Plant Resistance to Insects in Major Field Crops

This edited book is a comprehensive collection of information on host plant resistance to insects in major field crops. The focus of the book is to make the audience aware of the latest developments in host plant resistance in major field crops and how it can be used for sustainable pest management solutions. It deals with the insect-plant interactions, plant defence responses to herbivore attacks, plant phenotyping, and breeding for insect resistance.

Insects are an important group of biotic stresses that limit crop productivity in many regions of the world. At present, they are largely managed by synthetic insecticides which have their own adverse effects including insecticide resistance, pest resurgence, environmental pollution, and pesticide residues, to name a few. Thus, there is an urgent need to develop alternate pest management strategies that can provide a sustainable solution to pest problems. Host plant resistance is considered an important pest management strategy as it offers an effective, economical, and environmental friendly solution to pest problems.

 This book is of interest to postgraduate students, crop entomologists, and breeders working on host plant resistance to insect pests. It is also valuable for teachers, researchers, and climate change scientists.The book serves as an additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, ecology, and environmental sciences. Agricultural experts from around the world, as well as policymakers, will also find this book helpful.

Sarwan Kumar is Senior Entomologist at Punjab Agricultural University (PAU), Ludhiana, India, and holds a Ph.D. in Entomology (2005) from CCS Haryana Agricultural University, Hisar, India. He has more than 16 years of experience as an Entomologist at PAU, Ludhiana. His research interests include host plant resistance, insect-plant interactions, plant defence and pest management in oilseed crops with special reference to oilseed Brassica. Before being appointed as Assistant Professor of Entomology at PAU in 2006, he worked as Senior Research Fellow (2005-2006) in the Department of Entomology, PAU and worked on dissemination of pest management strategy in cotton. Dr Sarwan has nearly 84 publications, including 45 research articles in journals of national and international repute and 24 conference/ symposia presentations. He has authored eight book chapters in edited books published by leading publishers and three scientific reviews. He has guided the research work of more than15 PG students in entomology and plant pathology. He is an active member of ‘All India Coordinated Research Project on Rapeseed-Mustard’ and is coordinating the entomology programme of the project. He is recipient of Australian Government’s Prestigious Endeavour Research Fellowship (Australia Awards) and Fellow of Indian Society of Oilseeds Research. Besides this, he is editor of Journal of Insect Science (India) and Journal of Oilseed Brassica; and member of Society of Chemical Industry, UK, and Entomological Society of Iran.

Michael Furlong is Professor of Insect Ecology at The University of Queensland, Australia. He completed his PhD at Imperial College, London in 1993 and took up Post-doctoral Research Fellow positions at Rothamsted Research, UK (1993-1997), University of Maine, ME, USA (1997-1999) and the University of Queensland (1999-2005) where he was appointed to a teaching and research lectureship in 2005. Professor Furlong leads large teams of researchers at UQ and in international collaborations, and his work in the South Pacific has led directly to improved pest control and documented reductions in hazardous pesticide use, providing clear benefits for the environment and society. He studies how pest species interact with crop plants and how ecosystems services can be sustained and enhanced when they are stressed by agricultural intensification and climate change. His research and outreach in the Pacific engages national governments and local communities to develop novel extension strategies to provide vocational training that directly impacts resource-poor rural communities.