V. Integrated Pest Manag Techniques and Resource
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v. Integrated pest manag techniques and resource Cotton growers generally rely on chemical treatments to control serious infestations by a wide range of pests, as immediate visible results can be obtained. There are many risks associated with repeated pesticide treatments, e.g. upsetting the established insect fauna balance, development of pesticide resistance, possibility of intoxicating farmers, and environmental pollution. For several years, CIRAD entomologists have been conducting studies in cotton fields with the aim of limiting pesticide use through development of an integrated approach to pest management involving various control techniques. Harvest debris in a cotton field. Photo CIRAD-UREA otton crops are threatened by Chemical pest control is still essential a very wide range of pests, in many agrosystems. Nevertheless, to reduce the dependence on pesti- C with a list of more than 70 cides for crop protection, adapted arthropod pest species — mainly cropping techniques, plant varieties homopterans (jassids, aphids and with insect-tolerant traits, entomo- whiteflies), heteropterans (bugs and phagous insects, entomopathogenic minds), lepidopterans (leaf- and boll- agents and chemical mediators eating worms) and coleopterans, as should be taken into serious conside- well as mites (Tarsonemidae and ration. Tetranychidae), diplopods and M. VAISSAYRE, J. CAUQUIL, P. SILVIE nematodes (Table 1). In tropical This review mainly focuses on CIRAD-CA BP 5035 Africa, there can be losses of 30% to CIRAD projects under way in tropical 3 4 0 3 2 Montpellier Cedex 1, 100% of the crop yield potential due Africa, as well as Latin America and _______________________ Frcmce t o in f e s t a t i o n s of th e s e pest s. Southeast Asia. Agriculture et développement ■ SpeCtQÜ/Issitó - November 1997 ement s A larval Asopinae insect preying on a Spodoptera littoralis worm. Photo CIRAD-UREA Cultural practices Intercropping Fertilization In some countries, hardy cotton spe- A few studies have highlighted that This involves all crop management cies (often Cossypium arboreum L.) interactions between fertilization and practices: sowing, intercropping, are intercropped with other annual or crop protection techniques can be planting density, weeding, monito- perennial crops in traditional cotton complementary, i.e. crop protection ring plant growth and fertilization. cropping systems. This practice has programmes adapted to the crop continued with the introduction potential have to be set up to enhan- of G. hirsutum L., especially ce the cost-effectiveness of fertilizer in Southeast Asia (CROZAT Plant and pest life cycles inputs (JOLY, 1980; CRETENET & et ai, 1997). Although there have not VAISSAYRE, 1986; EKUKOLE, 1992). Cotton growth and development been many investigations on the pest cycles should be monitored in terms control impact, it seems that inter- of the dynamics of the pest popula- cropping various crop species with tion present. In addition, the flowe- cotton can alter the population dyna- Destruction of harvest ring period, factors prompting the mics of some pests (i.e. favouring debris fall of flowering and fruiting organs, insects, or attracting them away from and the plants' compensation poten- cotton plants), or boost beneficial The traditional practice of destroying tial should be generally understood insect populations (NIBOUCHE, harvest debris can be very efficient when making treatment decisions. 1995; SOGNIGBE, 1989). when there is a well-defined interval between crop seasons. Pests adapt to In the African areas studied, plants the absence of their host plants by sown early generally yielded the Weed control undergoing diapause or migrating to most cotton because of the favou- other hosts or sites. The reduced rable climatic conditions. However, DEGUINE (1995) began an inventory number of host plants during the dry another type of crop is planted at the of refuges of beneficiais for control- season or the cold season reduces the beginning of the crop season, to ling A. gossypii populations in nor- survival potential for species that thern Cameroon. Although weeds avoid cotton pest attacks. cannot easily migrate. can shelter pest populations in crop- In central Côte d'Ivoire, before the fields, they can also serve as a reser- Populations of monophagous or oli- advent of pyrethroids, farmers were voir of beneficial entomophagous gophagous insects that survive by thus advised to use the maize-cotton organisms which could, in some undergoing diapause, especially the crop sequence to control C. leuco- cases, be managed to the benefit of pink bollworm (P. gossypiella), can treta damage (ANGELINI, 1963). the cotton crop (PERRIN, 1 975). be reduced by carefully destroying Agriculture et développement ■ SpaciQÜ/Lssitó - Novem ber 1 997 