Preface

The imperatives of productivity, which impose high yields of quality plant products combined with the specialization of crops by region, make plant protection a vital activity in agriculture. Pest control has made huge progress during the 20th century. This progress has been made possible by scientific and technical breakthroughs, particularly in chemistry (analytical and synthetic) and in biology (population dynamics, ecosystem analysis, biological control theory and practice, biotechnology). For these reasons, and to ensure food safety, several methods of protection are used. Indeed, after the Second World War, the appearance of inexpensive synthetic products, easy to use, and with a broad field of action led, at first, to an irrational use, too often repeated as a kind of all-risk protection, even in the absence of pests. This systematic or anarchic implementation of protective treatment quickly led to pollution and environmental problems. These pesticides have contributed to early outbreaks of pests resulting from the destruction of native entomophagous organisms, the emergence of pest populations resistant to various groups of insecticides, and pesticide residue accumulation in food products. New approaches have been required and adopted as an alternative to reduce pesticide impact on the environment. These are Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies. According to FAO, Integrated Pest Management represents a crop management system, in the environmental context and changing pest populations, using all available control techniques, in the most consistent manner possible, to maintain pest levels below the threshold of economic harm. This management must ensure that there is no complete dependence on a single control method and take into account the economic, social, and environmental consequences of control strategies.

This book describes novel methods adopted in pest management for cereal crops and fruit trees. Each chapter has been written by experts in their respective areas and provides a rigorous review and outline of current trends and future needs, to expedite progress in the field. We have structured the nine chapters of *Pests Control and Acarology* into three sections. In the first section, there is the definition and concept of Integrated Pest Management (Chapter 1) and biological control (Chapter 2). The second section includes two chapters: the first one presents the Trap Barrier System (TBS) as a new tool for rodent pest management in irrigated rice, while the second one discusses the stem borers of cereal crops in Africa and their management. The third section presents strategies for controlling mites.

I would like to thank all contributors for the time and effort that they devoted to prepare their chapters. It is their participation that makes our efforts to organize such a book possible. In addition, special thanks to IntechOpen's staff and editorial board.

**II**

**Chapter 8 123**

**Chapter 9 153** Bioecology of Jasmine Mite, *Tetranychus urticae* in Different Jasmine Cultivars

Biology and Ecology of Some Predaceous and Herbivorous Mites Important

from the Agricultural Perception

*by Muhammad Sarwar*

*by Isaac Merlin Kamala*

**Dalila Haouas** University of Jendouba, Tunisia

## **Levente Hufnagel**

**1**

Section 1

Definition and Concepts

Szent István University, Hungary Section 1
