Shifting Pest Paradigms in Indian Crops: A Comprehensive Review of Emerging Threats

Abstract

Sustainable crop production directly relates to the insect repercussions infuture climates. In recent times, it has been essential to look over the changesin the pest scenario as the categories of pests may shift. Such deviations inthe pest status are due to multiple factors viz., increased temperature, risein Co2 levels, etc. This is well-witnessed in a wide array of crops. Changes inthese factors favour the pest species depending on their ecology. Monitoringthe climate and pest population is vital for understanding the effect of climatechange on insect pests. Therefore, the forecasting and prediction models mustbe adjusted considering the evolving circumstances. This review examines thesechanges in key crops, including pearl millet, maize, okra, cotton, tomato, chilli,cassava, mango and coconut. Significant pest shifts include the replacementof stem borer and shoot fly by fall armyworm in maize and the rise of suckingpests in Bt cotton. New invasive pests such as Tuta absoluta in tomato andThrips parvispinus in chilly underscore the shifting pest landscape. The reviewhighlights the importance of monitoring pest populations and advocates forintegrated pest management (IPM) strategies, the development of resistantvarieties and conservation of natural enemies to mitigate economic losses.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.500001

Pages

85 - 92

Creative Commons

Copyright

© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Madras Agricultural Students' Union in Madras Agricultural Journal (MAJ). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited by the user.

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