BEIJING, Sept 26 (INP): A China-Pak crop pest management seminar was held in Chengdu, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Tuesday. It was aimed at strengthening the mutual learning and cooperation between China and Pakistan in the fields of crop pest management technology, prevention and control measures and management standards. The seminar on Methods and Standards of Crop Pest Management in China and Pakistan was organized by International Standardization Talent Training Base (Chengdu). Co-hosted by University of Agriculture Faisalabad (UAF) and University of the Punjab online, it was attended by technicians of agricultural enterprises engaged in crop pest control and experts of related scientific research institutes from both countries. Honored guest Dr. Abid Ali, Associate Professor, Department of Entomology at University of Agriculture Faisalabad, gave a keynote speech titled Standard System and Current Situation of Pest Control of Major Crops in Pakistan.  “We are facing growing severe pressure from pests, which is a serious threat to survival and security for Pakistan, an agricultural country.

Climate change and high temperatures have intensified pests, in the meantime, extensive cropping signifies a lack of systematic and scientific control. Moreover, blind abuse of pesticides has led to more and more pests becoming resistant further. Such a vicious cycle keeps the cost of plant protection high.” After analyzing the complex situation of crop pest management in Pakistan, Dr. Ali took several major pests such as Fall Armyworm (FAW) as examples to introduce Pakistan’s current management system (chemical control), and pointed out that Pakistan lacks adequate pest monitoring and forecasting systems, which means that pesticides still dominate prevention and control measures. Statistics shows that Pakistan’s annual pesticide use has soared from 50,000 tons/year in 2001 to 200,000 tons/year in 2020 in the past 20 years. Therefore, studying the population distribution of natural enemies of pests in different phenological stages and crops will help Pakistan establish a biological management system, by which reduce the use of pesticides.

“China has leading technology in the field of biological control.  Through learning related experience, it will be of great benefit to the promotion of biological control in Pakistan.” Another attendant, Liu Jie, Deputy Director, National Agro-Tech Extension and Service Center, detailed Monitoring and Warning Technology of Agricultural Pests and Diseases Based on IoT and Big Data, focusing on cutting-edge Agro tech such as intelligent testing equipment, which can rely on automatic image recognition to detect and report all insects that enter the trap range, and identify the type, quantity, and gathering period of pests in certain area.  “In the context of global economic integration, high-speed circulation of global agricultural products through trade networks has brought a greater variety of pests to a certain extent. In addition to climate change, the threat of invasive alien species driven by socioeconomic factors has greatly intensified,” Liu stressed. 

“Currently, China has established a remote sensing dynamic prediction model that combines multi-scale monitoring results of pests and diseases with epidemic migration patterns of pests and diseases, realizing remote dynamic prediction of remote sensing and migration paths of major pests and diseases areas.  We take delight in sharing experiences in this regard between the two countries.” Besides, China’s standard system for the management of major food crop diseases and pests, along with China’s prevention and control policies and measures for major agricultural pests and diseases were also amplified by experts. It was noted that China and Pakistan will kick start a series of tests, demonstrations and joint research on integrated disease control technologies for crop pests and diseases of common concern, as well as technical personnel training and personnel exchange and training.

Credit: Independent News Pakistan (INP) — Pak-China