Horticulture in India is fast emerging as a major commercial venture, because of higher remuneration per unit area and the realization that consumption of fruits and vegetables is essential for health and nutrition. In the last one decade, export potential of horticultural crops has significantly increased attracting even multinationals into floriculture, processing and value added products. Productivity of horticultural crops in India is relatively low compared to other countries. Of the several factors responsible for lower productivity of horticultural crops, pests (insect, mite and vertebrate pests) are considered as important limiting factors. The annual losses due to pests to all the crops in India was estimated at Rs. 60,000 million in 1983, which at today’s prices could exceed Rs. 200,000 million. The information on pests (insect, mite and vertebrate pests) in horticultural crops is very much scattered. There is no such book at present which comprehensively and exclusively deals with the above aspects on horticultural crops. The present book deals with geographical distribution, damage, host range, biology, predisposing factors, and management of insect, mite and vertebrate pests in horticultural crops in detail using regulatory, physical, cultural, chemical, biological, host plant resistance and integrated methods. The book is extensively illustrated with excellent quality photographs enhancing the quality of publication. This book is a practical guide to practicing farmers of horticultural crops. Further, it is a useful reference to policy makers, research and extension workers and students. The material can also be used for teaching undergraduate and post-graduate courses.

This book covers the origins, botany, agroecology and worldwide production statistics of coffee, and the insect pests, plant pathogens, nematodes and nutrient deficiencies that afflict it. With emphasis on integrated crop management, this book reviews control measures suitable for any coffee pest or disease and will enable agriculturists to design and implement sustainable pest management systems. This book will be an invaluable resource to professional agriculturists, entomologists and pathologists, and students of tropical agriculture.

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.

The most numerous of the world's invasive species, rodent pests have a devastating impact on agriculture, food, health and the environment. In the last two decades, the science and practice of rodent control has faced new legislation on rodenticides, the pests' increasing resistance to chemical control and the impact on non-target species, bringing a new dimension to this updated 2nd edition and making essential reading for all those involved in rodent pest control, including researchers, conservationists, practitioners and public health specialists.

Plant Pests and Their Control covers all phases of the science of applied entomology. It aims to provide students, practicing agriculturalists and horticulturalists, and other interested persons with a basic introduction to insects as living organisms and to the principles and practice of pest control. This book is organized into 13 chapters that deal with topics essential to the training and continuing education of agriculturalists and horticulturists. These include the types of harmful and beneficial insects; the types of predators, parasites and pathogens and attack specific plants; the concept, principles and practices of pest management; and the information required when dealing with a pest problem. This volume also provides a catalog of insecticides and acaricides. This book will be of interest to students, practicing agriculturalists and horticulturalists, and others interested in pest management.

The book covers updated information written in simple, lucid language, easily understandable by readers and summarizes the knowledge of insects and other pests of stored grains and grain products covering global scenario. Every chapter covers wider aspects of related work, storage requirement to prevent the losses of food grains at post harvest handling and at other levels too, different types of storage techniques and prevalent rural and improved storage structures and receptacles, storage pests (insects, mites, birds, rodents, microorganisms etc.), fumigants and their use, safety measures against poisoning, management of stored grain pests etc. The revised edition gives the readers the vast knowledge about the progress made in different aspects of storage entomology. The book will serve as the valuable source of information on the storage entomology and would be of great importance for its readers. The book has good number of MCQ's at the end of the book to help students along with colour images of insects and pests to easily identify them.

This new book on the sustainable management of insect pests in important vegetables offers valuable management strategies in detail. It focuses on eco-friendly technology and approaches to mitigating the damage caused by insect pests with special reference to newer insecticides. Chapters in the volume provide an introduction to vegetable entomology and go on to present a plethora of research on sustainable eco-friendly pest management strategies for root vegetables, spice crops, tuber crops, and more. Vegetable crops that are infested by several insect pests from the nursery to the harvesting stage cause enormous crop losses. Given that it is estimated that up to 40 percent of global crops are lost to agricultural pests each year, new research on effective management strategies is vital. The valuable information provided in this book will be very helpful for faculty and advanced-level students, scientists and researchers, policymakers, and others involved in pest management for vegetable crops.

Oilseed rape is a major arable crop in both Europe and North America. It is attacked by unique complexes of insect pests still largely controlled through the application of chemical insecticides. Crop management systems for the future must combine sustainability with environmental acceptability to satisfy both social and economic demands. This book, in its 17 chapters each led by a world expert, reviews research progress towards developing integrated pest management systems for the crop that enhance conservation biocontrol. This approach is particularly timely because of the development in Europe of insecticide resistance in the pollen beetle, a major pest of the crop. The past decade has seen considerable progress in our knowledge of the parasitoids and predators that contribute to biocontrol, of their distribution patterns, and their behavioural ecology, both within and without the crop. There is potential for natural enemy conservation through modification of within-field crop husbandry practices, as well as, on the landscape scale, through habitat manipulation to encourage vegetational diversity. This book will prove invaluable as a text for researchers, university teachers, graduate scientists, extension workers and growers involved in integrated pest management.

This book comprehensively reviews current pest management practices and explores novel integrated pest management strategies in Brassica oilseed crops. It is essential reading for pest management practitioners and researchers working on pest management in canola and other Brassica crops worldwide. Canola, mustard, camelina and crambe are the most important oilseed crops in the world. Canola is the second largest oilseed crop in the world providing 13% of the world's supply. Seeds of these species commonly contain 40% or more oil and produce meals with 35 to 40% protein. However, its production has declined significantly in recent years due to insect pest problems. The canola pest complexes are responsible for high insecticide applications on canola. Many growers rely on calendar-based spraying schedules for insecticide applications. The diamondback moth Plutella xylostella and flea beetles Phyllotreta spp. (P. cruciferae and P. striolata)cause serious damage to canola. In the Northern Great Plains, USA, for instance, P. xylostella is now recorded everywhere that canola is grown. Severe damage to canola plants can be caused by overwintering populations of flea beetles feeding on newly emerged seedlings. Cabbage seed pod weevil (Ceutorhynchus obstrictus), swede midge (Contarinia nasturtii), and tarnished plant bug (Lygus lineolaris) are also severe pests on canola. Minor pests include aphids (cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae and turnip aphid, Hyadaphis erysimi) and grasshopper, Melanoplus sanguinipes.

Microbial Control of Insect and Mite Pests: From Theory to Practice is an important source of information on microbial control agents and their implementation in a variety of crops and their use against medical and veterinary vector insects, in urban homes and other structures, in turf and lawns, and in rangeland and forests. This comprehensive and enduring resource on entomopathogens and microbial control additionally functions as a supplementary text to courses in insect pathology, biological control, and integrated pest management. It gives regulators and producers up-to-date information to support their efforts to facilitate and adopt this sustainable method of pest management. Authors include an international cadre of experts from academia, government research agencies, technical representatives of companies that produce microbial pesticides, agricultural extension agents with hands on microbial control experience in agriculture and forestry, and other professionals working in public health and urban entomology. - Covers all pathogens, including nematodes - Addresses the rapidly progressing developments in insect pathology and microbial control, particularly with regard to molecular methods - Demonstrates practical use of entomopathogenic microorganisms for pest control, including tables describing which pathogens are available commercially - Highlights successful practices in microbial control of individual major pests in temperate, subtropical, and tropical zones - Features an international group of contributors, each of which is an expert in their fields of research related to insect pathology and microbial control