Skip to main content
ARS Home » Plains Area » Fargo, North Dakota » Edward T. Schafer Agricultural Research Center » Cereal Crops Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #331406

Title: Wheat pests: Rodents, nematodes, insects and mites

Author
item HARRIS, MARION - North Dakota State University
item JACOB, JENS - Julius Kuhn Institute
item BROWN, PETER - Commonwealth Scientific And Industrial Research Organisation (CSIRO)
item ANDERSON, KIRK - North Dakota State University
item EL-BOUHSSINI, MUSTAPHA - International Center For Agricultural Research In The Dry Areas (ICARDA)
item PEAIRS, FRANK - Colorado State University
item YAN, GUIPING - North Dakota State University
item HEIN, GARY - University Of Nebraska
item Xu, Steven

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/11/2016
Publication Date: 4/30/2017
Citation: Harris, M.O., Jacob, J., Brown, P., Anderson, K., El-Bouhssini, M., Peairs, F., Yan, G., Hein, G., Xu, S.S. 2017. Wheat pests: Rodents, nematodes, insects and mites. In: Langridge, P., editor. Achieving Sustainable Cultivation of Wheat. Volume 1: Breeding, Quality Traits, Pests and Diseases. Cambridge, UK: Burleigh Dodds Science Publishing Limited. p. 467-544.

Interpretive Summary: Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops for human food consumption in the world and its production is constantly under threat from various pests and diseases. While wheat diseases were overviewed in other chapter of this book, the major wheat pests, which differ from diseases and weeds in being animals, were reviewed and discussed in this chapter. Globally, there are certainly hundreds or possibly even thousands of animal species that interact with wheat plants in ways that can cause harm. A relatively small number are considered to be significant pests. In this chapter, we focus on three taxa that contain the most important global pests of wheat: rodents, nematodes, and insects. We reviewed the challenges posed by these pest groups for wheat production, the biological diversity within and across three pest groups, management successes and failures, and pest adaptation to management tactics. We discussed the lessons from deployed R genes that were defeated by new variants of wheat diseases, nematodes, and insects. Based on the review on the recent progress in the new genomic technologies and availability of genomic resources in wheat, we presented ideas about how pests might be more effectively managed for sustainable wheat production in the future.

Technical Abstract: Wheat is one of the most important cereal crops in the world and its production is constantly under threat from various pests and diseases. While wheat diseases were overviewed in other chapter of this book, the major wheat pests, which differ from diseases and weeds in being animals, were reviewed and discussed in this chapter. Globally, there are certainly hundreds or possibly even thousands of animal species that interact with wheat plants in ways that can cause harm. A relatively small number are considered to be significant pests. In this chapter, we focus on three taxa that contain the most important global pests of wheat: rodents, nematodes, and arthropods, the latter including both insects and mites. We reviewed the challenges posed by the three pest groups for wheat production, the biological diversity within and across the three pest groups, management successes and failures, and pest adaptation to management tactics. We discussed the lessons from deployed R genes that were defeated by new variants of wheat diseases, nematodes, and arthropods. Based on the review on the recent progress in the new genomic technologies and availability of genomic resources in wheat, we presented ideas about how pests might be more effectively managed for sustainable wheat production in the future.