Pest phenology models allow producers to anticipate pest outbreaks and deploy integrated pest management (IPM) strategies. Phenology models are particularly useful for cropping systems with multiple economically damaging pests throughout a season. Potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) crops of Washington State, USA, are attacked by many insect pests including the potato tuberworm (Phthorimaea operculel...

Sweet corn, Zea mays L., is attacked by a variety of insect pests that can cause severe losses to the producer. Current control practices are largely limited to the application of broad-spectrum insecticides that can have a substantial and deleterious impact on the natural enemy complex. Predators have been shown to provide partial control of sweet corn pests when not killed by broad-spectrum i...

In rice production, pest invasion is considered as the most challenging task for crop technicians and farmers. Pest invasion can cause serious losses and affect the income of farmers. It is then important to assess their density for pests forecasting decision making. Existing identification techniques of these species comprise of using different traps to detect their presence. However, these tr...

A.H. Paterson (ed.), Genomics of the Saccharinae, Plant Genetics and Genomics: Crops and Models 11, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-5947-8_16, © Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013 Abstract Sustainable production of sorghum, Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench, depends on effective control of insect pests as they continue to compete with humans for the sorghum crop. Insect pests are a major constraint...

Introduction The term pest includes pathogens, weeds, nematodes, mollusks, arthropods, and vertebrates. One category of pests does not occur in the absence of pests in other categories, yet most IPM systems are designed around a single category of pest. For full implementation of IPM it is essential that all categories of pests be managed in an integrated manner. Allowances for the interactions...

Transgenic cotton that produced one or more insecticidal proteins of Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt) was planted on over 15 million hectares in 11 countries in 2009 and has contributed to a reduction of over 140 million kilograms of insecticide active ingredient between 1996 and 2008. As a highly selective form of host plant resistance, Bt cotton effectively controls a number of key lepidopteran pe...