Effect or Economic Importance of Insect Pests in Crop Production
- They destroy crop by biting, chewing, piercing and defoliation activities
- Reduction in farmer’s profit.
- Some insects are disease carriers.
- Increased rate of crop production
- Reduction in the viability of stored produce
- They can cause total death of crops
- Spot of injuries by insect may predispose crop to disease attack
- They render farm products unattractive and unmarketable
Prevention and Control of Pests
Pest control can be done via 3 methods – physical, chemical and cultural.
Physical Control – This involves the removal of insect by
- hand picking of insects and larvae
- setting traps to catch rodents
- shooting rodents with gun
- fencing round the farm with wire nets
Cultural Control – This method involves the use of farm practices to prevent or control pests especially on the field. Examples of cultural control include
- Bush fallowing
- Crop rotation change in the time of planting
- Regular weeding
- Proper timing of planting
- Use of pest resistant varieties
- Burning of crop residues
- Proper time of harvesting
- Appropriate tillage operations
- Close season practices
Biological Control – This involves the introduction of the natural enemies of pests to control or keep the pests population under control. Such enemies eat up or feed on these pests thereby reducing the population of the pests…
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https://passnownow.com/lesson/pests-crop-plants-ii/
