The development of resistance to insecticides in insect pests is an important and increasing problem. As insecticide use increases in tropical areas, the numbers of resistant insect strains will increase.
The adverse effects of insecticide resistance include crop losses, increased production costs, increased environmental hazards, and socio-economic problems. The increasing difficulties and costs of discovering and developing new insecticides together with the widespread occurrence of resistant strains of insect pests means that insecticides are a limited resource that must be conserved. Methods of conserving insecticides include sensible management of their use and the implementation of IPM programmes.
The problems of insecticide resistance and strategies for minimizing and managing resistance in tropical areas are discussed using examples of insect pests of stored products, cotton, rice and bananas.
