Crop Protection: Management Approaches

Crop protection is the science and practice of managing plant diseases, weeds and other pests that damage agricultural crops and forestry. Agricultural crops include field crops (maize, wheat, rice, etc.), vegetable crops (potatoes, cabbages, etc.) and fruits. Agriculture faces tremendous challenges as the world population will grow from 6.7 billion people today to 8.3 billion in 2030. Usable agricultural areas will, however, hardly expand. In addition to food, animal feeding stuffs, renewable resources and energy crops have to be planted on these areas. Plant protection products guarantee that these scarce resources are used optimally. They are therefore indispensable for ecological, economic and social sustainability in agriculture. Modern farmers rely on “integrated plant protection,” keeping agricultural crops safe from pests, diseases and weed in an eco-friendly way and without detrimental effects on health. Chemical plant protection products form part of a modern, sustainably managed agriculture. They help to ensure the high yield that today has become possible thanks to efficient varieties, good supply of the plants with nutrients and innovative agricultural engineering. Without plant protection products, cultivated plants are defenseless against pests and diseases. Fungi, animal pests and weed competing for nutrients, water and light endanger agricultural production, diminish the yield and impair quality. The supply with and range of plant-based foodstuffs is reduced. Prices go up and the supply with foodstuffs is threatened. If the use of plant protection products is reduced by 75%, the production of fruit and vegetables drops by more than 30%, the production of grain by 40% and that of oil seeds even by more than 50%. To protect agricultural crops in an eco-friendly way against pests and diseases as well as to safeguard the quality and availability of the foodstuffs, optimized chemical plant protection is required.