Shifting Pest Paradigms in Indian Crops: A Comprehensive Review of Emerging Threats

Abstract

Sustainable crop production directly relates to the insect repercussions in future climates. In recent times, it has been essential to look over the changes in the pest scenario as the categories of pests may shift. Such deviations in the pest status are due to multiple factors viz., increased temperature, rise in Co2 levels, etc. This is well-witnessed in a wide array of crops. Changes in these factors favour the pest species depending on their ecology. Monitoring the climate and pest population is vital for understanding the effect of climate change on insect pests. Therefore, the forecasting and prediction models must be adjusted considering the evolving circumstances. This review examines these changes in key crops, including pearl millet, maize, okra, cotton, tomato, chilli, cassava, mango and coconut. Significant pest shifts include the replacement of stem borer and shoot fly by fall armyworm in maize and the rise of sucking pests in Bt cotton. New invasive pests such as Tuta absoluta in tomato and Thrips parvispinus in chilly underscore the shifting pest landscape. The review highlights the importance of monitoring pest populations and advocates for integrated pest management (IPM) strategies, the development of resistant varieties and conservation of natural enemies to mitigate economic losses.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.29321/MAJ.10.500001

Pages

85 - 92

Creative Commons

Copyright

© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Madras Agricultural Students' Union in Madras Agricultural Journal (MAJ). This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited by the user.

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