Biointensive Integrated Pest Management (BIPM) Approaches in Orchards

Introduction

Insect pests are a persistent challenge to the cultivation of horticulture crops. They are to blame for the majority of yield losses caused by direct feeding injury and/or disease vectored thrust by viruses, fungi and bacteria. New pests, including the mango stone weevil, have revealed their severity in mango. Previously minor pests such as shoot gall maker and Anar butterfly, Deudorix isocrates are increasingly becoming a frequent concern in aonla, whereas the severity of fruit flies has worsened.

In order to control these pests, farmers experimented both cultural and mechanical techniques. Gradually, these tactics became a component of their approaches to manage pests. On the other hand, the utilization of predator ants, Oecophylla smaragdina F., is the first known example of biological control to suppress foliage feeding insects which was developed by the Chinese citrus growers in citrus Orchards. They employed bamboo stems to make it easier for ants to move between citrus trees (DeBach, 1964). Until approximately 2500 years ago, Chemical control was not used. However, from the late 1800 through the 1940, management practises began to shift, with the application of soaps, resins, oils and plant-derived products. Pesticides viz., Dichloro Diphenyl Trichloroethane (DDT) (insecticide), ferbam (fungicide) and 2, 4-D (herbicide) were developed in early 20^th century, heralded the start of the chemical era (Arneson and Losey, 1997). They became more popular in the 1940 to 1950 as a way to reduce crop pests and increase agricultural production. The negative consequences of these detrimental pesticides on flora and fauna, social hygiene and habitat were finally discovered in the year 1962 by Rachel Carson published the book Silent Spring.

Overuse of synthetic agrochemicals in plant protection strategy across the globe has created environmental disruption, contamination of water bodies, insect resurgence, pesticide resistance, and lethal and sublethal impacts upon non-target species, encompassing mankind (Mullen, 1995). Such adverse outcomes have sparked great global awareness regarding pesticide safety and frequent use. Simultaneously, rising population places ever-increasing demands on ‘ecosystem services,' viz., the supply of clean air, freshwater and animal domain for a plantation terrain. Reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides in support of environmental enhancements is a desirable approach for farmers in light of this anticipated future. In addition to habitat loss, pesticides also lead to a decline in biodiversity of flora and fauna in an agroecosystem (Simon et al., 2011). Reduced pesticide use is therefore vital for the adoption of sustainable farming practices, particularly in orchard ecosystems that heavily rely on pesticides. Moreover, orchards are one of the most heavily sprayed agroecosystems in temperate climates to reduce insect and disease infestation and yield fruits that are free of visual defects to meet international commercial quality standards. Recently, consumer perceptions of fruits as fresh quality and healthy food have shifted as a result of knowledge on toxic residues of pesticides on fruits, leading to the development on zero residue strategies in various countries (Suárez-Jacoboet al., 2017; Mebdoua, 2018; Tari et al., 2020;). In a shifting regulatory context, meeting public demand for ecofriendly techniques and healthier fruits, as well as maintaining pests and diseases under economic threshold levels to retain cultivator’s revenue is a huge challenge.