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Biotechnology and integrated pest management
Book reviews chapter (Muraleedhuran) is disappointingly nothing more than a list of the pests of tea and their natural enemies, and this is followed by a very similar chapter (Varadarasan) on cardamon and its pests. Chapter 9 (Veeresh er al.) discusses the possibility of using ants as biological control agents and is a fairly useful review. Chapter 10 (Shivashankar er al.) also deals with ants, but this time is a presentation of the results of a field study examining the foraging behaviour of ponerine ants on Eucalyptus and Santalum trees. As such, it is a useful addition to the literature. The next chapter assesses the potential role of reduviids as biological control agents and as with many of the previous chapters is little more than a list of predators and their recorded prey items. This is followed by a very brief chapter (Vijayalakshmi) in which the potential role of spiders is reviewed. Another short review chapter follows (Nagaraja and Sankaran) in which the genetic diversity of Trichogrammitoidae is reviewed and the implications for biological control discussed. This is followed by a life table study of three parasitic wasps and one predatory wasp (Muthuskrishnan et al.) which will be of use at the local level, but adds little to the general picture. The final chapter (Sankaran) reviews the use of biological control against forest pests and weeds in India and will be a useful literature source for.those interested in the area. In summary, this is not a book that will be of very general interest. On the other hand, it should provide an extremely useful addition to the library of anyone working in forestry in the Indian subcontinent.
the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Centre, Italy in 1993. The initial three chapters set out the needs and opportunities for linking biotechnology and IPM. Much emphasis is given to the developing countries and in the next section case studies on rice (Southeast Asia), Soybean (Brazil), various crops (India), and Cassava and Cowpea (Africa) are fully described. The remainder of the book looks more at the opportunities for using new techniques in diagnosing pests and disease, in taxonomic work and the development of genetically engineered plants and baculoviruses. The book provides a useful well-referenced account of new techniques to enable those less familiar to get a balanced overview of the possible development that would affect crop protection in the next millenium. However, already field cultivation of some of the transgenic plants has confirmed that there are no simple solutions to pest management. As organisms become resistant to pesticides so the pests can also survive at least the initial effects of using a single Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene in cotton. Apart from agricultural pests, insects vectors of human disease are also considered. In the final summary chapter, the editor and colleagues point out that IPM practitioners must work together with biotechnologists in the development of appropriate products and to evaluate strategies for their effective deployment. As a follow-up of the Conference, an IPM facility by the World Bank to catalyse and facilitate the development and implementation of improved IPM practices has been set up.
Simon R. Leather
IPARC, Ascot, UK
G. A. Matthews Department of Biology Imperial College Silwood Park Ascot, UK
Biotechnology and Integrated Pest Management, ed. by G. J. Persley. ISBN 0 85198 9306. Biotechnology in AgricultureNo. 1.5,CABI, Wallingford, UK, 1996. &60. In the foreword, readers are reminded that over the next 30 years, food production in developing countries must more than double, mostly from land already in production. As chemical control is regarded as providing only ephemeral benefits, often with adverse side effects, the hope is that advances in biotechnology can help to make IPM strategies more robust and sustainable. The 23 chapters arranged in nine sections report the spectrum of views of 2.5 scientists and policy makers who met at
292
Crop Protection
EcologIcaIly Based Pest Management: New Solutions for a New Century. Committee on Pest and Pathogen Control Through Management of Biological Control Agents and Enhanced Natural Cycles and Processes, National Research Council. ISBN 0 309 05330 7. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996. 144 pp. $37.95 This text is a report of the ‘Committee on Pest and Pathogen Control Through Management of Biological Agents and Enhanced Natural Cycles,’ organized under the auspices of the National Research Council of the (US) National Academy of Sciences. The 14 members of the Committee included entomologists, plant pathologists, ecologists, molecular biologists, as well as representatives from the private sector and the environmental community. The
1997 Volume 16 Number 3
Committee’s charge was to ‘assess (the) status of the knowledge in areas of pesticide application, host resistance and biological-control practices . .,’ specifically to address the needs, realistic exceptions, and commercialization of ‘effective and profitable pest control systems that rely primarily on ecological processes of control’ (p. vii). The Committee’s responses to these charges are in the form of outlining ‘ecologically based pest management (EBPM)’ and contrasting it to current pest management practices and strategies. The report is divided into an executive summary and four chapters. In the executive summary, key findings and recommendations are presented. Chapter 1 reviews the history of pest its limitations. management and Chapter 2 outlines ecologically based pest management - EBPM. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss needed research and oversight needs of EBPM, respectively. The report includes a number of case histories that serve to illustrate past problems with previous management approaches (e.g. chemical control of cotton boll weevil, pp. 30-31), regulatory issues that impede the development of EBPM (e.g. the registration of Pirimicarb, p. 48), and management success stories (e.g. the Campbell Soup Company’s IPM programm, pp. 66-67). Also, the report contains 15 pages of references, and an index, that will prove useful for cross-referencing topical areas among chapters. The Committee’s prime emphasis is that future pest management must become more ecologically based and reliant upon natural forces to manage pests. The Committee rightly points out that current pest management practices have devolved into reactionary treatment based upon thresholds. EBPM is posited as a new approach that will be based on a much deeper ecological agro-ecosystem appreciation of dynamics to manage pests in a safe, profitable and durable fashion. The Committee’s research, implementation and oversight recommendations identify critical missing components necessary to move current pest management systems to EBPM. Their research recommendations are intended to form a ‘foundation of a knowledge base,’ and include eight broad categories of research priorities, each further divided into more specific focus areas. Implementation research includes needed study of the socioeconomic issues involved in adoption of EBPM, including risk analysis, economic feasibility and development of methods for measuring the direct and indirect cost of EBPM. The development of an institutional culture that encourages inter/multidisciplinary research is suggested for research institutions, professional societies and federal agencies, particularly
the Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Centre, Italy in 1993. The initial three chapters set out the needs and opportunities for linking biotechnology and IPM. Much emphasis is given to the developing countries and in the next section case studies on rice (Southeast Asia), Soybean (Brazil), various crops (India), and Cassava and Cowpea (Africa) are fully described. The remainder of the book looks more at the opportunities for using new techniques in diagnosing pests and disease, in taxonomic work and the development of genetically engineered plants and baculoviruses. The book provides a useful well-referenced account of new techniques to enable those less familiar to get a balanced overview of the possible development that would affect crop protection in the next millenium. However, already field cultivation of some of the transgenic plants has confirmed that there are no simple solutions to pest management. As organisms become resistant to pesticides so the pests can also survive at least the initial effects of using a single Bacillus thuringiensis toxin gene in cotton. Apart from agricultural pests, insects vectors of human disease are also considered. In the final summary chapter, the editor and colleagues point out that IPM practitioners must work together with biotechnologists in the development of appropriate products and to evaluate strategies for their effective deployment. As a follow-up of the Conference, an IPM facility by the World Bank to catalyse and facilitate the development and implementation of improved IPM practices has been set up.
Simon R. Leather
IPARC, Ascot, UK
G. A. Matthews Department of Biology Imperial College Silwood Park Ascot, UK
Biotechnology and Integrated Pest Management, ed. by G. J. Persley. ISBN 0 85198 9306. Biotechnology in AgricultureNo. 1.5,CABI, Wallingford, UK, 1996. &60. In the foreword, readers are reminded that over the next 30 years, food production in developing countries must more than double, mostly from land already in production. As chemical control is regarded as providing only ephemeral benefits, often with adverse side effects, the hope is that advances in biotechnology can help to make IPM strategies more robust and sustainable. The 23 chapters arranged in nine sections report the spectrum of views of 2.5 scientists and policy makers who met at
292
Crop Protection
EcologIcaIly Based Pest Management: New Solutions for a New Century. Committee on Pest and Pathogen Control Through Management of Biological Control Agents and Enhanced Natural Cycles and Processes, National Research Council. ISBN 0 309 05330 7. National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 1996. 144 pp. $37.95 This text is a report of the ‘Committee on Pest and Pathogen Control Through Management of Biological Agents and Enhanced Natural Cycles,’ organized under the auspices of the National Research Council of the (US) National Academy of Sciences. The 14 members of the Committee included entomologists, plant pathologists, ecologists, molecular biologists, as well as representatives from the private sector and the environmental community. The
1997 Volume 16 Number 3
Committee’s charge was to ‘assess (the) status of the knowledge in areas of pesticide application, host resistance and biological-control practices . .,’ specifically to address the needs, realistic exceptions, and commercialization of ‘effective and profitable pest control systems that rely primarily on ecological processes of control’ (p. vii). The Committee’s responses to these charges are in the form of outlining ‘ecologically based pest management (EBPM)’ and contrasting it to current pest management practices and strategies. The report is divided into an executive summary and four chapters. In the executive summary, key findings and recommendations are presented. Chapter 1 reviews the history of pest its limitations. management and Chapter 2 outlines ecologically based pest management - EBPM. Chapters 3 and 4 discuss needed research and oversight needs of EBPM, respectively. The report includes a number of case histories that serve to illustrate past problems with previous management approaches (e.g. chemical control of cotton boll weevil, pp. 30-31), regulatory issues that impede the development of EBPM (e.g. the registration of Pirimicarb, p. 48), and management success stories (e.g. the Campbell Soup Company’s IPM programm, pp. 66-67). Also, the report contains 15 pages of references, and an index, that will prove useful for cross-referencing topical areas among chapters. The Committee’s prime emphasis is that future pest management must become more ecologically based and reliant upon natural forces to manage pests. The Committee rightly points out that current pest management practices have devolved into reactionary treatment based upon thresholds. EBPM is posited as a new approach that will be based on a much deeper ecological agro-ecosystem appreciation of dynamics to manage pests in a safe, profitable and durable fashion. The Committee’s research, implementation and oversight recommendations identify critical missing components necessary to move current pest management systems to EBPM. Their research recommendations are intended to form a ‘foundation of a knowledge base,’ and include eight broad categories of research priorities, each further divided into more specific focus areas. Implementation research includes needed study of the socioeconomic issues involved in adoption of EBPM, including risk analysis, economic feasibility and development of methods for measuring the direct and indirect cost of EBPM. The development of an institutional culture that encourages inter/multidisciplinary research is suggested for research institutions, professional societies and federal agencies, particularly