Basic concepts and philosophy of integrated pest management are presented in order to dispel several misconceptions and to provide the necessary background information for discussion of its relationship to the health-related effects of pesticide use. Implications for human health of current pesticide practices in Central America are examined to illustrate major problems associated with the inju...

Chemical insecticides play an important role in the control of plant damage and plant diseases. However, extensive use of these products has led to the disruption of ecosystems because of several reasons such as death of non-target species, accumulation of pesticide residues in the environment and food, and buildup of pesticide resistance in the target species. Biological control is one of the ...

Agricultural organisms, such as insect herbivores, provide unique opportunities for studies of adaptive evolutionary processes, including effects of insecticides on movement and oviposition behavior. In this study, Brassica leaves were treated with one of two non-systemic insecticides and exposed to two individual strains (referred to as single or double resistance) of diamondback moth (Plutell...

The P-glycoprotein, encoded by the multidrug resistance (MDR)1 gene, extrudes fat-soluble compounds to the extracellular environment. However, the DNA damage of pesticides in subjects with genetic variation in MDR1 has not been investigated. In this study, the comet assay was applied to examine the extent of DNA damage in the peripheral blood of 195 fruit growers who had been exposed to pestici...

This review focuses on the process of adapting the original concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) to the wider conception of the Integrated Fruit Production (IFP) implemented in Europe. Even though most of the pest management strategies still rely on the use of synthetic pesticides, a wide array of innovative and environmentally friendly tools are now available as possible alternative to ...

The field of ecotoxicology is experiencing a surge in attention among ecologists as we gain a deeper appreciation for how contaminants can impact natural ecosystems. This interest is particularly strong in aquatic systems where many non-target organisms experience pesticides. In this article, we assess how pesticides affect freshwater systems by applying the conceptual framework of density- and...

Part of the decipherment of genomic information lies in understanding the structure and function of the protein products of these genes. Protein structure is of further importance because of the molecular basis of many diseases. Structural biology is the field of research focusing on the experimental determination of the structure of biological molecules. We review the field of structural biolo...

In recent years, pesticide resistance in some lepidopteran species, along with a general desire to reduce dependence on chemical pesticides, have led to increased interest in evaluating and enhancing the effects of naturally occurring biological control agents on the crucifer Lepidoptera. Due to the relative ease of documenting the impact of parasitoids on pest populations, however, virtually a...

Pesticide mixtures can reduce the rate at which insects evolve pesticide resistance. However, with live biopesticides such as the naturally abundant pathogen Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), a range of additional biological considerations might affect the evolution of resistance. These can include ecological interactions in mixed infections, the different rates of transmission post-application and ...

The global food supply has been facing increasing challenges during the first decades of the 21st century. Disease in plants is an important constraint to worldwide crop production, accounting for 20-40% of its annual harvest loss. Although the use of resistant varieties, good water management and agronomic practices are valid management tools in counteracting plant diseases, there are still ma...