Ecologically safe methods of pest control in modern agricultural technologies

Abstract

The issue of agricultural crop protection against pests remains constantly relevant. Annual crop losses in the world are 18–20%, estimated at more than 470 billion US dollars because of the harmful effects of arthropods. Most part of the losses of the grown crop occurs under the field conditions before harvest and requires a number of measures to protect plants from pests. The chemical method of plant protection against pests continues to be used by most agricultural producers, which is confirmed by the positive dynamics of the pesticide market development in the world with an annual growth of 2.5–3%. Among the range of chemical plant protection products, sales of insecticides account for 25.3% of world sales. Despite the use of about 3 million tons of pesticides per year, the level of crop losses from harmful entomofauna remains significant. At the same time, deterioration of the phytosanitary condition of agroecosystems caused by a number of abiotic and biotic factors requires a qualitative estimation of the condition and determination of ways of complexes changing of pest organisms in agrobiocenoses and development of new innovative, environmentally safe measures to control their number. Alternative environmentally friendly methods of pest control which meets the principles of integrated plant protection and replacement of chemical insecticides with biological preparations or other environmentally safe methods in modern agrotechnologies for growing crops are increasingly used. This is evidenced by the positive dynamics in the development of the global market for biopesticides with a forecast of annual growth by 14.7%, which may reach $ 8.5 billion US dollars by 2025. 47% of preparations in the range of biopesticides by functional purpose on the world market are preparations against phytophagous insects. Effective control over the pest number in modern agrotechnologies is based on the use of biological control, microbial pesticides, chemical compounds produced by living organisms and can change pest behaviour, secondary metabolites of plants (eg, phenols and polyphenols, terpenoids, alkaloids), on formation of stable plant varieties and plant immunization, etc.