1st Edition

Crop Protection From Agrochemistry to Agroecology

By Jean-Philippe Deguine Copyright 2009

    This book is a synthesis and a celebration of a large body of agro-ecological research carried out on the management of the pests of cotton, one of the worlds major crops and one which has historically been a very heavy consumer of inputs of pesticides. It demonstrates how agro-ecological approaches to pest management are at last approaching the mainstream, with an increasing recognition that farmland delivers a wide range of ecosystem services (natures goods and services), including but certainly not solely comprising the production of food.

    THE NEW ISSUES IN CROP PROTECTIONReducing harvest losses still further; Learning the lessons of the first Green Revolution; Advancing the concept of rational crop protection; Ensuring the maintenance of biodiversity and the sustainable functioning of agro-ecosystems COTTON, A CASE STUDYCotton and Its cultivation; Insects and weeds, major constraints to cotton production; Sensitivity to pests and damage and the compensation capacity of cotton STEPPING OFF THE PESTICIDE TREADMILLSuccess and disillusionment, or the Need for Know-how; Towards supervised chemical control; Management of the phenomenon of resistance to pesticides; Crop protection at the crossroads THE CONCEPT OF INTEGRATED CONTROLControl, suppression, eradication, management or protection?; eradication of cotton pests; Considerations for IPM in cotton cultivation HARMONISING CONTROL METHODS: MIRAGE AND REALITYOptimising varietal selection and transforming living organisms; Foreseeing the development of resistance; Exploiting natural plant defences and promoting biological control ECOLOGICAL BASES OF THE MANAGEMENT OF POPULATIONS Think globally, act locally; Combining productivity and the provision of ecological services; Towards agroecological management of communities HABITAT MANAGEMENT: THE FACTOR UNITING AGRONOMY AND ECOLOGYAgronomic and agroecological innovations in cotton production; Controlling outbreaks by planning of agrarian structures and managing plant biodiversity

    Biography

    Jean-Philippe Deguine