scholarly journals Entomophages as a Perspective Direction of Plant Protection

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tatiana Marinchenko

Increased demand for food to feed the ever-growing population led to the development and adoption of synthetic chemicals as a quick and effective strategy of managing crop pests and diseases. Such agricultural practices have contributed to environmental pollution, which is further affecting food security, human health, and the climate. At the same time, up to 40% of crops die due to pests and plant diseases. Therefore, sustainable crop production and global food security depend on the timely implementation of the latest scientific projects in various fields of crop production including genetics, breeding, agronomy, crop physiology, crop management practices, biotechnology, and even entomology. The introduction of biological agents to protect, control and stimulate the development of agricultural crops is one of the ways of increasing the efficiency and profitability of production, reducing the environmental burden and increasing the competitiveness of producers. This is consistent with the concepts of a green economy and the sustainable development of agriculture. Since the unilateral use of chemicals does not meet today’s requirements, special attention must be paid to preventative, agrotechnical measures, as well as the use of natural factors for regulating the number of pests using parasitic and predatory insects. Domestic biotechnological developments for crop production which increase production efficiency and reduce the environmental burden are discussed. Keywords: plant growing, entomophages, protection, efficiency, ecology, ecology

2020 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 01046
Author(s):  
Tatiana E. Marinchenko

The introduction of biological agents to protect and control, as well as stimulate the development of agricultural crops, is one of the areas of increasing the efficiency and profitability of production, reducing the environmental burden and increasing the competitiveness of producers, which lies in the concept of a green economy, as well as for the sustainable development of agriculture. Domestic biotechnological developments for crop production are considered, which increase production efficiency and reduce the environmental burden.


2020 ◽  
Vol 193 ◽  
pp. 02011
Author(s):  
Tatiana E. Marinchenko

The introduction of livestock waste processing technologies is one of the ways to increase the efficiency and profitability of production, reduce the environmental burden and increase the competitiveness of producers, which lies in the concept of a green economy, as well as for the sustainable development of agriculture. Domestic technologies for processing poultry droppings, which increase production efficiency by reducing heating or feed costs and reduce the environmental burden due to timely processing, are discussed.


Author(s):  
Hasrat Arjjumend ◽  
Konstantia Koutouki ◽  
Olga Donets

The use of unsustainable levels of chemical fertilizers and plant protection chemicals has resulted in a steady decline in soil and crop productivity the world over. Soil biology has undergone irreversible damage, coupled with a high concentration of toxic chemical residues in plant tissues and human bodies. Agricultural practices must evolve to sustainably meet the growing global demand for food without irreversibly damaging soil. Microbial biocontrol agents have tremendous potential to bring sustainability to agriculture in a way that is safe for the environment. Biopesticides do not kill non-target insects, and biosafety is ensured because biopesticides act as antidotes and do not lead to chemical contamination in the soil. This article is part of a larger study conducted in Ukraine by researchers at the Université de Montréal with the support of Mitacs and Earth Alive Clean Technologies. The responses of farmers who use biofertilizers (“user farmers”) and those who do not (“non-user farmers”), along with the responses of manufacturers or suppliers of biofertilizers, and research and development (R&D) scientists are captured to demonstrate the advantages of applying microbial biopesticides to field crops. Participants reported a 15-30% increase in yields and crop production after the application of biopesticides. With the use of biopesticides, farmers cultivated better quality fruits, grains, and tubers with a longer shelf life. Moreover, while the risk of crop loss remains high (60-70%) with chemically grown crops, this risk is reduced to 33% on average if crops are grown using biopesticides. The findings indicate that a large proportion of farmers would prefer to use biopesticides if they are effective and high quality products. In this context, the quality and effectiveness of products is therefore very important. Despite their benefits to soil, human health, and ecosystems, biopesticides face significant challenges and competition vis-à-vis synthetic pesticides for a variety of reasons. Therefore, the development of biopesticides must overcome the problems of poor quality products, short shelf life, delayed action, high market costs, and legal/registration issues.


