The rising global temperature is also affecting the soil temperature, which can put crop yields at risk as it creates a favorable environment for pests that attack crops. As a result, the havoc of insects is increasing in the cold areas of the south as well as the north. A new study by North Carolina State University has shown that in such a situation, soil temperature can prove to be helpful in effectively monitoring and predicting the spread of insects like corn earworm (Helicoverpa gea). Significantly, this insect called the corn earworm targets corn, cotton, soybean, chili, tomato and other vegetable crops.
According to research, with the help of soil temperature, not only can the outbreak of this pest be better monitored, but it can also help reduce the increased use of pesticides and their effects on the environment.
The study published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Science combined historically collected soil temperature data with earworm monitoring data. Also, in order to understand how this insect is successful even in the cold, an attempt has been made to know it by keeping it in a cold environment in the lab. Not only this, researchers have also tried to understand in research how corn earworm can survive inside the soil in cold months.s (PANAS).
As per the research, these pests can destroy 50 percent more wheat and 30 percent more maize than now. Research has shown that pests are already causing damage to food crops between 5 and 20 per cent. The research has also revealed that with every one degree Celsius increase in temperature, the havoc of insects on the three major food crops such as wheat, rice, and maize will increase by 10 to 25 percent.
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