Chapter 19 - Entomopathogenic nematode in national development through enhancing the socio-economic condition of Indian farmers

Abstract

India has an agrarian economy, where 1012.4 million are dependent on agricultural commodities from 124.07 million hectares cropped area cultivated by 110.7 million producers and contributed 17%–18% to country’s GDP. Over 85% of rural households depend on agriculture as their principal means of livelihood. Most of the agroproducts are damaged by pests. Farmers together with fertilizers have pesticides as a tool to control pests during the growing season of crops. In India, estimated crop losses due to the pest are worth of ₹6000 crores annually in which Insects contributing ~20%. Problem can easily be assessed viz. Helicoverpa armigera alone losses to the tune of ₹1000 crore in crops like cotton, tomato, pigeon pea, groundnut, sorghum, pearl, millet, and other crops of economic importance. It has been estimated that about ₹1200 crore worth of pesticides were used in India to control the bollworm complex of cotton. The degree of the problem is accelerating and requires a better control program in an environmentally safe manner. To reduce crop losses, tons of pesticides are being used by the farmers. The crop damage is caused highest by insects, followed by pathogens and weeds. Consequently, the use of chemical pesticides in agriculture has been an integral part of crop production in many regions, often at very high levels and unscientific pattern of application. The use-intensity has been found highest in Jammu and Kashmir, followed by Punjab and Haryana. To minimize the use of pesticides, it is required to find out such control measures that could reduce not only the application of huge quantity of the pesticides but also could be ecofriendly. Two of the prominent nemic genera, that is, Steinernema and Heterorhabditis having interaction with insects and are considered globally as highly pathogenic to insects. Such nematodes are termed as Entomopathogenic nematodes (EPN) which can be used as biopesticide against the insect pests.