Published online by Cambridge University Press: 04 July 2016
Nobody would deny that a major objective of the peoples of the world is to improve standards of health and hygiene and an essential part of this must be to increase the quantity of food produced. To do this it is essential to use supplementary nutrients and exercise effective pest management. It has been shown that the yields of basic foods, such as rice, can be doubled by using the right seed strains, fertilisers and crop protection techniques. Crop yield losses because of insects alone are estimated at 5% in Europe where insecticides are used widely and as much as 21% in Asia where insecticides are used only in a few of the better organised cultural areas.