Biotechnological Approaches for Pest Management and Ecological Sustainability

Due to increasing problems occurring from massive applications of pesticides, such as insect resistance to pesticides, the use of biotechnological tools to minimize losses from insect pests has become inevitable. Presenting alternative strategies for alleviating biotic stresses, Biotechnological Approaches for Pest Management and Ecological Sustainability explores how the modern tools of biotechnology can be used in pest management for sustainable crop production, the biosafety of transgenic crops, and environmental conservation. This comprehensive work covers a gamut of issues ranging from host plant resistance to insect pests to the application of molecular approaches for pest management. It discusses phenotyping transgenic plants, mapping populations for insect resistance, physico-chemical and molecular markers associated with insect resistance, the potential of insect-resistant transgenic crops for pest management, and the use of biotechnological tools for diagnosing insects and monitoring insect resistance to insecticides. The author examines how genetic engineering can be used to produce robust natural enemies and more virulent strains of entomopathogenic microbes. He also studies issues related to gene flow, resistance to transgenes and selection markers, the biosafety of food derived from genetically engineered plants, and the potential application of molecular tools for solving some of the intricate pest problems in the future. Focusing on how to make the development and deployment of biotechnology-derived products for pest management safe and cost-effective, this book will enable readers to make informed decisions on genetically engineered organisms for pest management and sustainable crop production.