Estudio de casos: El rol ejercido por los depredadores en el manejo de plagas en cultivos de Ecuador

Abstract

AGRICULTURAL PESTS CAN CAUSE ADVERSE EFFECTS ON CROP PRODUCTIVITY. TO MITIGATE THESE EFFECTS, IT DEPENDS ON CHEMICAL CONTROL, SINCE IT IS EFFECTIVE AND CONSTITUTES THE ONLY TOOL THAT CAN BE USED WHEN THE ECONOMIC THRESHOLDS OF INFESTATION ARE EXCEEDED. HOWEVER, THE INDISCRIMINATE USE OF PESTICIDES RESULTS IN PROBLEMS OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION, HUMAN HEALTH AND ECOLOGICAL IMBALANCES IN AGROECOSYSTEMS, SOMETIMES LEADING TO VERTIGINOUS POPULATION INCREASES OF SOME PESTS. IN CONTRAST, BIOLOGICAL CONTROL IS CONSIDERED A SUSTAINABLE ALTERNATIVE, SINCE DUE TO ITS NATURAL OCCURRENCE AND APPRECIABLE EFFECT, IT IS THE FIRST OPTION TO BE CONSIDERED IN INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT PROGRAMS. AMONG THE BIOLOGICAL CONTROL AGENTS ARE PREDATORS THAT ARE CHARACTERIZED BY CONSUMING MANY PREY THROUGHOUT THEIR LIVES. IN ECUADOR, THERE ARE EXPERIENCES THAT REFER TO THE NATURAL OCCURRENCE OF PREDATORS, AS WELL AS THEIR INCLUSION IN APPLIED BIOLOGICAL CONTROL PROGRAMS. THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS WORK WAS TO ANALYZE THE ROLE THAT PREDATORS HAVE PLAYED IN THE MANAGEMENT OF AGRICULTURAL PESTS, AS WELL AS THE IMPLICATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES OF THIS ALTERNATIVE IN ECUADOR.