eChapters

Introduction

Brinjal is an important vegetable crop grown extensively throughout India. In India, brinjal is cultivated in around 730.4 ha with a production of 17.5 million tonnes in the year 2017-18. It is also called as poor man’s vegetable. It is consumed in variety of ways depending upon the eating habits of the different parts of the country. It is grown extensively in Bihar, Orissa, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and states with matching climatic conditions in the tropics and subtropics.

Brinjal is an important vegetable crop, but insect pests are making more losses in brinjal cultivation. In brinjal, more than 36 pests have been reported from the time of planting to harvest (Regupathy et al., 1997). Among all insect pests shoot and fruit borer (Leucinodes orbanalis), hadda beetle (Epilachna vigintioctopunctata), jassid (Cestius phycitis), Ash weevil (Myllocerus subfasciatus), white fly (Bemisia tabaci), lace wing bug (Urentius hystricellus) are important (Barker and Pritchrad, 1960).

Despite serious nature of the pest, its management tactics by and large is limited to frequent sprays of chemical insecticide without much impact on the yield. Such practice of pesticide usage is detrimental to environment, also increases the cost of production and chances of insecticide residues in the fruit. About 47 per cent insecticides are used for management of fruit and shoot borer out of the total pesticide consumed in vegetables. In this background major emphasis, now-a-days, is being given on Biointensive integrated pest management as alternate to the insecticides for management of any pest. More than a dozen parasitoids and three pathogens have been recorded as natural enemies of insect pest. But the extent of parasitisation/predation under field condition is very low. In this context, inundative release of bio-agents, particularly egg parasitoids in pest management may be more advantageous.

Introduction

Chilli (Capsicum annuum var.annuum L.) is one of the most important economical and popular vegetable crops grown for its green fruits as vegetable and red one as a spice¹. It is a native of southern Texas and Maxico and was introduced in India by the Portuguese in 19^th century². Chilli is mainly used in culinary adding flavor, color, pungency and rich source of vitamins like A, C, E, P and having medicinal properties³. Chilli is one of the important cash crops grown in almost all parts of the country and is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics as also under glass houses in temperate regions⁴. The plants are very sensitive to excessive rainfall, water lodging and frost^2,5. The ideal condition for its cultivation are well drained loam soil rich in organic matter but can also be grown in many type of soils⁶. India is a major producer, exporter and consumer of chilli⁷. Chilli is presently grown extensively throughout the country, both under rainfed and irrigated conditions, in almost all the states covering an area of 792.1 thousand Ha with annual production of 1223.4 thousand metric tonnes⁸. Andhra Pradesh is the largest producer of chilli in India. It contributes about 30% to the total area under chilli, followed by Karnataka (20%), Maharashtra (15%), Orissa (9%), Tamil Nadu (8%) and other states contributing 18% to the total area under chilli⁸.

Introduction

A symposium organized by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in 1966 and International Organization of Biological Control (IOBC) in 1967, felt the need for the development of a new concept called “Integrated control” which was later replaced by “Integrated Pest Management”. The origin of IPM was necessary after the serious failure of the chemical age which started in the 1940’s. The pesticides were used as the only tactic to completely annihilate the pests from the crop ecosystem, which did miraculously decreased the pests and increased the production of the crop extensively, but they failed to realize the balance of life, by nature and by virtue of the selection pressure pests started developing resistance against all kind of pesticides being dumped on them.While the pests were getting resistant, the dumped pesticides were accumulating in the environment and biomagnifying inside the bodies of animal (WHO, 1990; Alewu & Nosiri, 2011; Eskenazi et al., 1999). The indiscriminate use of pesticides led to the significant health hazard to the humans (WHO, 1990; Alewu & Nosiri, 2011; Sanborn et al., 2007; Mnifet al; 2011; Semchuk et al., 1992; Goad et al., 2004; McKinlay et al., 2008; Gasnier et al., 2009; Lin et al., 2015; Waddell et al., 2001), reproductive malfunction in male (Jamal et al., 2015), nervous system (Jaga and Dharmani, 2003; Rosenstock et al., 1991; Wesseling et al., 2002; Eskenazi et al., 2006), cardiovascular system (Hung et al., 2015) and ultimately death (WHO, 1990; Gunnell et al., 2007). From the lessons acquired of the hazards, the concept of IPM proposed the concept of “pest eradication” was replaced with “pest management”. There are more than 64 definitions of IPM but the most accepted one came from FAO (1967) which defined IPM as “a system in context with associated environment and the population dynamics of pest species, utilizes all suitable techniques and methods in as compatible manner as possible and maintains the pest populations at level below those causing economic injury”. IPM decreased the pest pressure of the crop and increased the productivity of the crop and income of the farmers. IPM is a complex approach that advocates the integration of several components such as physical, mechanical, biological, legal, ecological and chemical tactics, in a compatible manner in a complete ecological set up, so that natural mortality has a role in checking the pest population building up above economic injury level (EIL).

