害忠防除의 새로운 方法 模索 = New Strategies in Insect Pest Control

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

We have nearly one million species of insect recorded in this earth. Moreover they pass through three or four different stages of development ; egg, larva, pupa and adult. All these mean that insects have evolved almost all means of physiological and ecological adaptation to their environment.
Most of insect species live their own lives and about 15,000 species are directly or indirectly related to human lives, Among the latter group, most are beneficial, and only about 3,000 species are classified as harmful insects.
We have tried to control insect pests with several methods, such as cultural, biological, mechanical, physical, legal and chemical method. The last has played the major role, with application of large quantities of pesticides, which result in three important ill effects ; 1. development of insect pests resistance to insecticides, 2. outbreaks of the pests due to destruction of their natural enemies, and 3. their potential health hazard to humans and wildlife.
We need a lot of research and investment in developing alternative control methods in order to avoid those unwanted effects. There are various possibilities, but, in this paper, I discussed only two categories, physiological and genetic, which are already registered or have a good chance of future use.
It would be much better if we could find some strategies based on physiological principles operating only in insects. Among this are included cuticle biosynthesis inhibitors, juvenile hormones and their analogues, anti-juvenile hormones, pheromones, kairomones, allomones, antimetabolites, and antifeedants. These chemicals are expected not to give so much troubles to man.
Genetic methods can be employed to suppress or eradicate pest populations or to introduce genes innocuous to man into natural populations. This can be accomplished by sterile insect release, chromosome translocations, hybrid sterility, cytoplasmic incompatibility, compound chromosomes, meiotic drive, negative heterosis, conditional lethal mutations, etc.
However, it must be emphasized that insect pest problems can be overcome only by integrated pest management programs. We have to select and wisely use the best mean(s) of pest control under a given condition.