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 Printable version |
Cotton pest management: A textbook example |
Cahiers Agricultures. Volume 15, Number 1, 128-34, Janvier-Février 2006 - Le coton, des futurs à construire, Synthèse
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 Résumé
Article gratuit
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Author(s) : Pierre Ferron, Jean-Philippe Deguine, Joseph Ekorong à Mouté |
Summary : The size of the losses in cotton crop yields caused by pests and more particularly by insects necessitates protection against them. Traditional chemical treatment has led to ecological damage and economic and technological dead ends due mainly to the vicious circle of increased insecticide applications, appearance of resistant insect populations, and development of more expensive new insecticides. Over the past decade, the search for alternative solutions has led to the increasingly successful use of genetically modified varieties of cotton that express insect toxins. Simultaneously, measures should be taken to prevent development of resistance. These steps could reduce insecticide applications by approximately half for the same output. Use of good agronomic practices, such as focusing on strategic points in the pest life cycle rather than simply the pest at the level of the crop would help to develop a new kind of crop protection, inspired by agroecological principles. Preventing pest populations from reaching economically harmful levels and preserving the biological diversity of the agro-ecosystems through habitat management become the main objectives of a global strategy that is consistent with the principles of sustainable development and is implemented by new farming systems. Study of the development of these alternative methods of pest protection for cotton in the very diverse social and agronomic conditions in which they are used can help to adapt these new methods to other types of crops. |
Keywords : vegetal productions |
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