Trap Cropping in Insect Pest Management

Abstract

Abstract Insect pests are major constraints in crop production. The widespread use of insecticides to control crop pests has created various well known problems. Therefore, attention has been diverted to include various cultural practices to suppress insect pest populations. Trap cropping generally involves early planting of border strips of a particular crop to attract insects where they may be destroyed by insecticides. The role of trap cropping in the management of insect pests of cotton, legumes, cereals and brassicas is reported. Trap cropping also has a tremendous potential to control other crop pests. It can minimize the use of insecticides and can be integrated with other IPM tactics. The reduction in insecticides will result in less disruption to the environment and to associated beneficial organisms in cropping systems. But trap cropping, like many other cultural tactics, remains under-exploited. Research on trap cropping has been very limited, and deserves more attention to sustain agroecosystems throughout the world.