Table 1. Inventory of insects referred to in the present article. harvest debris. This is done mechani- cally with a rotary cultivator or by feeding the green plant parts to live- Family Genus and species stock. Diapausing insects burrowed in the top soil layers can be efficient- Coleoptera Anthonomus grandis (Boheman) ly destroyed by ploughing. Any chry- Cheilomcnes sp. salides on the soil surface are gene- Exochomus sp. rally destroyed by the heat or Orthoptera Oecanthus sp. predators. Homoptera Amrasca spp. In Africa, cotton plants are also often Amrasca biguttula (Ishida) cut up and burned. It is essential to destroy all stems and regrowth. Aphis gossypii (Clover) Indeed, some pests (homopterans) Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) can propagate on regrowth, which Jacobiasca spp. can also shelter infectious agents Lepidoptera Alabama argillacea (Hübner) (viruses and phytoplasms). Amsacta meloneyi (Druce) Ratooning, which is sometimes carried out by growers who have a Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller) shortage of seed, can enhance the Anomis (Cosmophila) flava (Fabricius) possibility of pest propagation and Autographa californica (Speyer) infestations. Cryptophlebia leucotreta (Meyrick) Pests can also be disseminated Cryptophlebia peltastica (Meyrick) through seeds. It is important to strict- Diparopsis watersi (Rothschild) ly control seed being transported Diparopsis castanea (Hampson) from one ecological zone to another Earias insulana (Boisduval) — especially to avoid disseminating pink bollworms. Earias biplaga (Walker) Helicoverpa armigera (Hübner) Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) Heliothis virescens (Fabricius) Varietal characters Mamestra brassicae L. A plant's resistance to pests can be of Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders) morphological, biochemical or gene- Spodoptera littoralis (Boisduval) tically engineered (i.e. a variety Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) modified by introducing foreign plant Spodoptera exempta (Walker) genes). Spodoptera frugiperda (Smith) Spodoptera su nia (Guénée) Morphological characters - ' Syllepte derogata (Fabricius) Various morphological plant traits Hymenoptera Aphelinus albidopus (Hayat & Kausari) function as physical barriers to pests Brachymeria olethria (Waterson) or alter their development condi- Chelonus curvimaculatus (Cameron) tions. Encarsia lutea (Masi) Variations in leaf hairiness Eretmocerus mundus (Mundus) Leaf hairiness is the most commonly Gonozius sp. promoted morphological character. Microbracon kirpatricki (Wilkinson) Hairy leaves hamper the develop- Syrphophagus africanus (Gahan) ment of jassids, i.e. African Spodophagus lepidopterae (Delvare & Rasplus) (Jacobiasca spp.) and Asian (.A m r a s c a spp.) species. The efficien- Trichogramma brasiliensis cy of this trait depends on hair Trichogramma lutea (G irau It) implantation patterns, length, shape Fteteroptera Rhinocoris albopilosus (Signoret) and especially density (PARNELL et al., 1949). Leaf hairiness is detrimen- Mites Polyphagotarsonemus latus (Banks) tal to insects' feeding and oviposition Bacteria Bacillus thuringiensis behaviours. This can stall pest infes- Agriculture et développement ■ SpiClCLÊIssitó - November 1997 coto pest tvmaqmafc tations, which is a major advantage favour aphid development (DEGUI- during the vegetative stage of the cot- NE, 1995). According to WILSON ton plant. Cotton therefore does not (1986), under field cropping condi- have to be sprayed with pesticides, tions, this glabrous trait helps avoid and beneficial insects (which are cotton fibre contamination by plant highly active during this period) will debris, whereas the entomological consequently not be endangered. advantages are questionable. Conversely, it has been reported that Lamina glabrous leaves can hinder oviposi- The thickness, hardness and shape of tions of some lepidopterans, espe- the lamina — with "okra-type" laci- cially the Heliothis virescens/ niate leaves — could have a role in Heteroptera armigera complex pest resistance. Some varieties with (BHAT et al., 1986). This character is laciniate leaves are now being crop- Pectinophoro gossypiella also useful for avoiding whitefly out- ped on large cotton plantations, e.g. on a cotton flower. breaks (GERLING, 1990), but can cv Siokra in Australia and cv Sudae K Photo CIRAD-UREA in Sudan. These "okra-type" leaves enable high air circulation, thus drying out pest larvae (e.g. B. t a b a c i ) and enhancing pesticide penetration. DEGUINE (1 995) focused on the im pact of this character on /4. gossypii outbreaks but found that it is not very efficient. Moreover, weed growth is favoured with this type of leaf cover as a considerable amount of light reaches the ground. Bracts Atrophied or absent bracts, or those that are separated from the cotton boll ("frego" bracts),