Integrated Pest Management by using Remote Sensing and Geographic Info

Modern agriculture is influenced by both the pressure for increased productivity and increased stresses caused by plant pests. Geographical Information Systems and Global Positioning Systems are currently being used for variable rate application of pesticides, herbicide and fertilizers in Precision Agriculture applications, but the comparatively lesser-used tools of Remote Sensing and Spatial Analyses can be of additional value in integrated pest management practices. The tools provide valuable information in an integrated pest management context, allowing for a complete understanding (via remote mapping or spatial modeling) of the spatial complexity of the abiotic and biotic characteristics of a field and its crops, and providing information about pest populations that are present, or likely to occur. This chapter details some of the advances in Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis as applied to integrated agricultural plant pest management, and outlines some of the remaining challenges that farmers have to face in their adoption.