Integrating ecological principles for resistance to insect pests of rice
2003
Cheng, J. | Lou, Y. | Zhu, Z. | Jiang, M. | Zhao, W.
Plant resistance to insect pests is traditionally defined as the property that enables a plant to avoid, tolerate, or recover from injury by insect populations that would cause greater damage to other plants of the same species under similar environmental conditions. According to modern ecological theory, insect pest control should be the management of the arthropod community in the cropping system. Therefore, the understanding of plant resistance to insect pests has to be expanded and more biotic and abiotic factors in the cropping system, which mediate plant resistance, have to be taken into account. In this paper, some results from field investigations and lab experiments are presented to show the phenomena related to plant resistance and pest control, which were mediated by biological components in the rice ecosystem. For example, secondary insect pests might be caused by a variety resistant to major pests, a herbivore's response to plant resistance would be mediated by mutualism between herbivores, and natural biological control could be enhanced by the plant variety. All these phenomena indicate that the main biological components in a rice cropping system interact through food and information chains and a program of plant resistance to insect pests should be evaluated at the level of the arthropod community. Approaches to integrate ecological principles for insect pest control are discussed.
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