Biotechnological and Molecular Approaches in the Management of Non-Insect Pests of Crop Plants

The introduction of biotechnology and molecular tools has added a new dimension to pest management. Identification of the genes that reduce pests' ability to reproduce has allowed the breeding of plants resistant to mites and nematodes. With modern genomics tools, new avenues for molecular target identification have emerged that will aid in developing improved methods for sustainable pest management in agriculture. Molecular tools aid in diagnostics, population genetics, host-pest interactions and genomics and genetic engineering fields, which are necessary for successful management of major non-insect pests, namely mites and plant-parasitic nematodes. Molecular approaches are also used to design pesticides based on molecular target identification using functional genomics tools. The various results of work from the early era of genome sequencing in mites and nematodes, utilizing tools such as DNA barcoding, genetic engineering and marker-assisted selection, RNAi to impart resistance in crop plants, and functional genomics projects related to mites and nematodes, are summarized in this chapter.