Chapters authored
Side-Effects of Pesticides on the Pollinator Bombus: An Overview
Part of the book: Pesticides in the Modern World
Challenges in Cocoa Pollination: The Case of Côte d’Ivoire
Cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) is mainly pollinated by ceratopogonid midges (Forcipomyia spp.). However, other insect species will also pollinate cocoa flowers when these midges are scarce. In Côte d'Ivoire, inadequate pest control practices (insecticide spraying, mostly against the mirids Distantiella theobromae and Sahlbergella singularis) and landscape degradation as a result of deforestation and cocoa monoculture, have decreased overall pollinator population levels and, as a result, pollination services to cocoa trees. The current low average Ivorian cocoa yield of 538 kg per ha (in 2016) is the result of global agricultural mismanagement (deteriorated soils, lack of fertilizers, inadequate or absent pest control, absence of shade trees and intercrops). However, there is also an evidence of a pollination gap that could cause low cocoa yield. More research is needed to understand: (i) which agro-ecological efforts to enhance cocoa pollination can improve yield, and (ii) which strategies are effective in enhancing cocoa pollination. In this chapter, we briefly describe the cocoa sector. Next, the cocoa flower and pollinator biology and phenology are presented, followed by an overview of current environmental and management constraints to cocoa pollination in the context of Côte d'Ivoire, the largest cocoa producer in the world. We conclude with exploring possibilities to enhance pollination in the Ivorian small-scale cocoa sector.
Part of the book: Pollination in Plants
Nontransformative Strategies for RNAi in Crop Protection
RNAi in crop protection can be achieved not only by plant-incorporated protectants through plant transformation (transgenic) but also by nontransformative strategies such as formulations of sprayable dsRNAs used as direct control agents, resistance factor repressors, or developmental disruptors. Therefore, the RNAi-based biopesticides are expected to reach the market also in the form of nontransgenic strategies such as sprayable products, stem injection, root drenching, seed treatment, or powder/granule. While the delivery of dsRNA by transgenic expression is well established, it requires generations of crop plants and is costly, which may take years and delays for practical application, depending on the regulatory rules, plant transformability, genetic stability, and public acceptance of genetically modified crop species. DsRNA delivery as a nontransgenic approach was already published as a proof-of-concept work, so it is time to point out some directions on how the real potential for agriculture and crop protection is.
Part of the book: Modulating Gene Expression