Date: 3/30/99

Time: 8:55

Type: Symposium

Number: 115

New agents for pest management in row crops

*L.L. Larson, Dow AgroSciences, Indianapolis, IN 46268
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We stand at a unique time for pest control on row crops in the Midwest. The advent of new technologies in classical chemistry and biotechnology are all ready greatly impacting the choices for pest control, and will even more so in the next century. Before we consider the future, however, we will look at the history of row crop control options. The future for insect pest management (IPM) in row crops has been a question debated since before the term was first coined in 1959. At that point, it had become clear that reliance on one control method would not be sustainable against many of our worst insect pests. Today we have an enviable pipeline of new materials that are or will be used on row crops. These materials resulted from a focus on customer needs a decade ago, and will be discussed in the context of management systems set to sustain rather than exploit a given tool. With the high cost of product discovery and development, it is critical that we preserve a rich diversity of tools for future management options. The Food Quality Protection Act (FQPA) could adversely impact the diversity of products available for row crop pest control. We can help preserve these tools by understanding customer needs and producing alternatives with excellent activity that can be used as tools in a resistance management program. The key as always will be diversity. Just as IPM involves utilization of diverse methods for control, those of us in industry will continue to screen and design molecules with new modes of action to fit into increasingly more complex resistance management systems delivered classically or through the seed.

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