Insect pheromones and its applications in management of pest population

Abstract

Insects are the members of largest phylum Arthropoda which comprise of numerous unique species. Numbers of species of insects pose threat to the modern agricultural system as pest and destroy crops and food products at different stages. To protect the crops from these pest species, modern agricultural practices involve a parallel evolving market of pesticides which are highly toxic and environmentally unsustainable. Broad-spectrum pesticides kill beneficial insect species along with the damaging pest species. Traces of these pesticide residues in soil and food produce have been reported to alter the soil macro- and mesofauna causing reduction of nutrient mobilization through mineralization processes. Moreover, increased use of chemical pesticide has been reported to cause gradual decrease in the food production recently. Extensive research in this field has given birth to the concept of integrated pest management based on the principle that pest population needs to be managed below their economic injury level and not to be eliminated. The most important requirement in this aspect is to understand the behavior of insect pest species and to identify the hormones that regulate the behaviors of these insects at different stages of their life cycle. At present, a huge number of pheromones have been identified in various insect species and their mechanism of action in modulating insect behaviors is being studied extensively. Though implications of insect pheromone in managing pest population are in its infancy, the potentialities of the pheromones in pest management have already been demonstrated by a number of researcher across the world in various agricultural systems. The present chapter attempts to delineate the details of insect pheromones and further elaborate the present status of their implications in management of pest population in different agricultural systems.