Vertebrate Pests in Agriculture

📘 Book Details

• Author: S. Sridhara

• Publisher: Scientific Publishers

• Language: English

• Edition: 1st Edition (2016)

• Binding: Paper Back

• Pages: 513

• ISBN: 9788172339814

• Size: 6.5 x 9.75 inches

• Weight: 590 Gms

📖 About the Book

Vertebrate pests are a significant problem, causing substantial damage to the environment, agriculture, and biodiversity. These pests also play a role in transmitting diseases, which further amplifies the challenges they pose. While the issue is widespread across tropical Asia and Africa, it is particularly pronounced in these regions, where non-human primates, elephants, ungulates, rodents, and various species of birds are responsible for considerable agricultural damage.

In contrast, in Europe and America, the primary issues are related to carnivore predation on livestock, bird damage to cereal crops, and rodents causing issues in both urban and agricultural settings. Despite numerous books on rodent pest management, there is a distinct gap in literature regarding vertebrate pest management, particularly in the tropics, where the problems faced are unique.

Rodents, though destructive, are only part of the story in tropical regions like India. Elephants and monkeys, for example, are capable of causing devastating damage over a short period, wiping out entire food sources for farmers. Other species such as birds, bats, wild boar, blue bulls, and others also cause sporadic damage. This book seeks to address these issues and offer acceptable solutions for managing crop losses caused by these less studied but economically impactful vertebrate pests.