Prevention and Control of Crop Pests

Prevention and Control of Pest:

Prevention of crop pest refers to the various steps taken to keep crops intact (when they are yet to be attacked by pests). They are therefore done to prevent pests from acting on crops and other agricultural produce.

The control of crop pest refers to the various actions taken by the farmer to minimize or stop the actions of pests (already acting) on agricultural produce.

Please read on the Agricultural Pests and the Crops they attack here.

Crop pests can be prevented and controlled through a variety of methods. These are:

1. Physical Control

This process involves the physical or mechanical removal of pest from an agricultural land via various techniques such as:

• Hand picking.
• Setting of traps to catch rats and rodents.
• Fencing the farmland.
• Use of guns to kill monkeys.
• Contaminating food with poisons to kill certain pest; for instance, rodents.

Please read on Agricultural Tools and their Uses here.

2. Biological Control

This method of pest control require the use of animals (or other organisms) that act as a natural enemy to pest. By nature, these animals enjoy eliminating pest. The animals used in biological control of pests typically act as a predator, parasitoid or pathogen to the appropriate pest.

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Below are some examples of the biological control of pests:

• Placing hen in a farmland to eat insects. The hen acts as a predator to various insects. (Crops planted on the farmland should not be a meal to the hen, for example, maize).
• Putting parasitic wasps on a farmland to infect aphids and their eggs. They also infect and kill caterpillar worms, clearwing moth larvae, elm leaf beetle, giant whitefly, mealybugs and lace bugs.
• The proliferation of the European rabbit (a pest in Australia) can be controlled by introduction of myxoma virus. The virus causes a disease termed myxomatosis to the rabbits, ultimately leading to their deaths.
  Please read on various Agricultural Terms and Meanings here.

Note: Any new method to be implemented in the biological control of pest must be carefully analysed and considered before they are released into the environment. This is done to prevent an attack on useful and other harmless organisms within the environment.

Please read on the Economic Importance of Crop Pests here.

3. Chemical Control

Chemical control of pest involves the use of toxic substances (chemicals) to eliminate pest within an environment. Such toxic substances or chemicals are generally referred to as pesticides. The pesticides can take different forms; (That is; they can exist in liquid, powdered, granular or gaseous forms).

Please read on Agricultural Pest and Crops Attacked here.

In summary, chemical control of pest involves the use of:

• Pesticides: A chemical generally used to kill pests.
• Insecticides: A chemical that kills insect.
• Fungicides: A chemical that kills fungi.
• Avicides: A chemical used for killing birds.
• Rodenticides: A chemical used for killing rodents.
• Nematicides: A chemical that kills nematode.

4. Cultural Control

Cultural control of pest is a method that requires the application of various farm practices to control pest. The application of these farm practices functions to interrupt the life cycle of the pest; thus significantly decreasing their proliferation on agricultural land.

You can read on Agricultural Land and its Uses here.

The various farm practices that interrupts the life cycle of pests include:

• Crop rotation
• Bush fallowing
• Regular weeding
• Use of disease resistant seeds
• Strategic planting dates
• Timely harvesting

Please read on the Differences between Plants and Crops here.