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Description of the suject. In Africa, pest pressure has led researchers, policymakers, and international development stakeholders to develop and disseminate innovative pest management strategies. However, farmers reject some pest management strategies due to economic constraints, agronomic problems, or incompatibilities with their strategies, knowledge bases, and visions of desirable change. Objectives. In this paper, we study the pest management practices employed by mango producers from different farming systems against the fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis, as well as the factors determining the level of engagement of these producers in managing this pest. Method. We surveyed 304 Senegalese mango growers affected by the invasive fruit fly Bactrocera dorsalis to understand which farming systems’ features could explain the adoption level of fruit fly management tools through multivariate data analysis. Results. Three types of farming systems characterized by a coherent set of varietal choices, orchard management, harvest practices, commercial outlets, and fruit fly management practices are identified: (1) Intensive farming systems supplying the export market with the variety Kent and using a large set of orchard management tools and harvest practices to eliminate fruit flies, (2) Extensive farming systems supplying various varieties of mangoes with a dominance of Kent to both export and domestic markets, with access to fruit fly management tools from public services, (3) Gathering farming systems characterized by zero-input, high varietal diversity, difficult market access, non-selective harvest practices, and fruit fly management rarely practiced. Conclusions. The farming systems form a gradient of increasing use of fruit fly management tools and inputs, access to extension services, and export market orientation. Their coexistence in the same territories significantly contributes to the inefficiency of the control measures against Bactrocera dorsalis. Our results support the premise that in Africa, the adoption of pest management tools is more deeply integrated into the practices of certain producers compared to others, due to internal and external factors influencing the operation. Le rôle des systèmes de production agricoles dans l’adoption des pratiques de gestion des ravageurs : une étude de cas sur la mouche des fruits orientale Bactrocera dorsalis dans les vergers de manguiers au SénégalDescription du sujet. En Afrique, l'augmentation de la pression exercée par les ravageurs a conduit les chercheurs, les décideurs politiques et les acteurs du développement international à élaborer et à diffuser des stratégies innovantes de lutte contre les ravageurs. Cependant, il y a souvent un faible taux d'adoption par ces producteurs de ces stratégies de lutte contre les ravageurs en raison de contraintes économiques, de problèmes agronomiques ou d'incompatibilités avec leurs stratégies, leurs bases de connaissances et leurs visions des changements souhaitables. Objectifs. Dans cet article, nous analysons les pratiques de gestion contre Bactrocera dorsalis dans divers systèmes de production manguiers, ainsi que les facteurs influençant l'engagement des producteurs dans la gestion de ce ravageur. Méthode. Nous avons enquêté auprès de 304 producteurs de mangues sénégalais affectés par la pression persistante de la mouche des fruits invasive Bactrocera dorsalis. Nous cherchons à comprendre quelles caractéristiques des systèmes de production peuvent expliquer le nombre de pratiques de lutte contre la mouche des fruits adoptées par les agriculteurs grâce à une analyse multivariée. Résultats. Trois types de systèmes de culture de mangues, chacun caractérisé par un ensemble cohérent de choix variétaux, de gestion des vergers, de pratiques de récolte, de débouchés commerciaux et de pratiques de lutte contre les mouches des fruits : (1) les systèmes de production à forte intensité d'intrants qui approvisionnent le marché d'exportation avec la variété de mangue Kent et qui utilisent un large éventail de pratiques de gestion des vergers et de récolte pour éliminer les mouches des fruits, (2) les systèmes de production à forte intensité d'intrants qui fournissent diverses variétés de mangues avec une dominance de Kent à la fois pour le marché d'exportation et pour le marché intérieur, avec un accès aux intrants de lutte contre les mouches des fruits par les services publics, (3) les systèmes de cueillette caractérisés par des intrants nuls, une grande diversité variétale, un accès difficile aux marchés d'exportation, des pratiques de récolte non sélectives et une lutte contre les mouches des fruits rarement pratiquée parce qu’elle est presque impossible (arbres trop hauts, présence de plantes hôtes alternatives) et non encouragée par les acheteurs. Conclusions. Les trois types de systèmes de production forment un gradient d'intensité croissante des pratiques de lutte contre les mouches des fruits, de l'intensité des intrants, de l'accès aux services de vulgarisation, de l'aide publique et de l'orientation vers la chaîne d'approvisionnement pour l'exportation. Leur cohabitation dans les mêmes territoires contribue fortement à l’inefficacité de la lutte contre B. dorsalis. Nos résultats soutiennent l'hypothèse selon laquelle, en Afrique, l'adoption de pratiques de lutte contre les ravageurs est fortement ancrée dans le fonctionnement global des systèmes de production.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) provides an illustration of how crop protection has (or has not) evolved over the past six decades. Throughout this period, IPM has endeavored to promote sustainable forms of agriculture, pursued sharp reductions in synthetic pesticide use, and thereby resolved myriad socio-economic, environmental, and human health challenges. Global pesticide use has, however, largely continued unabated, with negative implications for farmer livelihoods, biodiversity conservation, and the human right to food. In this review, we examine how IPM has developed over time and assess whether this concept remains suited to present-day challenges. We believe that despite many good intentions, hard realities need to be faced. 1) We identify the following major weaknesses: i) a multitude of IPM definitions that generate unnecessary confusion; ii) inconsistencies between IPM concepts, practice, and policies; iii) insufficient engagement of farmers in IPM technology development and frequent lack of basic understanding of its underlying ecological concepts. 2) By diverting from the fundamental IPM principles, integration of practices has proceeded along serendipitous routes, proven ineffective, and yielded unacceptable outcomes. 3) We show that in the majority of cases, chemical control still remains the basis of plant health programs. 4) Furthermore, IPM research is often lagging, tends to be misguided, and pays insufficient attention to ecology and to the ecological functioning of agroecosystems. 5) Since the 1960s, IPM rules have been twisted, its foundational concepts have degraded and its serious (farm-level) implementation has not advanced. To remedy this, we are proposing Agroecological Crop Protection as a concept that captures how agroecology can be optimally put to the service of crop protection. Agroecological Crop Protection constitutes an interdisciplinary scientific field that comprises an orderly strategy (and clear prioritization) of practices at the field, farm, and agricultural landscape level and a dimension of social and organizational ecology.

Since its initial discovery in Allentown, PA, USA, the brown marmorated stink bug (BMSB), Halyomorpha halys (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae) has now officially has been detected in 38 states and the District of Columbia in the USA. Isolated populations also exist in Switzerland and Canada. This Asian species quickly became a major nuisance pest in the mid-Atlantic USA region due to its overwintering behavior of entering structures. BMSB has an extremely wide host range in both its native home and invaded countries where it feeds on numerous tree fruits, vegetables, field crops, ornamental plants, and native vegetation. In 2010, populations exploded causing severe crop losses to apples, peaches, sweet corn, peppers, tomatoes and row crops such as field corn and soybeans in several mid-Atlantic states. Damaging populations were detected in vineyards, small fruit and ornamentals. Researchers are collaborating to develop management solutions that will complement current integrated pest management programs. This article summarizes the current pest status and strategies being developed to manage BMSB in the USA.

The idea that noncrop habitat enhances pest control and represents a win–win opportunity to conserve biodiversity and bolster yields has emerged as an agroecological paradigm. However, while noncrop habitat in landscapes surrounding farms sometimes benefits pest predators, natural enemy responses remain heterogeneous across studies and effects on pests are inconclusive. The observed heterogeneity in species responses to noncrop habitat may be biological in origin or could result from variation in how habitat and biocontrol are measured. Here, we use a pest-control database encompassing 132 studies and 6,759 sites worldwide to model natural enemy and pest abundances, predation rates, and crop damage as a function of landscape composition. Our results showed that although landscape composition explained significant variation within studies, pest and enemy abundances, predation rates, crop damage, and yields each exhibited different responses across studies, sometimes increasing and sometimes decreasing in landscapes with more noncrop habitat but overall showing no consistent trend. Thus, models that used landscape-composition variables to predict pest-control dynamics demonstrated little potential to explain variation across studies, though prediction did improve when comparing studies with similar crop and landscape features. Overall, our work shows that surrounding noncrop habitat does not consistently improve pest management, meaning habitat conservation may bolster production in some systems and depress yields in others. Future efforts to develop tools that inform farmers when habitat conservation truly represents a win–win would benefit from increased understanding of how landscape effects are modulated by local farm management and the biology of pests and their enemies.

The South American tomato pinworm, Tuta absoluta (Meyrick) (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), has invaded most Afro-Eurasian countries and is threatening worldwide tomato production. Various strategies have been developed and implemented to manage this pest. Here, we present a timely review on the up-to-date development and practical implementation of integrated pest management (IPM) programs for tomato crops across different world regions infested by T. absoluta . While insecticide resistance is a growing concern, biological control via releasing or conserving arthropod natural enemies and sex pheromone-based biotechnical control are the most successful management practices. Agronomic control-related research is an emerging area where the soil fertilization and/or irrigation, as well as breeding of resistant cultivars, has the potential to enhance IPM effectiveness. Grower survey responses in the native areas (i.e., South America), early-invaded areas (i.e., first report between 2006 and 2012) and newly invaded areas (i.e., first report after 2012) showed that the control programs evolved along with the areas and time since invasion. Growers in the early-invaded areas shifted more rapidly from chemical control to biological control compared to those from the native area. In all concerned regions, the pest control failure risk following chemical insecticide applications and the high cost associated with either biological or biotechnical control methods have been the greatest concerns for growers. The information gathered from the native and/or early-invaded areas may help achieve a more effective management in newly invaded areas. Lastly, researchers are expected to break the bottlenecks of some key issues that would enable lowering application cost of novel biorational alternative management options.

