable to that of weed free plots. The treatment showed an increase of 88.25%, 63.37%, 74.73%, and 43.36% increase in total N, P, K uptake and biological yield, respectively, and therefore may be recommended.
Biological introductions are unintended "natural experiments" that provide unique insights into evolutionary processes. Invasive phytophagous insects are of particular interest to evolutionary biologists studying adaptation, as introductions often require rapid adaptation to novel host plants. However, adaptive potential of invasive populations may be limited by reduced genetic diversity—a problem known as the "genetic paradox of invasions". One potential solution to this paradox is if there are multiple invasive waves that bolster genetic variation in invasive populations. Evaluating this hypothesis requires characterizing genetic variation and population structure in the introduced range. To this end, we assemble a reference genome and describe patterns of genetic variation in the introduced white pine sawfly, Diprion similis . This species was introduced to North America in 1914, where it has undergone a rapid host shift to the thin-needled eastern white pine ( Pinus strobus ), making it an ideal invasion system for studying adaptation to novel environments. To evaluate evidence of multiple introductions, we generated whole-genome resequencing data for 64 D. similis females sampled across the North American range. Both model-based and model-free clustering analyses supported a single population for North American D. similis . Within this population, we found evidence of isolation-by-distance and a pattern of declining heterozygosity with distance from the hypothesized introduction site. Together, these results support a single-introduction event. We consider implications of these findings for the genetic paradox of invasion and discuss priorities for future research in D. similis , a promising model system for invasion biology.
The tropical climate shift is causing herbivores to emerge almost ceaselessly throughout the year in certain regions exhibiting homodynamic cycles and unbalanced biodiversity. Crop management and pest management are being viewed as separate activities, with recent focus on sustainability. Even though there is a great deal of information on crop loss assessment, systems analysis, systems modelling, individual pest sciences, and pest management, the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) concept is not frequently deployed. The IPM system is a multi-tactic approach to pest management in agricultural production that takes into account economic, environmental, ecological, and human health implications. This paper provides an overview of key achievements in the development of management strategies, including the transition from a specific level of pest control that focuses on the suppression of target pests to an eco-friendlier and/or systems approach to pest management that employs a variety of non-chemical options as well as the judicious use of pesticides. The agroecological protection techniques and their integration to sustainably minimise pest risks are also reviewed here and describe technological advances in tropical pest management using host resistance, semiochemicals, natural enemies, selective pesticides, ecological engineering and habitat management which promotes sustainable pest management.
Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.), rice (Oryza sativa L.), and maize (Zea mays L.) provide about two-thirds of all energy in human diets, and four major cropping systems in which these cereals are grown represent the foundation of human food supply. Yield per unit time and land has increased markedly during the past 30 years in these systems, a result of intensified crop management involving improved germplasm, greater inputs of fertilizer, production of two or more crops per year on the same piece of land, and irrigation. Meeting future food demand while minimizing expansion of cultivated area primarily will depend on continued intensification of these same four systems. The manner in which further intensification is achieved, however, will differ markedly from the past because the exploitable gap between average farm yields and genetic yield potential is closing. At present, the rate of increase in yield potential is much less than the expected increase in demand. Hence, average farm yields must reach 70-80% of the yield potential ceiling within 30 years in each of these major cereal systems. Achieving consistent production at these high levels without causing environmental damage requires improvements in soil quality and precise management of all production factors in time and space. The scope of the scientific challenge related to these objectives is discussed. It is concluded that major scientific breakthroughs must occur in basic plant physiology, ecophysiology, agroecology, and soil science to achieve the ecological intensification that is needed to meet the expected increase in food demand.
Fundamentals of Weed Science, Fifth Edition, provides the latest information on this constantly advancing area of study. Placing weed management in the largest context of weed research and science, the book presents the latest advances in the role, control and potential uses of weed plants. From the emergence and genetic foundation of weeds, to the latest means of control and environmental impact, the book uses an ecological framework to explore the role of responsible and effective weed control in agriculture. In addition, users will find discussions of related areas where research is needed for additional understanding. Explored topics include the roles of culture, economics and politics in weed management, all areas that enable scientists and students to further understand the larger effects on society. Completely revised with 35% new content Contains expanded coverage of ethnobotany, the specific identity and role of invasive weed species, organic agriculture, and herbicide resistance in GM crops Includes an emphasis on herbicide resistance and molecular biology, both of which have come to dominate weed science research Covers all traditional aspects of weed science as well as current research Provides broad coverage, including relevant related subjects like weed ecology and weed population genetics.
Ralf Nauen and Thomas Bretschneider of Bayer CropScience AG, Research, based at Monheim in Germany outline the development of new insecticides based on novel modes of action.
Papaya ringspot potyvirus (PRSV) is rapidly transmitted by a number of aphid species and causes the most serious virus disease of papaya worldwide. This article reviews research to develop transgenic papaya using ‘pathogen-derived resistance’, transforming plants with a pathogen's gene. A papaya transformation system was developed and a promising transgenic papaya line was identified.
