Despite the application of 2.5 million tons of pesticides worldwide each year, more than 40% of potential food production is lost to insects, plant pathogens and weeds. An additional 20% is lost after harvest. Pesticide usage results in an estimated 26 million human poisonings, with 220,000 fatalities annually. An estimated 70 million birds are killed by pesticides in the US alone each year, along with billions of non-target insects including pollinators, biological control agents and natives, as well as fish and other organisms.
Despite the hazards to humans and ecosystems, worldwide pesticide usage is increasing to meet the world’s demand for food, wood and fibre. Consumers, especially in developed countries, are increasingly concerned about residues in their food and about the sustainability of farming practices.
In order to discover better ways to control insect pests in the future, we need a deeper understanding of how insects interact with the plants they eat, their relationships with their natural enemies (e.g. insect pathogenic viruses, predators and parasitoids) and the wider environment.
HortResearch is undertaking fundamental research, investigating gene function in model pest insects and their pathogens (see Gene-based insect science), combined with research on the environmental impacts of innovative agri-technologies, including GMOs (see Impacts of GMOs ). Using this knowledge, we develop very innovative insect control technologies, meeting the highest possible environmental biosafety standards, for international and local markets (see Applied entomology).
HortResearch also works on insects through the Molecular olfaction science programmes studying the Insect molecular olfaction.
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