Broad mite ( Polyphagotarsonemus latus ) is an emerging pest of blackberry ( Rubus subgenus Rubus ) primarily managed with miticides, little work has evaluated cultural control strategies. This study assessed the influence of cultivar and trellis system on broad mite establishment in Arkansas in 2022 and 2023. Plots containing rotating cross-arm (RCA) and T-trellis systems were evaluated; however, meaningful infestations occurred only in 2022. During that outbreak year, blackberry grown on the RCA averaged 1.9 motile mites per leaflet compared with 3.2 on the T-trellis. Cultivar effects were observed, with ‘A2625’ averaging 1.2 motile mites per leaflet compared with 2.7 and 3.2 for ‘Ouachita’ and ‘Osage’, respectively. Weekly monitoring indicated earlier population growth in ‘Osage’, with damaging infestations occurring ∼2 weeks before other cultivars. These findings suggest trellis design and cultivar selection may influence broad mite population dynamics under outbreak conditions and could contribute to integrated pest management programs.

Classical and augmentative biological control of insect pests and weeds has enjoyed a long history of successes. However, biocontrol practices have not been as universally accepted or optimally utilised as they could be. An International Organisation for Biological Control (IOBC) initiative brought together practitioners and researchers from widely diverse fields to identify the main limitations to biocontrol uptake and to recommend means of mitigation. Limitations to uptake included: risk averse and unwieldy regulatory processes; increasingly bureaucratic barriers to access to biocontrol agents; insufficient engagement and communication with the public, stakeholders, growers and politicians of the considerable economic benefits of biocontrol; and fragmentation of biocontrol sub-disciplines. In this contribution we summarise a range of recommendations for the future that emphasise the need for improved communication of economic, environmental and social successes and benefits of biological control for insect pests, weeds and plant diseases, targeting political, regulatory, grower/land manager and other stakeholder interests. Political initiatives in some countries which augur well for biocontrol in the future are discussed.

Sustainable farming practices aim to produce agricultural products at a low environmental cost, ensuring food availability for future generations. These approaches combine the production of agricultural crops and livestock for site-specific uses, with an emphasis on long-term objectives including satisfying the food supply worldwide, improving the environment, making the most efficient use of resources and boosting the welfare of farmers and society as a whole. Sustainability in farming is mostly dependent on soil health, which is the soil’s capacity to function within ecological and land-use boundaries. It enhances general wellness, maintains the purity of the air and water, and supports biological productivity. The depletion of soil functions brought about by modern agricultural intensification has an impact on ecosystem services and long-term productivity. The goal of sustainable farming is to raise fertility and organic matter in the soil. Key practices include carbon farming, conservation agriculture, integrated pest management (IPM), and precision farming. In order to support sustainable crop production, these techniques improve soil fertility, structure, and biodiversity. Going forward, research should concentrate on developing novel approaches to tackle the issues of climate change and global food security.

The history of pest management since the late 1880s is a repeated cycle of pest intensification, development of innovative and effective technology, enthusiastic use/over use of the technology, followed in the short term by a return to pest intensification and sustainability issues due to grower failure to integrate control tactics. The overland invasion of Texas by the boll weevil (Anthonomus grandis) from Mexico about 1892 ushered in a long period of repeated cycles of pest intensification, technology development, use/overuse, and development of questions about the sustainability of the system for managing cotton pests in the American South. The period from its arrival to its eradication lasted about 100 years. During that time, pest management systems evolved, moving through several distinctive phases. Early on, farmers had very few tools with which to battle pests. Within a few years entomologists had developed ecologically-based systems based on cultural controls. With the discovery of broadspectrum synthetic organic insecticides cultural controls were largely abandoned as growers moved to large-scale reliance on insecticides. Within a decade, insecticide resistance, pest resurgence, and environmental, human health risks began to emerge. A few years later, public opinion and governmental regulations began to change pest management systems further. Integrated scouting and insecticide-based systems were developed, and extensive research programs led to the development of technology enabling the eradication of boll weevil and pink bollworm (Pectinophora gossypiella), two major cotton pests. Newsom divided the history of cotton production into four periods; the pre-boll weevile era (before 1892), early boll weevil era (1892 to 1917), the calcium arsenate era (1917-1945) and the synthetic organic insecticide era 1945-forward. Perkins later divided the synthetic organic insecticide era into the era of euphoria and the crisis of residues (1945-1955), the era of confusion environmental crisis and the beginning of new directions (1954-1972), and era of changing paradigms (1968 and beyond). Since 1996, it has become clear that yet another era has begun. Cotton and other field crops have entered the era of genetically modified crops and preventative, area-wide pest management. The preventative and area-wide nature of management technologies has resulted in changes in the availability of people with training in field-specific pest management concepts. The de-emphasis of field-field specific IPM is occurring at a time when the need for food and fiber is higher than at any other time in history and is expected to increase significantly in the future. Intensified global trade has increased threats from invasive pests. And pests are once again demonstrating their capacity to adapt to and survive modern control technologies. Our vulnerability has increased because we are lacking sufficient numbers of specialists who can respond to pest outbreaks and breakthroughs. IPM expertise will take time to develop as fewer instructors have field experience in IPM and fewer students are being prepared to address pest management concerns. How will we respond to the challenges of protecting food and fiber to meet the needs.