Physical, Mechanical and Cultural Control of Vegetable Insects

  • Kenneth A. Sorensen
  • Subbarayalu Mohankumar
  • Sonai Rajan Thangaraj
Chapter
First Online:

Abstract

Pest control is as old as agriculture, as there has always been a need to keep crops free from pests in order to maximize food production. Historically, mechanical and cultural practices were the major methods used by farmers to prevent crop losses. Prior to the emergence of the plant protection sciences farmers evolved many cultural practices through trial and error experiences to minimize the damage caused by insect pests. In recent years pesticides have become the major method of pest control. Due to the problems related to the use of pesticides physical, mechanical and cultural controls serve as an alternative to the use of pesticides in an integrated pest management approach. Physical methods consist of thermal methods and electromagnetic radiation. Mechanical control refers to measures that involve the operation of machinery or manual operations such as the hand picking of insects from plants. Cultural control consists of modifications of standard agricultural practices such as time of planting and crop rotation. Examples of physical, mechanical and cultural control methods employed in the management of tropical vegetable pests and diseases are herein discussed.

Keywords

Electromagnetic radiation Crop rotation Trap cropping Technology transfer 
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Notes

Acknowledgement

We thank Charles Vincent, Guy Hallman, Bernard Panneton and Francis Fleurat-Lessard for their excellent Annual Review in Entomology 2003: 48:261–81 article “Management of Agricultural Insects with Physical Control Methods” that contained an effective template that was modified, and for the published literature that was reviewed in preparing this chapter and should be useful to those interested in nonchemical control methods. The Annual Review of Entomology is online at http://ento.annualreviews.org. We trust that all appreciate these overviews and find the content of great practical use in feeding a hungry world.

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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2016

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kenneth A. Sorensen
    • 1
  • Subbarayalu Mohankumar
    • 2
  • Sonai Rajan Thangaraj
    • 2
  1. 1.Department of EntomologyNorth Carolina State UniversityRaleighUSA
  2. 2.Department of Plant Biotechnology, Centre for Plant Molecular Biology and BiotechnologyTamil Nadu Agricultural UniversityCoimbatoreIndia

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