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Agricultural Entomology

Agricultural Entomology. What is Agriculture?. The cultivation of plants/animals for Human Use Includes plants used for : Food (Fruits, vegetables, grains and oil seeds) Animal Feed Fiber products (like wood or cotton). Tarrant Co. Agriculture Factoids.

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Agricultural Entomology

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  1. Agricultural Entomology

  2. What is Agriculture? • The cultivation of plants/animals for Human Use • Includes plants used for : • Food (Fruits, vegetables, grains and oil seeds) • Animal Feed • Fiber products (like wood or cotton)

  3. Tarrant Co. Agriculture Factoids • In 1997, There were 1048 farms covering 184,081 acres of land. • These farms produce over $40 Million worth of ag. Products each year. • Major Tarrant Co. Crops include: • Seed Corn • Sorghum • Wheat • Grass and alfalfa hay

  4. What Role Do Insects Play in Agriculture? • Harmful insects: • Eat parts of plant, causing weakened growth and production • Eat parts of plant that we eat, spoiling crop • Spread diseases that weaken or kill the plant

  5. Beneficial Insects: • Eat or parasitize harmful insects, keeping their populations in check. • Pollinate • Produce Marketable Products (honey, wax, silk)

  6. One Plant, Many Pests • Apple Trees: • Plum Curculio – Fruit Damage

  7. Apple Pests • Codling Moth-fruit damage

  8. Apple Pests • Apple Maggot Fly – Fruit Damage

  9. Apple Pests • Rosy apple aphid – Foliage and Fruit Damage

  10. Apple Pests • Flat-Head Apple Tree Borer – Wood Damage

  11. Cotton Pests • Cotton Aphid

  12. Cotton Pests • Cotton Bollworm

  13. Cotton Pests • Cotton Leaf Perforator

  14. How Do Farmers Deal With Pest Insects? • Chemical Control • Biological Control • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

  15. Chemical Control Pesticides: Synthetic or Natural Chemicals used to interrupt the normal physiological processes of insects. Timing is important! Some applications may make the problem worse in the long run. Some pesticides can harm people, too!

  16. BioControl • Natural Enemies: Insects that prey upon or parasitize pest insects, keeping their populations at a minimal level • Pheromone Trapping: using chemical signals to trap adults before they can lay eggs • Bt transgenic plants – are toxic to Lepidopteran pests.

  17. Natural Enemies • Come in 2 categories: • Generalists – eat a variety of pest and beneficial species. • Specialists – Have specific prey or hosts.

  18. Frequently Released Generalists Green Lacewings

  19. Frequently Released Generalists • Ladybird Beetles

  20. Frequently Released Generalists • Mantids

  21. Specialists • Mealybug Destroyer Predatory Thrips

  22. Specialists • Parasitoids

  23. Pheromone Trapping

  24. Transgenic Crops • Bacillus thuringiensis genes inserted into genome of many different crops. • B. thuringiensis is a naturally occuring bacteria that produces a protein that is lethal to Lepidoptera. • Bt Plants produce their own pesticide, and aren’t harmful to people. • Selection for plants that don’t produce the protein in their pollen reduces the risk to non-target species.

  25. How Bt Crops Work

  26. Pollinators • In order to produce fruit, vegetables, or seed, many plants need insect pollinators.

  27. Insect Products • Apis millifera, The Honey Bee

  28. Silkworms

  29. Silkworm Production

  30. Scale Insect Products • Shellac • Cochineal dyes

  31. The End

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