Introduction

Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is essentially a component of integrated pest management which helps to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides thereby preventing ecological deterioration. The major elements of this approach includes many factors viz. host plant resistance, use of beneficial organism, agronomic practices, bio pesticides, parasitoids, predators, plant exudates etc. It also includes all other conventional non-chemical methods of pest control like use of botanical insecticides preferably plant based insecticides like Azadirachtin from Neem (Azadirachta indica), Rotenone from Derris chinensis and Derris elliptica, Nicotine from Tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum), Juvocimene 1 or 2 and Ocimin from Ocimum sanctum, Atropine from Datura stramonium, Annonine and Squamocin from Annona squamosa etc.

Introduction

Cucurbits belong to the family cucurbitaceae; constitute the largest group of summer vegetables grown all over the world which includes about 118 genera and 825 species. Cucumbers, muskmelons, watermelons, squashes, gourds, luffagourd, tissel-gourd and pumpkins are commonly grown cucurbits are mostly important one. These crops are attacked by a variety of insect pest and diseases throughout its growth period; generate wounds that help to transmit of viral particles, bacteria and invasion of fungal pathogens. Major insect pests include cucumber beetles, red pumpkin beetles, fruit flies, epilachna beetles, squash bugs, aphids, white flies, squash vine borers, two-spotted spider mites, and nematodes affects significant damages from seeding stage upto harvest. Insect pest infestations in cucurbits bring about heavy losses through reduction in yield, lowered quality of produce, defoliation of leaves, damage roots or flowers, contribute to poor crop standard increased cost of production and harvesting besides expenditure incurred on materials and equipments to apply control measures.

Introduction

The guava fruit is a good source of vitamin C, pectin, calcium and phosphorus. The fruit is used for the preparation of processed products like jams, jellies and beverages. Guava jelly puree is very popular for its attractive purplish-red colour, pleasant taste and aroma. The puree can be used in juice, cakes, puddings, sauces, ice-cream, jam and jelly. Fruits can be preserved by canning as halves or quarters, with or without seed core (shells). Good quality salad can be prepared from the shell of ripe fruits. Their cultivation in India about 1.32 lakh ha area with production is 17.12 lakh tonnes. Biointensive pest management is use to major emphasis on conservation and enhancement of natural enemies and utilization of all compatible methods for achieving effective economical and safe pest control. These methods are the most appropriate in horticulture and in protected cultivation. The major aim of Biointensive pest management is to provide guidelines and options for the effecting management of pests and beneficial organisms in an ecological context. It will help to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides and ecological deterioration. Biointensive pest management includes bio-pesticides derived from microbes, parasitoides, predators, botanicals and all conventional non-chemical methods or use of need based. Large number of insect pests has been reported to occur on guava at various growth stages. More than 80 species of insects and mites have recorded on affecting the growth and production. About three species of fruit flies, Bactrocera dorsalis, B. Cucurbitae and B. Zonata found to attack guava fruits, B. Dorsalis being the dominant. Maximum activity of fruit flies is observed during August to December reaching its peak during September. Two species of bark eating caterpillars, Indarbela quadrinota and I. Tetraonis are commonly found in the region. Sucking pests included Mealy scale, Chloropulvinaria psidii, Mealy bugs Ferrisia virgata, Plannococcus citri, Tea mosquito bugs, Helopeltis antonii, aphid, jassids etc (Azad Thakur et al., 2009). The major pests of guava that are economically damage on this crop given below:

Introduction

Litchi (Litchi chinensis Sonn), like most fruit tree crops, is usually attacked by two or three key pests, several secondary pests and a large number of occasional pests in localized areas where it is grown. Litchi is an important subtropical evergreen fruit crop belongs to family Sapindaceae. It is known as queen of the fruit due to its attractive deep pink/red colours and flavoured juicy aril (Singh et al., 2012).

