Insect Pests of Fruits, Plantation, Medicinal & Aromatic Crops

2. 1. Ecology based pest management

• Various eco-friendly tactics of pest management have to be integrated so as to avoid the use of chemical pesticides. The knowledge of interaction among plant, pest, natural enemies and environment is essential for effective pest management. When the balance of nature is disturbed by man made interventions, nature strikes back in the form of pest outbreaks. Some examples of pest outbreaks are as follows
1. Whiteflies in brinjal
2. Helicoverpa armigera in bhendi
3. Slug caterpillar in coconut
4. Eriophyid mite on coconut
• Moreover the pest status changes over years due to interaction of various biotic and abiotic factors. One has to thoroughly understand the reasons for outbreak of pests and their changing status and plan the management practices accordingly so as to prevent further outbreaks.