Ecological engineering for pest management – advances in habitat manipulation for arthropods Edited by Geoff M. Gurr, Steve D. Wratten and Miguel A. Altieri ISBN 0 643 09022 3, published in 2004 by CSIRO publishing, 232 pages, b/w, hard cover, index Price $A145.00 plus $A11 postage within Australia, overseas postage please request a quote

Integrated pest management is the combination of many forms of pest control into one system that provides a more effective and sustainable outcome than any one technique alone. This book adds another string to the IPM bow. Farm habitats can be manipulated to make them less attractive for pests and more attractive for beneficial organisms and ecological modification of such habitats could well be safer and more sustainable than more technological based approaches such as genetic engineering.

Table of contents

• Preface
• Contributors
• Chapter 1. Ecological engineering, habitat manipulation and pest management.
• Chapter 2. Genetic engineering and ecological engineering: a clash of paradigms or scope for synergy?
• Chapter 3. The agroecological bases of ecological engineering for pest management.
• Chapter 4. The landscape context of arthropod biological control.
• Chapter 5.Use of behavioural and life-history studies to understand the effects of habitat manipulation.
• Chapter 6. Molecular techniques and habitat manipulation approaches for parasitoid conservation in annual cropping systems.
• Chapter 7. Marking and tracking techniques for insect predators and parasitoids in ecological engineering.
• Chapter 8. Precision agriculture approaches in support of ecological engineering for pest management.
• Chapter 9. Effects of agroforestry systems on the ecology and management of insect pest populations.
• Chapter 10. The ‘push-pull’ strategy for stemborer management: a case study in exploiting biodiversity and chemical ecology.
• Chapter 11. Use of sown wildflower strips to enhance natural enemies of agricultural pests.
• Chapter 12. Habitat manipulation for insect pest management in cotton cropping systems.
• Chapter 13. Pest management and wildlife conservation: compatible goals for ecological engineering?
• Chapter 14. Ecological engineering for enhanced pest management: towards a rigorous science.
• Index

Over 40% of the world’s food production is being lost to pests and diseases despite the application of billions of kilograms of pesticides. Part of the reason is consumer demand in developed nations for ‘pristine’ products that can only be produced with the use of large amounts of pesticide, another part is the broad acre/monoculture farming practices that favour pests and diseases necessitating the use of large quantities of agrochemicals. This book explores the possibilities of using ecological approaches to reduce crop losses and at the same time reduce the inputs of agrochemicals.

This book has a truly international flavour with contributions from 27 authors from eight countries on four continents. Chapters explore ecological engineering technologies ranging from molecular approaches to marking and remote sensing technologies as well as reviewing the theory of how ecological engineering may interact with genetic engineering. This book will raise awareness of the need to development ecologically sound and sustainable methodology for pest management. In a world where climate change alone will alter many of our ecological processes a better understanding of the ecology of pest control and the removal of reliance on one technology alone is essential for the sustainable development of future crop production systems.

This book is essential reading for everyone involved in the development and implementation of insect control technologies in agriculture.