This book provides up-to-date and comprehensive coverage of the research and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in tropical regions. The first section explores the agro-ecological framework that represents the foundations of IPM, in addition to emerging technologies in chemical and biological methods that are core to pest control in tropical crops. The second section follows a crop-based approach and provides details of current IPM applications in the main tropical food crops (such as cereals, legumes, root and tuber crops, sugarcane, vegetables, banana and plantain, citrus, oil palm, tea, cocoa and coffee) and also fibre crops (such as cotton) and tropical forests.

Tropical Forest Insect Pests, first published in 2007, promotes a better theoretical understanding of pest population dynamics, and causes of forest insect outbreaks in the tropics. Covering pests of both natural forests and plantations, it examines the diversity of tropical forest insects; their ecological functions; the concept of pests; and the incidence of pests in natural forests, plantations, and stored timber. General issues on which foresters and forest entomologists hold strong traditional views, such as the severity of pest incidence in plantations vs. natural forests, in plantations of exotics vs. indigenous tree species, and in monocultures vs. mixed plantations are discussed. The final section looks in detail at specific insect pests of the common plantation tree species across the tropics, with recommendations for their control. This is a comprehensive resource suitable for graduate students and researchers in forestry and tropical forest entomology, and for forest plantation managers in the tropics.

Insects are major pests of both natural and plantation forests in the tropics. This book is the first to provide a broad-based, international review of this subject at a level suitable for advanced students and practitioners. It describes the ecology and biology of the insects with special reference to the economic damage they cause to trees. All relevant control strategies are addressed. It is suitable for students, researchers and practitioners of forestry, ecology, pest management and entomology in tropical and subtropical countries.

The problem and the approach. Case studies. Discussion - Is there a greater risk of pest outbreaks in exotics?.

PESTS OF FOREST IMPORTANCE AND THEIR MANAGEMENT is a unique book comprising all the major components of a sylvatic ecosystem from the standpoint of pests of economic importance and their control using both conventional and modern applications. The book is a compilation of 15 specialist articles woven around the central theme of the objective envisaging a variety of forest arthropod pests including both insects and arachnids as well as vertebrates. The book, written in a lucid and clearly comprehensible style, consists of closely knitted articles on taxonomy, biology, economic forestry, ecology, biogeography, prevention and control of the forest products from the pest attack, which all make an interesting reading and will hopefully serve a good purpose of a reference work for both a serious researcher and the amateur naïve enthusiast.

Provides a comprehensive introduction to the complex systems of the tropics, covering a broad, cross-regional range of humid through to semi-arid tropical climate zones. Offers a balanced mix of biophysical and human management issues.

Several Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approaches are available for managing pests of varied kinds, including individual and integrated methods for pest suppression. Recently the focus has shifted to pest management tools that act on insect systems selectively, are compatible with the environment, and are not harmful for ecosystems. Other approaches target specific biochemical and physiological aspects of insect metabolism, and involve biotechnological and genetic manipulation. Still other approaches include the use of nanotechnology, endophytes, optical and sonic manipulation to detect and control pest insects. Unfortunately, conventional forms of pest management do not focus on technology transfer to the ground level workers and farmers. As a result, farmers are incurring huge losses of crops and revenues. This book highlights the importance of using communication tools in pest management and demonstrates some success stories of utilizing automated unmanned technologies in this context. The content is divided into three sections, the first of which, “Pest Population Monitoring: Modern Tools,” covers long and short-range pest population monitoring techniques and tools such as satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles/drones, remote sensing, digital tools like GIS, GPS for mapping, lidar, mobile apps, software systems, artificial diet designs and functional diversity of info-chemicals. The second section of the book is devoted to “Emerging Areas in Pest Management” and offers a glimpse of diversified tactics that have been developed to contain and suppress pest populations such as endophytes, insect vectors of phytoplasma, Hymenopterans parasitoids, mass production and utilization of NPV etc. In turn, the third section focuses on “Integrated Pest Management” and presents farming situations that illustrate how research in diversified aspects has helped to find solutions to specific pest problems, and how some new and evolving tactics can be practically implemented. Given its scope, the book offers a valuable asset for entomology and plant pathology researchers, students of zoology and plant protection, and readers whose work involves agriculture, horticulture, forestry and other ecosystems.