Population studies on Arion lusitanicus, a slug species introduced into Poland, were carried out over the last decade. The slug occurs commonly in some areas and spreads out relatively quickly. It has an annual life cycle with eggs, and immature individuals overwinter. In the end of July A. lusitanicus begins copulation and three weeks later it lays eggs from which the first offspring hatch wit...

Pesticides constitute a heterogeneous category of chemicals specifically designed for the control of pests, weeds or plant diseases. Pesticides have been considered potential chemical mutagens. In the present study, the cytotoxic and genotoxic potential of the commercial herbicide Topik (containing 80g/L clodinafop-propargyl and 20 g/l cloquintocet-mexyl) was determined using Allium cepa root t...

The pesticides belong to a category of chemicals used worldwide as herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, rodenticides, molluscicides, nematicides, and plant growth regulators in order to control weeds, pests and diseases in crops as well as for health care of humans and animals. The positive aspect of application of pesticides renders enhanced crop/food productivity and drastic reduction of vec...

Plants are prone to various biotic stresses in nature by bacteria, viruses, fungi, parasites, harmful insects and weeds. The biggest percentage loss (70%) in plants is attributed to insects. Lepidoptera is one such diversified phytophagous insect group, which include Helicoverpa armigera, a key pest of many food crops including chickpea, pigeonpea, pea, lentil, chillies, sunflower, tomato, toba...

The search for alternative ways of controlling sericultural pests has led to the investigation of plant sources for naturally occurring compounds which may have Insect growth regulatory, feeding deterrency, repellency and confusantcy characteristics. More than 2000 species of the families Asteraceae, Fabaceae and Euphorbiaceae are known that possess some insecticidal activity. Plants with inse...

The yield potential (Yp) of a grain crop is the seed mass per unit ground area obtained under optimum growing conditions without weeds, pests and diseases. It is determined by the product of the available light energy and by the genetically determined properties: efficiency of light capture (epsilon i), the efficiency of conversion of the intercepted light into biomass (epsilon c) and the propo...

Lepidopteran stemborers and parasitic weeds in the genus Striga are major constraints to efficient production of cereals, the most important staple food crops in Africa. Smallholder farmers are resource constrained and unable to afford expensive chemicals for crop protection. Development of a push-pull approach for integrated pest and weed management is reviewed here. Appropriate plants were di...

Agriculture plays a vital role in the Indian Economy. In India over 70 percent of the rural household depend on agriculture. Insect pests, bacteria, virus, fungi caused plant diseases and weeds inflict enormous losses to the potential agriculture production. Anecdotal evidences also indicate rise in the losses, despite increasing use of chemical pesticides. At the same time, there is a rising p...

Climate change already challenges people’s livelihood globally and it also affects plant health. Rising temperatures facilitate the introduction establishment of unwanted organisms, including arthropods, pathogens, weeds (hereafter collectively called pests). For example, a single, unusually warm winter under temperate climatic conditions may be sufficient to assist invasive pests, which otherw...