CROP PEST
Crop pest are organisms, which affects our crops as well as life stocks. Pest causes serious problems on the farm. They reduce the quality of food produced by the farmer by destroying them. Common pest includes; insects, rodents, birds monkey, bats, human being, nematodes etc
EFFECTS OF CROP PEST
- Crop pests eats up leaves of plants thereby reducing phtosynthesis
- They transmit diseases to crop plants thereby causing distortion and stunted growth
- Thy introduce toxins which affect plants growth
- They bore holes into grains thus reducing the quality and market value of the grains
CLASSIFICATION OF CROP PESTS BASED ON MOUTH PARTS
Insects pests belongs to group of organisms known as arthropods, they have small body size, rapid rate of reproduction and easily adapt to climate condition. Insects pest can be classified as follows;
- Piercing and sucking insects
These are insects, which has long, powerful, piercing proboscis used for sucking liquid cell content of plants part. they suck cell sap and inject toxins(poisonous substance) into plant. a common example of piercing and sucking insects are; scale insects, whitefly, cotton strainers, alphid, capsid etc
- Biting and chewing insects
They have mouthpart made up of strong pair of toothed horny jaws, accessory jaw and lower lips. Biting and chewing insects feeds on plants parts such as leaves, flowers and fruits .examples are locust, grasshopper, beetle etc
- Boring Insects
They posses short snouts with chewing mandible for boring into plants. They feed on plants tissues and attack stored grains. example includes; weevils and stem borers
ASSIGNMENT
- Define Crop Pest
- Mention five examples of insects pest
- Classify insects based on there mouth parts with examples
NEXT TOPIC; CONTROL MEASURES FOR CROP PEST