Fermentation ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 60
Author(s):  
Vincenzo Michele Sellitto ◽  
Severino Zara ◽  
Fabio Fracchetti ◽  
Vittorio Capozzi ◽  
Tiziana Nardi

From a ‘farm to fork’ perspective, there are several phases in the production chain of fruits and vegetables in which undesired microbial contaminations can attack foodstuff. In managing these diseases, harvest is a crucial point for shifting the intervention criteria. While in preharvest, pest management consists of tailored agricultural practices, in postharvest, the contaminations are treated using specific (bio)technological approaches (physical, chemical, biological). Some issues connect the ‘pre’ and ‘post’, aligning some problems and possible solution. The colonisation of undesired microorganisms in preharvest can affect the postharvest quality, influencing crop production, yield and storage. Postharvest practices can ‘amplify’ the contamination, favouring microbial spread and provoking injures of the product, which can sustain microbial growth. In this context, microbial biocontrol is a biological strategy receiving increasing interest as sustainable innovation. Microbial-based biotools can find application both to control plant diseases and to reduce contaminations on the product, and therefore, can be considered biocontrol solutions in preharvest or in postharvest. Numerous microbial antagonists (fungi, yeasts and bacteria) can be used in the field and during storage, as reported by laboratory and industrial-scale studies. This review aims to examine the main microbial-based tools potentially representing sustainable bioprotective biotechnologies, focusing on the biotools that overtake the boundaries between pre- and postharvest applications protecting quality against microbial decay.


1970 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
pp. 139-150
Author(s):  
Otobong Micheal Udo ◽  
L.A. Akinbile ◽  
Samuel Ikechukwu Chinkata

This study investigated the management information needs of fish farmers in Egbeda Local Government Area of Oyo State. Structured questionnaire was used to obtain data from one hundred and ten fish farmers randomly selected from four urban and seven rural wards of the area. Data obtained were analyzed using descriptive (frequency, percentage,) and inferential (chi-square and PPMC) statistics. Results show that respondents had average age of 43years, majority were male (64.8%), had primary school as highest educational level (52.4%), had 2-5 ponds, use earthen ponds (55.2%) and had 5-7 years fish farming experience. Information was most needed in hormone identification (x=2.83), fish marketing (x=2.80) and water quality management (x=2.71). Respondents indicated high cost of feed and poaching as a major challenge in fish farming. Respondents’ age (r = -0.233, p = 0.017); management practices (r = 0.209, p =0.032); number of ponds (r = -0.412, p = 0.000) were correlated with management information needs. The study therefore recommends the need for extension agencies to provide robust and timely information in the areas of need highlighted by the fish farmers in order to increase production efficiency and output of the fish farmers.Keywords: Information needs, Fish farmers, Aquaculture


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (3) ◽  
pp. 309-316 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabin Pandey ◽  
Madhusudhan Adhikhari ◽  
Binod Bhantana

In the world, the traditional agricultural practices are getting affected by various problems such as disease, pest, drought, decreased soil fertility due to use of hazardous chemical pesticides, pollution and global warming. As a result, there is a need for some eco-friendly bio-control agents that help in resolving the previous mentioned problems. The various types of biological control agents such as bacteria and fungi are involved in bio-control activity. Among them, fungal genus Trichoderma plays a major role in controlling the plant diseases. Species of Trichoderma are diverse fungal microbial community known and explored worldwide for their versatilities as biocontrol and growth promoting agents. These fungi reproduce asexually by production of conidia and chlamydospores and in wild habitats by ascospores. Trichoderma species are efficient mycoparasites and prolific producers of secondary metabolites, some of which have clinical importance. However, the ecological or biological significance of this metabolite diversity is sorely lagging behind the chemical significance. Several Trichoderma spp. positively affect plants by stimulating plant growth, and protecting plants from fungal and bacterial pathogens. They are used in biological plant protection as bio-fungicides as well as in bioremediation. A large number of research groups are working on various aspects of Trichoderma viz., diversity, ecology and their applications. The capacity of Trichoderma fungi to produce lytic enzymes is used in animal feed, and wine making and brewery industries. Trichoderma spp. are the most successful bio-control agents as more than 60% of the registered bio-fungicides used in today’s agriculture belongs to Trichoderma -based formulation. The increase in incidence and severity of diseases and emergence of new diseases causes the significant yield losses of different crops in Nepal. But the research and studies on plant diseases are limited. Int. J. Appl. Sci. Biotechnol. Vol 7(3): 309-316  


