© Springer International Publishing AG 2016 143
M. Farooq, K.H.M. Siddique (eds.), Innovations in Dryland Agriculture,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-47928-6_6
Insect-Pests in Dryland Agriculture and their
Integrated Management
Ahmad Nawaz, Muhammad Dildar Gogi, and Muhammad Sufyan
1 Introduction
Insects are most adaptable to any condition and form of life. They constitute three-
quarters of all the animals and are considered the most diverse of all living species
on Earth. Apart from their natural oceanic habitat, they are found in deserts, moun-
tains and also even in very harsh locations such as pools of crude petroleum (Imms
1964 ). Insects can have direct positive impacts on humans and the environment as
predators or parasitoids of harmful pests, pollinators, decomposers or producers
(honey or silk). However, only 1 % of all insects is considered pests (Vega and Kaya
2012 ) and is known to cause damage to crop plants, stored products and buildings,
or act as vectors for animal and plant diseases, etc. About one-fifth of the world’s
total crop production is lost due to herbivorous insects. Several control measures
have been developed to minimize the damage caused by insect pests, but the prob-
lem still prevails in several agroecosystems. One reason for this failure is the ability
of insect pests to evolve new biotypes. They can, thus, adapt to overcome the effect
of pesticides or bypass plant resistance, for instance, which further confounds the
problem (Roush and McKenzie 1987 ).
In addition to the water and soil problems in dryland areas, insect pests pose a
considerable threat to dryland cropping systems and production. Researchers esti-
mate that food crops produced in the arid and semi-arid tropics are adversely
A. Nawaz (*) • M.D. Gogi
Integrated Pest Management Laboratory, Department of Entomology, University of
Agriculture, Faisalabad, Pakistan
e-mail: [email protected]
M. Sufyan
Biological Control Laboratory, Department of Entomology, University of Agriculture,
Faisalabad, Pakistan