Insect pest attacks on litchi, in China there are 193 species of litchi pests in two classes, 11 orders, and 57 families. In India, nearly 42 insects and mite species reported to attacking on trees and fruits of litchi at different stages of growth (Singh et al., 2012). The majority belong to the Lepidoptera and Coleoptera, followed by the Homoptera and Hemiptera. However, only about three or four key pests including fruit and flower borers, sucking bugs, stem borers and erinose mites which require regular control, and the species involved vary between orchards. Secondary pests viz., fruit-piercing moths, defoliators etc generally occur at sub-economic levels, but can become serious pests as a result of changes in cultural practices and litchi cultivars or because of indiscriminate use of insecticides against a key pest. Recently, litchi fruit borer and litchi leaf roller have acquired the status of major pests and now, litchi looper, litchi bug and bag worm are emerging pests of litchi (Choudhary et al., 2013; Singh et al., 2014). Occasional or incidental pests also can cause economic damage only in localized areas at certain times; the great majority of pests reported here fall within this last category.

Introduction

Okra (Abelmoschus esculentus L. Moench) also known as lady’s finger or bhendi, belongs to family Malvaceae. Tender fruits are used as vegetables and thickening of gravies and soups, because of its high mucilage content. The roots and stems of okra are used for cleaning cane juice (Chauhan, 1972). In okra several pest may damage the tender fruit that leads to reduction in yield which can be controlled by holistic approach to develop sustainable agriculture. There are several ways among this the Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is one of the best way to discourage the development of pest populations and keep pesticides free so that it makes economically justified to farmers, reduce risks to human health and the environment. Biointensive integrated pest management (BIPM) is essentially a component of integrated pest management which helps to reduce the dependence on chemical pesticides thereby preventing ecological deterioration. The major elements of this approach includes many factors viz., host plant resistance, use of beneficial organism, agronomic practices, biopesticides, parasitoids, predators, plant exudates etc.

Introduction

Papaya is a tropical tree fruit crop that cannot tolerate freezing temperatures. It has commercial importance because of its high nutritive and medicinal value. Papaya cultivation had its origin in South Mexico and Costa Rica. Total annual world production is estimated at 6 million tonnes of fruits. India leads the world in papaya production with an annual output of about 3 million tonnes. Other leading producers are Brazil, Mexico, Nigeria, Indonesia, China, Peru, Thailand and Philippines. Papaya fruit are borne on peduncles attached to the main trunk of the papaya tree and are clustered, starting a few feet above the ground and extending up to a foot below the top of the plant adequate water is essential to the uninterrupted growth and production of papaya fruit. There is number of factors which affect quality and quantity of papaya production. Out of insect pest is one of the important factors to reduction of papaya fruit production. List of insect pests of papaya given as below:

Pomegranate (Punica granatum L.) also known Anar in Hindi it is belonging to the Punicaceae family, it is grown in tropical and sub-tropical regions. Originated in Indo-Burma region Iran and is extensively cultivated in the Mediterranean region since ages (Sheikh and Manjula, 2009). Pomegranate is used as table purpose, making juice, jam, jelly and paste. The fruit peel, tree stem and leaves and root bark are good source of secondary metabolites such as tannins, dyes and alkaloids (Mirdehghan and Rahemi, 2007). The edible part of the fruit is the seeds having a fleshy covering and called arils.

India is major pomegranate producing country in the world. In India main pomegranate producing states are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujrat, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Rajasthan. Maharashtra is leading state of pomegranate production in India. The prominent pockets where pomegranate cultivated area are concentrated are Solapur, Nashik, Sangli, Satara and ahemednagar districts of Western region of Maharashtra.

Indian total pomegranate crop covers 0.24 Mha and production is 2.87 MT in India (Anonymous 2017). The export of pomegranate from India is only 0.04 MT it is very low. Pomegranate is majorly exported to UAE (43%), Bangladesh (16%) and European Countries (14%) A few tons also go to Saudi Arabia, Russia, Thailand, Nepal, Kuwait etc.

Introduction

Potato (Solanum tuberosum) is the most important food crop of the world. Potato is a temperate crop grown under subtropical conditions in India. The potato is a crop which has always been the ‘poor man’s friend’. Potato is being cultivated in the country for the last more than 300 years. For vegetable purposes it has become one of the most popular crops in this country. Potatoes are an economical food; they provide a source of low cost energy to the human diet. Potatoes are a rich source of starch, vitamins especially C and B1 and minerals. They contain 20.6 per cent carbohydrates, 2.1 per cent protein, 0.3 per cent fat, 1.1 per cent crude fibre and 0.9 per cent ash. They also contain a good amount of essential amino acids like leucine, tryptophane and isoleucine etc.

