Problem
Insect pests of plants
Experimental visualization of narrower problems
Nature:
Practically all of the crops grown by man have important insect pests. Insects inflict damage on plants by their feeding and reproductive activities.
Incidence:
No figures exist for the global damage inflicted on crops by insects but it has been estimated that, for the USA, insects cause an annual loss to crops of about $2 billion, nearly 5% of the potential production. Insects can damage crops directly, or indirectly as vectors of disease. The direct damage can also provide an avenue for bacterial or fungal infection. Examples are the mealy bug and the green spider mite. In the 1970s, these two South American insects were accidentally carried into Zaire and Uganda. Since then they have eaten their way across Africa, destroying up to two-thirds of the cassava crop in some places. To the African, cassava is vital; some 200 million people eat the cassava's large leaves and use its tuberous roots for flour, bread, tapioca, and even alcohol. Without it, the people starve.
Broader Problems:
Insect pestsPests of plantsPests and diseases of trees Narrower Problems:
Bee pestsWater fleaBorer insectsBeet leaf minerPsyllids as pestsTermites as pestsCrickets as pestsDefoliating insectsFruit flies as pestsBeetles as insect pestsHomoptera as insect pestsHemiptera as insect pestsDermaptera as insect pestsThysanoptera as insect pestsInsect vectors of viral diseases of plants Related Problems:
Plant pestsRodents as pestsFlies as insect pestsInsect damage to stored and manufactured goods Aggravates:
Plant diseases Reduced By:
Birds as pestsReferences:
Annecke, D P and Moran, V C: Insects and Mites of Cultivated Plants in South AfricaCroft, B A and Hoyt, S C: Integrated Management of Insect Pests of Pome and Stone FruitMartineau, R: Insects Harmful to Forest Trees Subject(s):
Invertebrates → InsectsPlant Life → Plants
Societal Problems → Pests
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
04.10.2020 – 22:48 CEST