Plant parasite control and soil fauna diversity.
The use of pesticides to control plant parasites and diseases has generated serious problems of public health and environmental quality, leading to the promotion of alternative Integrated Pest Management strategies that tend to rely more on natural processes and the active participation of farmers as observers and experimenters in their own fields. We present three case studies that point at different options provided by locally available populations of soil organisms, the maintenance of diverse populations of pests or increased resistance of plants to pest attacks by their interactions with earthworms and other useful soil organisms. These examples demonstrate the diversity of options offered by the non-planned agro-ecosystem diversity in pest control and the need to identify management options that maintain this biodiversity.
Lavelle
Patrick
P
Laboratoire d'écologie des sols tropicaux, UMR 137 BIOSOL, Centre IRD, 32, rue Henri-Varagnat, 93143 Bondy cedex, France. Patrick.Lavelle@bondy.ird.fr
Blouin
Manuel
M
Boyer
Johnny
J
Cadet
Patrice
P
Laffray
Daniel
D
Pham-Thi
Anh-Thu
AT
Reversat
Georges
G
Settle
William
W
Zuily
Yasmine
Y
D000818:Animals; D044822:Biodiversity; D009348:Nematoda; D010575:Pesticides; D010944:Plants / Q000469:parasitology*; D012987:Soil / Q000469:parasitology*
D010575:Pesticides; D012987:Soil