Agrarianism

Together pests and diseases cause up to 40% yield losses every year. The animal groups of the most significant importance as agricultural pests are (in order of economic importance) insects, mites, nematodes, and gastropod mollusks. Insects are responsible for two major forms of damage to crops. First, there is the direct injury they cause to the plants as they feed on the tissues; a reduction in leaf surface available for photosynthesis, distortion of growing shoots, a diminution of the plant's growth and vigor, and the wilting of shoots and branches caused by the insects' tunneling activities.