Posted 21 June 2000.
Up until the 1940s chemical disease control relied upon inorganic chemical preparations, frequently prepared by the user. Key areas of use were horticulture and vegetable production with key targets being diseases that caused easily recognized damage. After this era and as the damaging effects of more crop diseases became obvious by the use of chemical control, the crop protection industry expanded rapidly and research to discover new active materials began in earnest. As new areas of chemistry were introduced, each one aiming to offer advantages over the previous ones, chemical families were born with research-based companies frequently adopting patent-busting strategies in order to capitalize on the developing fungicides market. Systemic fungicides offered new opportunities in disease control. The rise in Research and Development (R & D) and the increase in the number and quantity of chemicals being applied led to the introduction of regulation in the 1950s, initially on a voluntary basis, but now strictly controlled by legal obligations. In the 1960s, the market switched from horticulture and vegetables to one in which the main agricultural crops dominated. The cereal market, initially based on barley, moved to the current dominant market of wheat. The costs of R & D have risen dramatically in recent years and have become dominated not by the discovery process per se but by the provision of all the extra data needed to obtain registration. These rising costs happened at a time when markets showed little growth and are currently showing some decline. This has resulted in an industry that is continually striving to cut costs, normally by mergers and take-overs. As a consequence, many plant disease problems are not now being targeted by the industry and special measures have been introduced to ensure adequate disease control is available for these minor markets. Plant disease control will remain a necessity and fungicides will remain as a key factor in such control, although it is predicted that integrated control using chemicals, biological controls and biotechnology approaches will begin to dominate.
Genomics, and especially functional genomics, will prove to be one of the major keys in capturing the promising benefits of crop biotechnology. The world will need more food, and better quality food, than can be provided by the old crops of the 20th century. Genetic manipulation (alias plant breeding) has produced excellent results over the past 50 years. However, improvements have been linear and have often been limited to higher yields rather than improved nutritional quality. The use of new tools in crop breeding will allow more precise, more easily measured and more beneficial traits to be added to crops around the world. The application of genomics and use of transgenics must be regulated by sound scientific principles and not by amorphous ideological misinformation. Given a fair chance, genomics will improve crop production, crop protection and enhance the quality of life for billions of people.© 2000 Society of Chemical Industry
The recent intensification of agriculture, and the prospects of future intensification, will have major detrimental impacts on the nonagricultural terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems of the world. The doubling of agricultural food production during the past 35 years was associated with a 6.87-fold increase in nitrogen fertilization, a 3.48-fold increase in phosphorus fertilization, a 1.68-fold increase in the amount of irrigated cropland, and a 1.1-fold increase in land in cultivation. Based on a simple linear extension of past trends, the anticipated next doubling of global food production would be associated with approximately 3-fold increases in nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization rates, a doubling of the irrigated land area, and an 18% increase in cropland. These projected changes would have dramatic impacts on the diversity, composition, and functioning of the remaining natural ecosystems of the world, and on their ability to provide society with a variety of essential ecosystem services. The largest impacts would be on freshwater and marine ecosystems, which would be greatly eutrophied by high rates of nitrogen and phosphorus release from agricultural fields. Aquatic nutrient eutrophication can lead to loss of biodiversity, outbreaks of nuisance species, shifts in the structure of food chains, and impairment of fisheries. Because of aerial redistribution of various forms of nitrogen, agricultural intensification also would eutrophy many natural terrestrial ecosystems and contribute to atmospheric accumulation of greenhouse gases. These detrimental environmental impacts of agriculture can be minimized only if there is much more efficient use and recycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in agroecosystems.
Crop Loss Assessment and Pest Management Global environmental impacts of agri-cultural expansion: The need for sustainable and efficient practices
- P S Teng
TENG, P. S. (1987). Crop Loss Assessment and Pest Management. St. Paul, USA: APS Press. TILMAN, D. (1999). Global environmental impacts of agri-cultural expansion: The need for sustainable and efficient practices. PNAS 96, 5995–6000.
Plant Diseases: Their Biology and Social Impact World crop losses: an overview
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Trends in yielding ability and weed competitiveness of Australian wheat cultivars. In Solutions for a better environment
- R Gill
COLEMAN, R. & GILL, G. (2003). Trends in yielding ability and weed competitiveness of Australian wheat cultivars. In Solutions for a better environment. Proceed-ings of the 11th Australian Agronomy Conference, Geelong, 2–6 February 2003 (Eds M. Unkovich & G. O'Leary), pp. 1–4.
Disease assessment and yield loss
- Horsham
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Crop pro-tection – past and present. In Crop Production and Crop Protection – Estimated Losses in Major Food and Cash Crops
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Global Status of Commercialized Biotech/ GM Crops: 2004. ISAAA Publications, International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications The annual loss occasioned by destructive insects in the United States
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Die ja¨ Ernteverluste durch Pflanzenkrankheiten und Scha¨ und ihre statistische Ermittlung
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Sustainable agriculture: The role of plant pathology. Abstracts, 6th International Congress of Plant Pathology
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