Pest management challenges for biofuel crop production

New biofuel crops, whether derived from existing food crops such as maize or representing second-generation biomass crops, will be attacked by a range of pests despite claims that they might be immune from pests. Biofuel crops grown on marginal land will impact on ecosystem services provided by these areas, and biofuel crops can also act as a reservoir for pests of food crops. Moves towards sustainable pest control in traditional crops need to be extended to cover biofuel crops. This includes focusing on less toxic pesticides rather than broad spectrum pesticides and conserving landscape features that contribute to effective biological control. Where crops are planted into new regions, there is the possibility of predicting likely pest pressures based on distribution modeling and through assessing the status of pests on related crops.

Research highlights▶ Pests will attack biofuel crops despite claims that they might be immune from pests. ▶ Landscape heterogeneity provides ecosystem services, including pest suppression. ▶ Less toxic pesticides enhance sustainable pest control. ▶ Distribution modeling and related crop pests predict potential pest pressures.