Literature Review: IPM Technologies to Reduce Chemicals in Cotton

This literature review examines the impact of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) strategies on reducing chemical use in cotton crops. It explores various approaches, including the use of biopesticides, insecticides, and genetically modified Bt cotton. The review analyzes the effectiveness of IPM in reducing pesticide application, increasing yields, and improving environmental and economic gains. It also discusses the limitations and challenges associated with IPM, such as the evolution of pest resistance and the need for strong government policies to support its adoption. The study draws upon multiple sources and highlights the benefits of IPM in different countries, while also identifying gaps in the literature regarding factors that prevent the adoption of IPM. The review concludes that IPM is a sophisticated approach to reduce chemicals and improve crop yields.

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A Literature review
Integrated Pest Management: Sophisticated approach towards reduction of chemical use in
Cotton crop
The emerging technologies in pest management of cotton crops as a part of the integrated
pest management or IPM have significantly influenced chemical usage. Pretty and Bharucha
(2015) argued that the IPM is not just the resource conserving technology. When compared to
other forms IMP is the sustainable intensification that increases the natural, human and social
capital by preventing the crop, pest, weeds and disease. The sophisticated approach to grow
cotton crops without chemicals reduces the use of the pesticides by 50%. Chemicals such as
mercury, calcium arsenate, copper arsenite, and others are no more required in the agro
ecosystem. The author highlighted the use of alternative methods such as biopesticides and
insecticides to cotton crop. The results showed increase in yields with reduction in chemicals to
cotton crops although complex. On the other hand the chemicals use reduction is significant.
However, the author also presented the drawback of reducing chemical use such as evolution of
pests, diseases and weeds. The study is limited as it focuses in other crops other than cotton.
The results were supported by the survey of Wilson et al. (2018) that highlighted incorporation
of the IPM in Australian industry. It is attributed to sophisticated approach called production of
the Bt cotton. In this approach the, the cotton crop is injected with the genome of the Bacillus
thurengienesis to prevent damage by insect toxins. It significantly decreased the use of the of
insecticide active ingredient spread per hectare. Thus this approach of using the pest ecology/
biology is advantageous as year round approach. This approach is useful against resistant
Helicoverpa spp. larvae in Bt cotton. Reducing the chemical use and replacing with this approach
has resulted in the increase in environmental and economic gains. This system has well evolved

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since 50 years in Australia owing to the flexibility of the sophisticated approach. The limitations
of the approach are focus only in Australian industry.
In the book by Luttrell et al. (2015) reduction in chemical use by sophisticated approach
as part of the IPM, is discussed. The author presented the advancement in the arthropod control
technologies, crop management system and improved insect management system. This process
reduces the arthropod damage to the cotton crops. It drastically decreases the insecticidal control
of several key cotton pests. Greatest advancement being the Bt cotton in US. This is in alignment
with the results of Wilson et al. (2018), however, it focused more on the adaptive capacity of the
arthropods and spatial scales of management. This approach to reduce the chemicals have
remarkable reduced the arthropod damage. Unlike the above cross section survey studies,
Krishna and Qaim (2012) emphasised the long term effects of the reduced chemical use for
cotton crops and the advantage of the Bt cotton. The data on sustainability was a literature gap
and omitted by this study. This study collected data from the panel survey of cotton farmers in
India. The Bt use significantly reduced the applications of pesticides by non-Bt farmers. The
results coincided with the above results. However, it contradicted the results by Wilson et al.
(2018) that considered that the Bt approach would become obsolete. The data is however limited
due to small farmer setting.
The study by Downes et al. (2017) gave evidence to the Wilson et al. (2018) argument
that the Bt cotton approach has challenges. In this study, the findings highlighted the resistance
of Helicoverpa armigera in Australian to DDT with use of broad spectrum insecticide. Despite
various rotating chemistries and the use of modified chemical sprays the resistance continued,
until genetically modified crops augmented IPM. The results imply that the resistance
management is vital for genetically modified cotton crops. Another study by Benbrook (2012),

