abstract
- © 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Insect pests cause significant damage to agricultural products intended for human foods and animal feeds. In addition to direct losses caused by insects to plant systems, fruits, and seeds, these biotic agents cause indirect losses because they leave important contaminants such as body parts or exoskeletons, insect eggs, and off-odors on produce. There are more than six million species of insect although only 20-30 of these are important pests for major crops. The key for the proper insect pest management is to understand their biology and behavior, the kinds of damage they produce, and application of proper integrated pest management in order to achieve a crop production system that optimizes the use of natural resources, protects the environment, and maximizes output in a sustainable way.