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Abstract
GIS Solves Locust Control?
Track: Agriculture
Author(s): Justine Klass, Matt Thomas, Simon Blanford
Locusts and grasshoppers are serious agricultural pests that can transcend political boundaries. Chemical pesticides are usually used to control pest populations, but with the increased environmental concerns, alternative natural biological control agents are increasingly being used. The entomopathogenic fungus, Metarhizium anisopliae var aacridum, can be used as a biopesticide to control locusts and grasshopper pests. However, temperature is a key factor governing the virulence of the pathogen resulting in variable performance of the biopesticide in the field; sometimes control is very rapid, other times effective control may not be achieved. This has led to the development of a pathogen-performance model that can accurately predict the speed of kill in a fluctuating field environment. Here we use a GIS to model and investigate the spatial and temporal variation in pathogen performance against the moroccan locust in Spain, and discuss the implications of these results in terms of strategic implementation and use of this biopesticide.
Justine Klass
Imperial College
Imperial College, Silwood Park
Ascot , Berkshire SL5 7PY
England
Phone: 44 (0)207594252
E-mail: justine.klass@ic.ac.uk
Matt Thomas
Population biology and biological control group
Imperial College, Silwood Park
Ascot , Berkshire SL5 7PY
England
Phone: 44 (0)207594252
Simon Blanford
Population biology and biological control group
Imperial College, Silwood Park
Ascot , Berkshire SL5 7PY
England
Phone: 44 (0)207594252