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also gave similar evidence. In the herbicide-resistant weed management system, to mitigate the
spread of glyphosate-resistant weeds, there is an increasing amount of the herbicide use. This
increase reduced the insecticide use on Bt crops. The results were also supported by another
meta-analysis by Klümper and Qaim (2014). The results of the study concluded that genetically
modified technology adoption reduces the chemical use by 37% and increases the crop yields by
22%. This technology also increases the farmers profit by 68%. When compared to the
herbicide-tolerant crops, insect-resistant crops showed increased yield gains and reduction of
chemicals both in the developing and developed countries. Although the original studies does not
show sample size and variance measured it is useful to increase the public trust in the
technology. This study eliminated the gap created by Wilson et al. (2018) and Luttrell et al.
(2015) that focused on single countries.
Studies from different countries showed efficacy of the transgenic Bt cotton approach in
reducing the chemical use in the cotton crops. Countries like Australia, US and other developed
countries have demonstrated the successful adoption to the sophisticated approach as a part of
IPM There is a literature gap in the factors preventing the adoption to alternate to chemicals in
pest management. The gap in the literature was covered by the survey conducted by Khan and
Damalas (2015). The results showed that half of the farmers in the Punjab in Pakistan were
forced to use pesticides for cotton crops. The main determinants were lack of education, lack of
environmentally sound pest control methods. The increased availability of the chemical and the
poor government regulation system were other barriers ion adoption of sophisticated approach to
reduce chemical in cotton crops. The study implies for strong government policies and
regulation system. The results align with that of Khan and Damalas (2015). It highlighted that
the cotton farmers had less knowledge of the pesticide safety issues and thus relied on the

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chemical method. The results implied the farmer’s education and training to create awareness of
natural enemies of cotton pests. Similar study on farmer’s perspective in Iran revealed that
adoption of sophisticated approach of biological control could be enhanced by recognising the
negative effects of chemicals (Abdollahzadeh et al., 2015).

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References
Abdollahzadeh, G., Sharifzadeh, M.S. and Damalas, C.A., 2015. Perceptions of the beneficial
and harmful effects of pesticides among Iranian rice farmers influence the adoption of biological
control. Crop Protection, 75, pp.124-131.
Benbrook, C.M., 2012. Impacts of genetically engineered crops on pesticide use in the US--the
first sixteen years. Environmental Sciences Europe, 24(1), p.24.
Downes, S., Kriticos, D., Parry, H., Paull, C., Schellhorn, N. and Zalucki, M.P., 2017. A
perspective on management of Helicoverpa armigera: transgenic Bt cotton, IPM, and
landscapes. Pest management science, 73(3), pp.485-492.
Khan, M. and Damalas, C.A., 2015. Factors preventing the adoption of alternatives to chemical
pest control among Pakistani cotton farmers. International Journal of pest management, 61(1),
pp.9-16.
Khan, M. and Damalas, C.A., 2015. Farmers' knowledge about common pests and pesticide
safety in conventional cotton production in Pakistan. Crop Protection, 77, pp.45-51.
Klümper, W. and Qaim, M., 2014. A meta-analysis of the impacts of genetically modified
crops. PloS one, 9(11), p.e111629.
Krishna, V.V. and Qaim, M., 2012. Bt cotton and sustainability of pesticide reductions in
India. Agricultural Systems, 107, pp.47-55.
Luttrell, R.G., Teague, T.G. and Brewer, M.J., 2015. Cotton insect pest management. Cotton,
(agronmonogr57), pp.509-546.

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Pretty, J. and Bharucha, Z.P., 2015. Integrated pest management for sustainable intensification of
agriculture in Asia and Africa. Insects, 6(1), pp.152-182.
Wilson, L.J., Whitehouse, M.E. and Herron, G.A., 2018. The Management of Insect Pests in
Australian Cotton: An Evolving Story. Annual review of entomology, 63(1).