An ICT Based e-pest Mapping, Surveillance, Management Technique Versus Traditional System – a Comparative Study for Efficient Management of Crop-Agro Ecosystems

Abstract

Modern pest management cannot operate without accurate estimates of pest andnatural enemies population densities in the fields. To meet this requirement, an ecologically and ecnomically sound strategy for pest management which was based upon 3-pest mapping and e-pest surveillance technique was conceptualized, developed and studied. It was compared with traditional pest surveillance and management system as practiced in the developing countries like India. The e-pest mapping of paddy, cotton (using historical pest data) and soybean (current season pest data) were done. The temporal assessment of pest scenario can be depicted through the maps. The district wise index map of India was also preared. When different parameters viz., information on pests’ populations build up, quantification of plant protection inputs required, grao-ecosystem planning, pest advisouries, Plant protection inputs performance, various other parameters and impact analysis strategies were compared, the new Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based e-pest surveillance cum mappimg was found far superior over the traditional pest surveillance and management system.