Professional Societies and Ecologically Based Pest Management Proceedings of a Workshop (2000) / Chapter Skim
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3 Applying Agroecological Concepts to Development of Ecologically Based Pest Management Strategies
3 Applying Agroecological Concepts to Development of Ecologically Based Pest Management Strategies
Pages 14-19
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From page 14... ...
Serious problems such as land degradation, salinization, pesticide pollution of soil, water, and food chains, depletion of ground water, genetic homogeneity, and associated vulnerability raise serious questions regarding the sustainability of modern agriculture. The causes of the environmental crisis are rooted in the prevalent socioeconomic system, which promotes monocultures and the use of high input technologies, and agricultural practices that lead to natural resource degradation.
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From page 15... ...
Transgenic crops are likely to increase the use of pesticides and to accelerate the evolution of "super weeds" and resistant insect pests. The "one gene-one pest" approach emphasized by plant breeders introducing vertical resistance or by biotechnologists developing transgenic crops has proven to be easily overcome by pests that are continuously adapting to new situations and evolving detoxification mechanisms.
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From page 16... ...
From a management perspective, the agroecological objective is to provide a balanced environment, sustained yields, biologically mediated soil fertility, and natural pest regulation through the design of diversified agroecosystems and the use of low-input technologies. The strategy is based on ecological principles that lead crop management to optimal recycling of nutrients and organic matter turnover, closed energy flows, water and soil conservation, and a balance between pest and natural enemy populations.
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From page 17... ...
However, they can also have subtle effects such as enhancing the growth and activity of soil organisms, including vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae, which allow crops to more efficiently use soil nutrients and water. Another practice is cover cropping or the growing of pure or mixed stands of legumes and cereals to protect the soil against erosion, which ameliorates soil structure, enhances soil fertility, and suppresses pests including weeds, insects, and pathogens.
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From page 18... ...
The process of conversion from a high-input conventional management to a low-external-input management is a transitional process with four marked phases: · progressive chemical withdrawal; · rationalization and efficiency of agrochemical use through integrated pest management and integrated nutrient management; · input substitution using alternative, low-energy input technologies; and · redesign of diversified farming systems with an optimal crop/animal integration, which encourages synergism so that the system can sponsor its own soil fertility, natural pest regulation, and crop productivity. During the four phases, management is guided to ensure the following processes: · increasing biodiversity both in the soil and above ground; · increasing biomass production and soil organic matter content; · decreasing levels of pesticide residues and losses of nutrients and water components; · establishment of functional relationships between the various plant and animal components on the farm; and · optimal planning of crop sequences and combinations and efficient use of locally available resources.
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From page 19... ...
APPLYING AGROECOLOGICAL CONCEPTS 19 through the addition of selective biodiversity components within and outside the crop field, thereby creating a whole array of possible arrangements of vegetation in time and space.
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