Potatoes are used for several industrial purposes such as for the production of starch and alcohol. Potato starch (farina) is used in laundries and for sizing yarn in textile mills. Potatoes are also used for the production of dextrin and glucose. As a food product itself, potatoes are converted into dried products such as ‘potato chips’, ‘sliced’ or ‘shredded potatoes’.

Potato is grown almost in all states of India. However, the major potato rowing states are Himachal Pradesh, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka, West Bengal, Bihar and Assam.

The main constraint to potato farming in India are: It is vulnerable to control the pests hence implying a high risk of failure, growing potatoes requires substantial capital and the crop needs intensive care and attention. However, a proper Biointensive insect pest management programme will minimize losses to potato crop.

Introduction

Biotic stresses, particularly insect pests adversely affect the economical yield potential and the quality of the widely cultivated spice crops. These pests attack the crops at various developmental stages of the crops. For instance, Pollu beetle alone in black pepper is the most destructive pest and causing 30 to 40% yield loss in humid, tropical evergreen forests of India (Devasahayam, et al., 1988). Considering the cost of cultivation and profitability, it is very important to develop and recommend low cost, economic easily adoptable technologies. Food production process in India during the green revolution period has been based on the use of more chemical fertilizers and pesticides which are detrimental to the environment. The challenge before the crop protection scientists is to boost the yield from the available land without harming the environment. To manage the problem of insect pests in spice crops, farmers are over using synthetic chemical pesticides indiscriminately and this result in environmental degradation and high pesticide residue levels in the produces are are mainly hindering the export. Now the focus is on organic spice production, therefore a search for safer measures of pest and disease management is gaining importance. Integration of various approaches like use of resistant/tolerant varieties, disease or pest free planting materials and exploitation of biological means such as bio- control agents, bio-pesticides, entomo-pathogens, parasitoids and predators at the right time paved the way to achieve this goal (Dhanya et al., 2019; Prakash et al., 2016). Incorporating ecological and economic factors into decision making and addressing the public concerns about environmental quality and food safety is the need of the hour. There is now wide array of techniques available to replace the use of conventional chemical insecticides in IPM programmes. These issues can be sorted out by adopting eco-friendly Biointensive Integrated Pest Management strategy.

Introduction

Tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) is the largest and most important vegetable crop belongs to family Solanaceae grown all over the world. It is grown for its edible, fleshy, berry typed, mostly red coloured fruits.The species has its origin in coast of Ecuador, Peru, part of Bolivia and the northern region of Chile i.e.western South America and cultivation started most probably by the people of Maxico of Central America^1-3. It is found to be a rich source of many minerals like Ca, K, Cu, Fe, Zn and S and vitamins and other nutritive values so it is cultivated both as protective and supplementary food⁴.In India and in some European countries with common form of tomato fruits the cherry type of tomato fruits also cultivated on large scale. Cherry type of tomato fruits when consumed fresh, act as a very efficient source of diet of urban and rural people as it is reported to be a good source of many macro elements of human requirements such as K, Mg, P and Na⁵. As it is short duration crop and gives high yield, it is important from economic point of view and hence area under its cultivation is increasing day by day. India is considered to be a second largest producer of tomatoes succeeding to China. Tomato is used in preserved products like ketch- up, sauce, chutney, soup, paste, puree etc. Cherry fruits are commonly used in diverse ways, including raw in salads and processed, and their acidity allows for ease of preservation without refrigeration (long shelf life) or home canning processing for later use⁶

Biointensive IPM incorporates ecological and economic factors into agricultural system design and decision making while addressing public concerns about environmental quality and food safety. It provides suitable guidelines and options for the effective management of pests and beneficial organisms in an ecological context in a holistic self-sustaining manner. The flexibility and environmental compatibility of the Biointensive IPM strategy make it useful in all types of cropping systems particularly in an agro-biodiversity rich ecosystem.

India’s agricultural accomplishment is a global success story

Post Green revolution; Some of the most pertinent questions that humanity faces

Can we sustain our food production ecosystem, while feeding 9 billon people?

