Chapter six - Transgenic technologies for efficient insect pest management in crop plants

Abstract

Insect and pests impose significant yield losses in crops despite the use of pesticidal and nonchemical controls. These increasing yield losses have provided impetus for the development of new management strategies against various pests. In this regard, transgenic technologies have revolutionized agriculture remarkably with the development of pest-resistant crops that have been outstanding in terms of crop productivity and highly advantageous to the farming community worldwide. With the passage of time, these technologies have enabled the scientists to modify and manipulate crop plants and to provide new solutions to solve conventional barriers for the improvement of economic traits of crops. The advancements in cell biology to regenerate plants from single cells or organized tissues provide prerequisite for the practical use of genetic engineering in crops improvement. The use of insect-resistant endotoxins from Bacillus thuringiensis in commercialized crops has resulted in increased crop yield since their introduction. The plant chloroplastic genome has also been engineered to encode resistance against insects pests. Several transgenic approaches have been employed to enhance resistance in plants against plant parasitic nematode as well. More recently, new and robust genetic engineering techniques like RNAi and Crispr-Cas9 have also proved their usefulness as a potential strategy in crop improvement for the control of pests. This chapter provides comprehensive insights and discussion of use of modern transgenic technologies in today’s agriculture and integration to efficient integrated pest management.