1997 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 130-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. Sefik Yesilsoy ◽  
Sabit Ersahin

AbstractTurkey is experiencing pressure to increase crop production per unit area to achieve self-reliance in food supply. The main production concern before 1970 was to increase crop yields to meet the national consumption of an ever-increasing population. During this time the country's capability to produce wheat was insufficient to meet the national demand. After the initiation of the National Wheat Research and Extension Project in 1969 the objectives of wheat production methods were changed to achieve not only higher but more economical yields per unit area. As a result the total area sown to wheat increased by only 9% between 1969 and 1990, whereas yields and total production increased 75 and 90%, respectively. This was due to developing or importing high-yielding varieties adapted to dry areas, increasing use of fertilizers and plant protection chemicals, and timely use of proper tillage made possible with modem equipment. Transferring research results to farmers and exchanging information with international scientists led Turkish scientists to establish the new goal of developing ecologically sound farming systems that could achieve higher, more economical yields per unit area. The key to this approach is to maintain or increase soil organic matter.


2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Hasrat Arjjumend ◽  
Konstantia Koutouki ◽  
Simon Neufeld

The use of unsustainable levels of plant protection chemicals and fertilizershas resulted in a steady decline in soil quality and crop productivity the world over. To combat this decline, agricultural practices must evolve to meet the growing global demand for food without irreversibly damaging the world’s natural resources.Biopesticides have tremendous potential to bring sustainability to agriculture and environmental safety.This article is part of a larger study conducted in India by the authors at theUniversité de Montréal with the support of Mitacs and Earth Alive Clean Technologies. In this research, farmers, manufacturers or suppliers of biopesticides, and R&D scientistswere interviewed, and their responses demonstratethe advantages of applyingmicrobial biopesticidesto field crops. Participants reported a15-30% increase in yields and crop production after the application ofbiopesticides, with better quality and quantity of fruits, grains, and tubers with a longer shelf life. Moreover, while the risk of croploss is high (60-70%) with chemicallygrown crops, this risk is reduced to 33% on average when crops are grown using biopesticides. The risk of crop loss is thus considerably reducedby the use ofbiopesticides.Yet, despite their positive impact on the health of humans, soil,ecosystems, andfriendly invertebrates,biopesticides face significant challenges and competition vis-à-vis synthetic pesticides for a variety of reasons. The development of biopesticides must overcome the problems of improper formulations, short shelf life, delayed action, and high market costs, as well as a variety oflegal/registration issues.


The paper dwells on the problems of developing an internet platform for support of decision-making and production management for an agricultural enterprise. The described system is an open environment which is capable of integrating third-party services with the application-programming interface (API), each service being an autonomous software component (agent) with its own criteria and target. Thus, planning is done through continuous interaction of agents within the multi-service platform, using the knowledge base for storing various data on crops, such as conditions of crop growing, characteristics and peculiarities of crop production, pests, plant diseases, soil types and their specific features, technological processes (maps) for crop growing, application of fertilizers and plant protection products, crop production economy, classes of agricultural machines and equipment. Thus, the result of scheduling is the work plan for a given time horizon. On top of that, the paper describes the first prototypes of smart services and their interaction, as well as the next steps for future research.


2016 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
MM Kamrozzaman ◽  
MAH Khan ◽  
S Ahmed ◽  
AFM Ruhul Quddus

The study was conducted to determine the yield and economic consequences of two cropping patterns viz. improved cropping pattern (Wheat-Jute-T.aman rice) and farmers, pattern (Wheat-Jute-T.aman rice) through incorporation of modern high yielding varieties and improved management practices for crop production. The experiment was laid out in randomized complete block design with five dispersed replications in farmers’ condition in Faridpur during two consecutive years 2011-12 and 2012-13. Two years mean data showed that the improved management practices for the pattern provided significantly higher yield in Wheat, Jute and T.aman rice. The gross return (Tk. 265495/ha) and net return (Tk.123087/ha) of improved pattern were 9 % and 18 % higher, respectively compared to that of farmers’ pattern with only 3% extra cost. The higher benefit cost ratio, land use efficiency, production efficiency and sustainable yield index indicated the superiority of the improved pattern over the farmers’ practices.J. Bangladesh Agril. Univ. 13(1): 93-100, June 2015


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document