MEKELLE UNIVERSITY
College Of Dry Land Agriculture and Natural
Resource
Department of Dry Land Crop and Horticultural Sciences
Programme MSc in Plant Protection (Plant Pathology)
Course Title: Integrated Pest Management (DLPP5023)
Prepared By: Menkoriwas Alemu
ID/NO: CDANR/PR/069/21
Submitted to: Alemu.A (Associated Prof.)
Submission Date: August 30/ 2023
Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Individual Assignment
Question Outlines
1. What is basic concept of pest population dynamic theory?
2. Elaborate pest outbreak and its major cause?
3. Vindicate development of pest status?
1. What is basic concept of pest population dynamic theory?
Dynamic population is the portion of ecology that deals with the variation in time, size, age and density
for one or more species. When the population density of pest reaches an action threshold. The economic
threshold is a dynamic concept depends on cost and efficacy management input, economic of production
system, nature of pest and environmental parameters. The theory on population dynamics can be viewed as
quantitative descriptions (change in number & growth) and Investigations of the forces, biological and
physical processes causing those changes.
2. Elaborate pest outbreak and its major cause?
The outbreak of pest (animal, disease or spread of noxious weeds) becomes a major concern of the forester,
farmer or public health. Two major classes of pest outbreaks i. eruptive outbreak:- spreads out from local
epicenters to cover large areas and ii. Gradient outbreak does not spread from local epicenters to cover
large areas. It is not self-driven and dependent on external environmental or internal genetic conditions.
Pest outbreak is any organism which is economically harmful to human, plants or plant products and
increases its population more than the ETL value (economic threshold level) Or a sudden increase in the
population of the harmful organism . Major causes of pest outbreak
A, Concentration of single species/variety in ever larger and increase monocultures; B. High yielding crop
cultivar- improved conditions for pest colonization, spread and rapid growth; C. Cultural practices- closer
spacing, excessive use of N fertilize; C. Climate Change and Destruction of natural enemies ; D.
Introduction of new pest in new environment and new varieties; E. Pesticides
3. Vindicate development of pest status?
Man has inhabited the earth for about 1 million years, but was a hunter-gatherer for nearly 9,90,000 years,
depending exclusively on the natural ecosystem About 10,000 years ago humans began to settle and
cultivate crops. This required diverse natural vegetation be replaced by few species of crops.
The loss of diversity and stability of the natural ecosystems also destroyed a major part of the natural fauna,
few species of insects, pathogens and weeds to survive and multiply in the new agro-ecosystems. These
species began to compete with man for food, feed, forage, fiber described as pests. A pest is any organism
whose population increases to causing irritation, troublesomeness or injury to man, animals, plants and
material possessions. A pest may be an insect, mite, nematode, bird, rodent, fungus, bacterium, virus, weed
or any other organism. The pest status of a species is determined by a number of criteria, and increase in
the number of individuals, change in the type of damage, more pronounced damage due to conducive
climatic conditions, changes in the methods of cultivation or harvesting, and fluctuations in the market
value of the crop. Change the population dynamics of various pests can be changing its development of
status of the pest (may damage to crop, less damage or no effect on crop damage). A species may achieve
or develop the status of a pest by the following ways: 1. Entry into a New Habitat; [Link] in Species
Characteristics; 3. Change in Habitat: 4. Increase in Abundance: