Integrated stored pests management: Traditional and modern approaches

Abstract: Modern agronomy, plant breeding, organic fertilizers and technological improvementshave sharply increased yields, but at the same time chemical fertilizers and pesticides havecaused widespread ecological damage and loss of floral and faunal diversity. There has been agreat resurgence of interest recently in studying traditional agricultural methods and pest control.The interest has been world -wide and has encompassed diverse areas of plant sciences such asagronomical, soil testing, pest control, crop protection etc. and these studies have becomeincreasingly important in the light of world-wide efforts to seek alternative methods of pestcontrol and to evolve sustainable eco-friendly strategies in the limited land mass of the earth. Useof broad spectrum insecticides has lead to eliminate the eco-friendly species of commercial andeconomic important insects and distorted the natural food chain. The increasing public awarenessof the environmental contamination by toxic chemical residues has necessitated the research anddevelopment of non-chemical methods of pest control. In the present study different stored grainpests and relevant Traditional Knowledge (TK) belonging to a particular agro-ecological zone ofHimachal Pradesh, India along with modern pest control practices are being developed anddesigned for safer and prolonged storage of agricultural products.