Contents - Faperta

xviii Foreword
Large-scale deployment of insect-resistant transgenic crops has raised many concerns
about their possible interaction with non-target organisms in the ecosystem, bio-safety of
the food derived from genetically-engineered crops, and their likely impact on the environment.
As a result, people in certain parts of the world have adopted a cautious approach
to accepting products derived through the application of modern tools of biotechnology,
although transgenes are not conceptually different from native genes or organisms used
for increasing crop production through conventional technologies. Therefore, there is a
need to take a critical look at the potential benefi ts of using modern tools of biotechnology
for pest management, and the likely interaction of genetically modifi ed plants with
non-target organisms in the ecosystem. This will not only lead to informed decisions for
development and deployment of transgenic crops with insect resistance for pest management,
but will also help in planning appropriate strategies to deploy them for sustainable
crop production.
This book, Biotechnological Approaches for Pest Management and Ecological Sustainability,
is a comprehensive work that deals with a gamut of issues ranging from host plant resistance
to insect pests, phenotyping transgenic plants and mapping populations for insect
resistance, physico-chemical and molecular markers associated with insect resistance,
potential of insect-resistant transgenic crops for pest management, and the use of biotechnological
tools for diagnosis of insects and monitoring insect resistance to insecticides. It
also covers the use of genetic engineering to produce robust natural enemies and more
virulent strains of entomopathogenic microbes, bio-safety of food derived from genetically
engineered plants, detection of transgene(s) in food and food products, and the potential
application of the modern tools of biotechnology for pest management and sustainable
crop production.
This valuable book comes at a time when alternative strategies are urgently needed to
deal with biotic stresses to ensure a food secure future. It will serve as a useful source of
information to students, scientists, NGOs, administrators, and research planners in the
21st century.
William D. Dar
Director General
International Crops Research Institute
for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT)