New Horizons in Insect Science Towards Sustainable Pest Management

239

Glimpses of Semiochemical

Research Applications in Indian

Horticulture: Present Status and

Future Perspectives

Kamala Jayanthi PD, Ravindra Mahadappa Aurade, Vivek

Kempraj, A. K. Chakravarthy and Abraham Verghese

A. K. Chakravarthy (ed.), New Horizons in Insect Science: Towards Sustainable Pest Management,
DOI 10.1007/978-81-322-2089-3_22, © Springer India 2015

Kamala Jayanthi PD () · R. Mahadappa Aurade ·
V. Kempraj
Division of Entomology and Nematology,
Indian Institute of Horticultural Research, Hesseraghatta
Lake P O, Bangalore 560089, Karnataka, India
e-mail: [email protected]

A. K. Chakravarthy
Department of Agricultural Entomology, Gandhi Krishi
Vignan Kendra (GKVK), University of Agricultural
Sciences, Bangalore 560065, Karnataka, India

A. Verghese
National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects,
P. Bag No. 2491, H A Farm Post, Bellary Road,
Bangalore 560024, Karnataka, India

Abstract

Pests of horticulture importance are evolving rapidly with changing cli-

matic conditions, intensive farming practices, and constant selection pres-

sures exerted through insecticides. With worldwide interest in environ-

mental protection, chemical insecticides have become objects of scientific

and popular protest. Critics charge chemical insecticides of their danger

in provoking the development of resistant strains of pests, sabotaging

ecological systems, and poisoning the environment. These liabilities of

chemical insecticides have paved way to nonchemical methods, which use

natural processes and mechanisms against insect pests. Of several natural

processes available for exploitation of management of insect pests, semio-

chemicals are less exploited inspite of their ability in making integrated

pest management (IPM) programs sustainable in the long run. The past,

present, and future of integrating these viable alternatives with IPM pro-

grams against horticultural insect pests in India is discussed.

Keywords

Horticulture · Intensive farming · IPM · Semiochemicals

Introduction

“Certainly insects cannot think, but they can

react”—Chemical cues (= semiochemicals/info-

chemicals) are used by insects to interact with

their environment for survival and reproduc-

tion. This reliance of insects on chemical cues

offers a number of opportunities for their con-

trol (Bruce 2010 ). Recently, semiochemicals are

being increasingly used as important components