Erika Ruth R.

Labis BSA-Agronomy

Principles in Crop Protection

1. Define Pests
 A general term for organisms (rats, insects, etc.) which may cause illness or
damage or consume food crops and other materials important to humans.

2. Categories of Pests
 Regular pests: Occurring more frequently on a crop having close

association with the crop. (eg) Brinjal shoot and fruit borer.

 Occasional pests: Occurring infrequently with no close association with a

particular crop (eg) Snake gourd semilooper.

 Seasonal pests: Occurring during a particular part of the year. (eg) Red

Hariy Caterpillar (RHC) in groundnut.

 Pesistent pests: Occurring on a crop almost throughout the year (eg) thrips

on chillies.

 Sporadic pests: Occurring in a few isolated localities (eg) coconut slug

caterpillar.

 Epidemic pests: Occurring in severe form in a region or locality at a

particular season (eg) RHC in groundnut in Bhavan Taluk.

 Endemic pests: Occurring regularly and confined to a particular area or

locality (eg) rice gall midge in Madurai dist.

3. Economic importance of pests

 Insects are important for pollinating crops that we eat, as a food source in
some countries, and for decomposing dead material to recycle nutrients.
Insects are also important due to the harm they can do to humans. Some
insects spread disease, while others can cause chaos on our food supply.

4. In your own opinion, how do we solve the lack of food supply here in our
country
 To solve the lack of food supply we must reduce food waste because wasting
food was never a solution. Also Close the yield gap because most of our
farming lands are drained of their natural fertility levels and cannot produce
as much as years ago.