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PEST AND PEST MANAGEMENT IN
MEDICINAL PLANTS
Pest :- An unwanted species of plant or animal is called a pest. Pesticides :- Chemicals obtained from both natural and synthetic sources, pesticides work against pests at low quantities.
- Types of pests
- Fungi
- Virus
- Weeds
- Instects
- Non insect pest (rodents)
- Viruses and Fungi: Examples: Ascochyta atropae is the cause of leaf necrosis. Leaf spot disease is caused by Cercospora atropae.
- Insects :- Agrotis species: Odontotermes obseles, Heliothis armigera Aphids, termites, weevil, hessian fly, empoasca cutworms, catterpillars, flea beetles, and spiders, mites, pyrilla, and so forth.
- Techniques for controlling insects include tilling the soil, which impacts ant nesting places and helps lower ant populations, collecting and destroying insect eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults, catching insects, and using insecticides.
- Weeds: A weed is an unwanted plant that may cause damage more so than any other illness or bug. - They lead the farmed plants to become depleted and lacking in nutrients, water, light, and space. •They also lower the quality of farmed plants and raise labour and equipment costs. •Parthenium, ragweed, Medican tea, Varnish tree, and other plants are examples of weeds.
- Non insect pests :- They are classified as either vertebrates or invertebrates. •Among the vertebrates that cause disturbance to plants are birds, squirrels, rodents, monkeys, and so on. •Among the non-vertebrates are web-spinning spider mites (Tetranychuspacificus). •Yellow patches and leaf discolouration are caused by (Eotetranychus willamettei) (Tetrany-chus urticae). •The invertebrates known as nematodes (Meloidogyne incognita, Xiphinema americanutri, and Criconemella xenoplax) cause large cell development, disrupt the intake of nutrients and water, and impede plant growth. Other invertebrates that cause problems for plants include crabs and snails.
2. AGRICULTURAL METHOD :-
•A deep plough is used in agricultural control to remove weeds and early stages of insects. •Crop rotation ought to be applied to the site where a certain plant is grown if it is discovered that insects prefer it as a primary food source. •Changing the environment is another way to give insects food, although this can frequently result in obstacles to their life cycle. •A large portion of this goal is achieved by proper drainage. •It discusses cutting-edge methods for breeding plants that can cause genetic modifications that produce pest-resistant varieties, •It has had great success creating hybrid types that can withstand Bacterial and fungal invasion, in contrast to insects’ patchy success. •There are now systemic pesticides that are absorbed through the roots and reach the leaves, rendering the entire foliage part repulsive to insects. 3.BIOLOGICAL METHOD :- •Utilising other living things, this approach fights pests, primarily insects. The latter is often the shape of the parasite. •This approach could prove to be a cost-effective, secure, and efficient way to manage pests if it is well planned.
Certain female insects secrete and generate chemicals that can cause the other sex to become sexually attracted to them. This behaviour could be appropriately used to reduce pests biologically. We refer to these chemicals as sex pheromones. •For example, 7, 8 epoxy, 2 methyloctadecane, gypsy moth •The successful use of screw worms in an experiment conducted in the United States of America is noteworthy. •Numerous male insects raised in laboratories are sterilised by exposing them to radiation at a dose that doesn’t interfere with their other physiological functions. •These irradiated insects are released into the wild in sufficient numbers to compete with local normal males for the opportunity to mate with virgin females. •Ineffective mating and a severe drop in progeny are the results of this. •Using the Australian lady beetle, also known as the “lady bug,” to feed on the destructive cottony cushion scale insect on citrus crops is one type of biological control. •For rats, use rat terriers; for bug pests, use a variety of birds. •The larger, more dangerous insects are frequently eliminated when some types of flies and wasps hatch their eggs. 4.CHEMICAL CONTROL:- •Chemical pesticides—which include herbicides, insecticides, fungicides, and rodenticides—are used to manage pests.
References :-
1. Textbook of Pharmacognosy & Phytochemistry by Biren Shah , A.K.Seth. 2. Text book of Pharmacognosy by C.K. Kokate, Purohit, Gokhlae (2007), 37 th Edition, Nirali Prakashan, New Delhi.