Can we improve farm economics without reversal of soil biodiversity loss and carbon content?

Can agriculture play an important role in reducing carbon footprints and mitigating the current climate crisis?

Answers to abovementioned questions do not lie in the currently dominating chemical intensive farming practices, which rely too heavily on

The basic principles of biological control of pests and diseases remain the same, whether applied to insect pests, nematodes or plant pathogens. In the recent years, there is a paradigm shift towards studying antibiosis and its application in biological suppression of pathogens, yet the classical bio-control will remain as relevant as ever. The following discussion is based on recapitulating the basic principles of classical biological control as applicable to plant parasitic nematodes.

Biological control agents (BCAs) have been exploited for pest control in different ways. One way is to manipulate the naturally occurring BCAs by augmenting their populations to pest suppressive levels. In this approach no BCAs are introduced, but various means such as agronomic practices, introduction of organic matter etc. are adopted to favour the build-up of BCAs. The second way is the introduction of BCAs, either as inoculative or inundative release. In the former case, the BCAs are introduced in small quantities and allowed to build-up gradually in due course of time. However, in the latter approach, BCAs are introduced in large quantities so that quick pest suppression can be achieved. Each method has its own merits and demerits (Table 1).

Introduction

The tropics extends on  vast region of the earth surface ranging from 23½^°C North to the Tropic of Cancer and 23½^°C South to the Tropic of Capricorn. Several countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America include tropical areas. The tropical regions are the warmest area on the earth with average temperatures ranging between 20^°C and 35^°C. More than 80 % of the area in tropics supports forests and savannah and only 15% is under deserts, shrubs and grasses. About 5% of the area is under mid or high altitude with moderate climatic conditions. Evidently, the tropics support great diversity of physical and climatic conditions in different ecologies and different ecosystems. Temperature and daylight length is much higher throughout the year which induces more number of insect pests, their generations causing more damage in tropics. The increased menace of insect pests requires frequent and repeated use of chemical pesticide to mitigate the insect pest damage.

INTRODUCTION

Plant diseases need to be managed for maintaining the quality and abundance of food, feed, and fiber produced by growers around the world. Different approaches may be used to prevent, mitigate or control plant diseases. Beyond good agronomic and horticultural practices, growers often rely heavily on chemical fertilizers and pesticides. Such inputs to agriculture have contributed significantly to the spectacular improvements in crop productivity and quality over the past 100 years. However, the environmental pollution caused by excessive use and misuse of agrochemicals, as well as fear-mongering by some opponents of pesticides, has led to considerable changes in people’s attitudes towards the use of pesticides in agriculture. Today, there are strict regulations on chemical pesticidal use, and there is political pressure to remove the most hazardous chemicals from the market.

Introduction

Soil supports richest number and kinds of microorganisms interacting with each other and thus by modification or alteration in soil conditions greatly influence the microbial community and their activity in soil ecosystem. Soil physico-chemical and the biological factors interact to provide rapidly changing ecological niches and microbial components fluctuate in response to change in soil conditions. There are large evidences that agricultural practices often favour antagonistic microorganisms (Cook and Baker,1983; Yarham,1979) and therefore, biological control of plant pathogens could be possible through manipulation of soil condition. Soil organic matter also has a profound influence on microorganisms in soil, particularly those, including some pathogens, saprophytic and obligate plant parasites. Soil organic matter is distributed at discrete sites within the soil and determines to a great extent which parts of pore space are occupied. 

Introduction

Globally, India takes pride of being one of the world’s largest producers of horticultural and agricultural commodities. The rapid increase in the area under intensive cultivation of crops, introduction of high yielding varieties, lack of natural enemy load of the pests and changing climatic conditions is largely responsible for the severe pest depredations. Pest management in agriculture is a challenging task in the context of increasing agricultural productivity without upsetting the ecological balance and deteriorating the environment. Use of agrochemicals in agriculture though played a significant role to boost the agricultural production is posing enormous problems like environmental pollution, pest resistance, pest resurgence, toxicity hazards, secondary pest outbreaks, residues in feeds, foods, soil and water, destruction of biodiversity of useful natural enemies and some social economic and political problems. In response, there has been increased demand for alternative and selective pest control agents. Biopesticides are advantageous due to their target specificity, eco-safety, no development of resistance, reduced number of applications, yield and quality improvement, higher acceptability and value of produce for exports and suitability for rural areas.