K. Kumar

Biodiversity of Arthropods in Bhendi, A. Esculentus L. Ecosystem: an Ecological Approach K. Kumar

Agriculture is now showing conspicuous signs of faltering because of a breakdown in the services provided by nature. Industrialised agriculture, in striving for greater levels of productivity, uses inputs such as pesticides and fertilisers to replace natural processes and causes pollution, health hazards and resistance development in pest populations. The role of biodiversity in pest management is a burgeoning area of research and forms of ecologically based pest suppression are important examples of the ecosystem services that can be provided by biodiversity. Moreover, pest suppression can be achieved concurrently with providing other benefits such as pollinator enhancement, natural enemies conservation, dual crop production and even carbon sequestration. In this book we have inventorized a total of 127 arthropod fauna, comprised of 112 insect species under 106 genera, 56 families, 10 orders and 14 species of spider and a species of mite. The biodiversity indices in bhendi or okra (Abelmoschus esculentus (L.) Moench) was not reported earlier and henceforth we hope that the book will stand as a base for further research in the biodiversity of arthropods in bhendi ecosystem.