Foreword - CCS HAU, Hisar

Vice-Chancellor
CCS Haryana Agricultural University
HISAR- 125 004 (Haryana) India
FOREWORD
Every year, a large proportion of crop yields are lost due to the attack of insectpests,
diseases, weeds and other pests like rodents, etc. Such losses are particularly high
in the developing countries. To determine what factors damaged the plants require investigative
approach combined with careful observation and ability to put all the pieces together to
reconstruct the event(s) that caused the damage. Accurate diagnosis must be made before
undertaking corrective action.
In diagnosing plant damage, a series of deductive steps can be followed to gather
information and clues from the complex and general situation down to specific, individual
plant or plant part. Thus, through the systematic diagnostic process of deduction and
elimination, the most probable cause of the plant damage can be determined. Pest
management decisions taken on the basis of incorrect identification of the causal agent of
the damage could result in pest control failures and economic loss.
Pest infestations often have adverse effect on yield. Therefore, it becomes essential
to accurately estimate the potential role of each agent in reducing yields so that based on
their incidence the potential losses could be predicted. The understanding of the mechanisms
which are involved in quantitative and qualitative crop losses could help in formulating
appropriate strategies to minimize them. It would help in identifying the economic status of
different pests. With the introduction of new technologies, pest situations are changing.
This is particularly visible in the case of GM crops. Some new pests are appearing and
those which were earlier classified as minor pests are becoming important. Based on
symptoms produced in the plants in response to insect feeding, we must be able to correctly
identify the pests involved and assess the damage inflicted by them so that necessary
measures for their management could be initiated in time.
It gives me immense pleasure that the Centre of Advanced Faculty Training (CAFT)
in the Department of Entomology has selected an appropriate topic “Advances in diagnosis
of arthropod pests’ damage and assessment of losses” for the advanced training course. I
hope this course would go a long way in creating deeper understanding among the participants
regarding the investigative approaches required for appropriate diagnosis of plant damage
and assessment of crop losses caused by insect-pests.
I have all appreciation for Dr. R.K. Saini, Professor and Head-cum-Director CAFT, Dr.
S.S. Sharma and Dr. K.K. Mrig, Course Coordinators, for planning and organizing this training
course and bringing out this compendium. I wish the programme all success.
(K. S. Khokhar)