IPM for WCR in Eastern-Central Europe

WCR risks & opportunities from risks... Crop intensification Chemical pest management Pest resistance New chemicals - GMOs... to opportunities Soil productivity? Ecosystem functions? Water/environment pollution? Health? New risks? Perception - control strategies?

WCR in USA a technological approach 1920s: first appearance in Nebraska, coming from Mexico 1940s: first reported as pest problem 1950s: soil treatments (benzene hexachloride, aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor) on 1.7 million acres in 1954 (ETL 1 adult/plant) 1960s: developed resistance to aldrine and heptachlor, increased rate of spread (resistant strains are superior competitors), and becoming dominant specie for competitive displacement 1970s: aldrin, chlordane, heptachlor banned + resistance, shift to carbofuran: WCR control cost increased 1980s: increased ETL due to high cost of soil treatment Higher degradation rate of carbofuran by soil microorganisms, made soil treatment less effective 1990s: looking for alternative treatments: aerial treatment with baited 10% dosage insecticides + crop rotation. In 1993: corn-soybean 2000s: WCR costs 1 billion US$/year (treatment + crop loss) 4 million ha corn treated (aerial spray) WCR adapted to feed on soybean; GMOs? updated from: “Methods fro the study of pest Diabrotica” J.L. Krysan and T.A. Miller, 1986

USGS: OP Pesticide Occurrence Report

Soil food web

WCR in Europe: an ecological and people oriented approach 1992: WCR first reported in maize fields near Belgrade airport, Yugoslavia 1997: 100,000 km 2 infested in Yugoslavia, Bosnia- Herzegovina, Croatia, Hungary and Romania Regional network established : FAO-TCP project, monitoring and rotation trials 2000: continued monitoring, limited resources; rotation used as a control method (EU research project) 2001:monitoring, field trials, involvement of farmers. Economic damage in Yugoslavia reaches USD 90 million 2002: monitoring, field trials, farmers participatory research by regional network (FAO). Development of Regional Project : regional programme implemented

Serbia, Village Padina: corn season farmers collaborators

Farmers meeting in corn fields in Hungary, August 2002

Indicative workplan Regional Programme

REGION IN TRANSITION agricultural sector in a phase of restructuring Towards market oriented system:NEW ACTORS Potential market pressures (Land) ownership: number of farmers and FARMS INCREASED Limited access to resources: DECREASE of pesticides and fertilizers to 30-50% in the last decade (HU) New issues: quality products, CONSUMERS SAFETY ENVIRONMENTAL AWARENESS

Opportunities and risks Need to build an European WCR management strategy on REGIONAL OPPORTUNITIES - Understand and maintain biological base for agricultural sustainability - Develop management strategies with involvement of local communties - Potential for value added products - Valuable biotic diversity, to be preserved - Valuable cultural diversity and farming traditions while avoiding REGIONAL RISKS - increasing chemical use as soon as affordable - isolated local answers to regional problems - WCR management based on short term objective - loss of export commodities - environmental and socio-economic risks