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Potato Pests and Their Management

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Potato is one of the crops that receives the heaviest use of pesticides in the world. This over reliance on insecticides has resulted in the development of pest resistance and the emergence of pests that were previously considered to be of minor economic importance.

Potato pest integrated pest management (IPM) programs should incorporate alternatives to chemical control. Pest control decisions using an IPM approach will help to reduce production costs by decreasing pesticide use. The final result of reduced pest control costs will be higher income for growers and reduced health risks for all people involved in crop management.

Managing pests successfully, using any method, depends on being able to reliably identify and monitor pest populations at each life stage. In North America, this means principally the Colorado potato beetle, the green peach aphid, and wireworms, which are considered major potato pests in most potato growing areas.

Colorado Potato Beetle

The Colorado potato...

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References

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© 2008 Springer Science+Business Media B.V.

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Alvarez, J.M. (2008). Potato Pests and Their Management. In: Capinera, J.L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Entomology. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-6359-6_3094

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