Climate change and rapid rise in the population of pests has led to insecticide resistance making pest management a greater challenge. At present, the chemical control method is the most widely accepted pest management method across the globe owing to its ease of application, cost effectiveness, availability, and widespread adaptation. However, due to high toxicity, insecticide resistance, increasing government regulations and awareness among consumers may lead to a considerable decline in usage of chemical-based insecticides/pesticides. We aim to develop new Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programs with a focus on insects affecting Indian agriculture.
Vertical Lead: VS Sresty Tavva
Investigators: Sampath Kumar
The goal of this project is to develop tools for pest management and pest diagnostics using genome editing and RNAi technology. This would be facilitated by developing and optimizing parameters for embryonic microinjection for different insect pests such as mango fruitfly, diamondback moth, cotton boll worm, melon fly, South American tomato fruit borer, fall armyworm, brinjal shoot and fruit borer, coconut black headed caterpillar.
Investigator: Sampath Kumar
Collaborators: University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (UASB)
This project aims to understand pesticide toxicity, insecticide resistance, usage of agricultural chemicals, and develop an Integrated Pest Management program. The broad objectives are:
- Surveillance for fall armyworm (FAW) in Karnataka and estimation of crop loss due to its infestation
- Insecticide susceptibility of field populations of FAW from different study sites
- Developing insecticide resistance management package to control FAW
Investigator: Sampath Kumar
Collaborators: University of Agricultural Sciences, Bengaluru (UASB)