Biological Control in Plant Protection A Color Handbook

About this book

Please note that the publisher nowadays only prints this book on-demand and all the images (despite the title) are in black and white. The original print run that had colour images in it has sold out.

There has been a large increase in the commercial use of integrated crop/pest management methods for pest and disease control on a wide range of crops throughout the world since the first edition of Biological Control in Plant Protection. The completely revised second edition of the bestselling Biological Control in Plant Protection continues the objective of providing a handbook with profiles and black-and-white photographs of as many examples of biological control organisms from as wide a global area as possible. It is designed to help readers anticipate and recognize specific problems of pest management and then resolve them using the natural enemies of pests – parasites, predators, and pathogens.

The authors first describe the impact of predator-prey relationships on host plant species in arable, orchard, and protected environments. The main sections of Biological Control in Plant Protection include profiles of pests, beneficial arthropods (insects and mites), and beneficial pathogens (bacteria, fungi, viruses, and nematodes), featuring a tabular pest identification guide. Descriptions of biocontrol organisms are divided into four sections: species characteristics, lifecycle, crop/pest associations, and influences of growing practices. The text is illustrated throughout with black-and-white photographs.

This revised edition helps readers more fully understand the concepts and practice of biological control and integrated pest management. All chapters have been updated and expanded, and more than 300 new photographs have been added. The second edition covers new beneficial organisms and pest profiles, and it includes a new chapter on the practical aspects and application of biological control. It also contains a new final chapter that puts biological control in perspective, discussing interactions that occur when using biocontrol for population management as well as some of the possible mechanisms of biocontrol.

Contents

The practice and application of biological control
Introduction
Parasites and Parasitoids
Predators
Pathogens
Strategies for Biological Control
Conservation or Preservation Biological Control
Importation/Classical Biological Control
Inoculative Control
Inundative Control
Integrated Crop/Pest Management
Practical Aspects of Biological Control
Pest Monitoring

Biological control in various cropping systems
Introduction
Arable
Introduction
Arable Production and Biologicals
The Challenge of Biocontrol
The Use of Pesticides and Beneficial Insects
Monitoring Levels of Beneficial Insects
Carabid Beetles
Staphylinid Beetles
Linyphiid Spiders
Integrated Crop Management (ICM)
Conservation Strategies Using Headlands and Beetle Banks
Fruit
Introduction
Fruit Production and Biologicals
The Challenge of Biocontrol
Major Pests
Integrated Crop Management
Protected Crops
Introduction
Crop Production and Biologicals
Pest Monitoring
The Challenges of Biological Control
Integrated Crop Management

Biology of some common target pests with their damage symptoms
Introduction
Common pest species
Slugs and snails
Spider Mites
Woodlice
Millipedes
Leaf Hoppers, Psyllids, Whitefly, Aphids, Scale Insects, and Mealybugs
Leafhoppers
Psyllids
Whiteflies
Aphids
Scale Insects
Mealybugs
Thrips
Lepidoptera
Caterpillars (of Moths and Butterflies)
Flies
Leaf Miners
Sciarids
Shore Flies
Beetles
Weevils

Arthropod biological control agents
Introduction
Spiders
Predatory Mites
Centipedes
Insects including dragonflies, earwigs, pond skaters, predatory bugs, predatory thrips, lacewings, ladybird beetles, ground beetles, parasitoid and predatory flies, and wasps,

Beneficial pathogens
Introduction
Viruses
Bacteria
Fungi
Nematodes

Biological control in perspective, Dr. Mike Copland
Classical Biological Control—Foreign Plants
Classical Biological Control—Foreign Pests
Foreign Predators That Might Do Harm
Animal Groups
Nematodes
Mites
Mechanisms Involved
Pollination and Seed Dispersal
Sugars That Fuel Animal Activity
The Combination of Sucking Insects and Ants
Development of Resistance to Pesticides and Pollination Drives the Need for Biological Control
Regulation of Biological Control
Microorganisms
Bacteria
Bacterial Diseases of Plants
Bacterial Diseases of Insects
Fungi
Viruses
Natural Plant Resistance Mechanisms
Resistance Mechanisms
The Future of Biological Control

Glossary
References
Further reading
Useful websites

Customer Reviews

Biography

Neil Helyer joined the Glasshouse Crops Research Institute as an entomologist in 1976. He joined Fargro Ltd. as their Integrated Pest Management Specialist in 1995. Currently, Neil visits horticulturalists to develop and monitor IPM programs, the majority of which are specifically designed for each site and crop. These include protected salad crops, soft fruit, ornamentals, and hardy nursery stock, as well as botanic gardens (RBG Kew, RHS Wisley, etc.) and interior plant landscapes. Neil holds a BASIS certificate and ensures that his technical information base is kept up to date by being a member of the BASIS Professional Register.

Nigel Cattlin joined ICI’s Plant Protection Division at Jealott’s Hill Research Station in 1963. He later formed and led its photographic unit, carrying out research projects with high-speed, time-lapse, and aerial photography. In 1981 Nigel established Holt Studios, an independent company providing a specialist photographic service to the agricultural industry, government organizations, and publishers. This resource is widely used for text and reference books, trade and consumer magazines, and advertising. Holt Studios’ main business was transferred to another agency in 2005, but Nigel continues to take photographs in his specialized fields of interest.

Dr. Kevin Brown joined the Sittingbourne Laboratory of Shell Research Ltd. in 1986 as an ecotoxicologist. He was a founding member of the Beneficial Arthropod Testing Group (BART) in 1988 and is an author of many of the current regulatory ring-tested methods for nontarget arthropods. In 1989 he established Ecotox Limited, a contract testing facility. He now works as an independent ecotoxicologist and environmental consultant conducting and refining risk assessments, monitoring higher tier studies on behalf of clients, and participating in multifacility research projects.