Modern Technologies for Pest Control

Article: Burton Keakile

Pests are organisms which can damage the crops and compete with them. They cause decrease in the plant density, stunted growth of plant, a lower production capacity, and lessen the yield or nature of horticultural products. Several techniques for crop protection were developed to prevent and minimize the loss of crops due to pests in the field (pre-harvest losses) and during storage (postharvest losses). Crop protection involves products, tools, and practices which can be used by farmers to protect their harvest against insects, disease, and weeds.

There are new methods of pest control being used. Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are synthetic insect hormones, which can be used as insecticides to regulate the populations of harmful insect pests. IGRs prevent an insect from reaching maturity by interfering with the molting process. Many IGR products are mixed with other insecticides that kill adult insects. IGRs are generally less toxic to humans.

Since last few years, the major focus surrounding green products has been from a public health perspective. The demand of green products is increasing and shifting to eco-protection. Nowadays, second-generation green products are emerging. These second-generation green products will have better ingredients, greater efficacy, and less disadvantages. For example, a first-generation insecticide containing plant essential oils may have an unpleasant smell. In contrast to this, the second-generation insecticide contains different amounts of the original ingredients or other materials, which reduces the smell, while it is still being effective.

Biologically based pesticide products or bio-rational products contain pheromones (a chemical substance released by an animal into the environment, particularly an insect or a mammal, affecting the physiology or behavior of its other species) or living microorganisms, which have little negative impact on the environment and are nontoxic. These types of bio-rational pesticides can be used in the place of competitive chemical products, which are banned in export markets where the concerns about food residue are high, and in environmentally sensitive areas.

New methods of pest control are based on low-toxic solutions that can be more sustainable and effective than harsh chemicals; one such method is to use heat to eliminate insects. Endotherm is a new solution that eradicates bedbugs and cockroaches. Rather than using sprays, which often do not penetrate the hard outer shell, the heat delivered by the Endotherm system kills insects from the inside through dehydration and damage to essential physiological processes. Another benefit is that the heat effectively kills all the life stages of insects—egg, larva, pupa, and adult, without needing to go over 56–60°C, which is high enough to kill the pests rapidly. FMB