ABSTRACT

Many vertebrate and invertebrate animal species cause damage by sucking and chewing a variety of vegetable roots, stems, leaves, and fruits, as well as by virus transmission (Pedigo 2002). Within these groups, insects play an important role as invertebrates (Capinera 2001). In addition to insects, molluscs, nematodes, and mites are other important pest groups in vegetable-growing areas throughout the world. The majority of plant pest species in vegetable crops are target specic and attack to different parts of the host plant. Therefore, species that attack the host plant roots do not notably damage the other parts, except in certain extreme cases. In addition, the types of damage from plant-feeding insects are different based to the type of insect’s mouthparts. For example, an insect that has a chewing mouthpart causes damage through removing the host plant tissue, while insects with sucking mouthparts damage plants by removing the plant uids (Triplehorn and Johnson 2005). Insect pest damage prior to harvest is important because it directly impacts the product quality and quantity. In addition, damage to the roots, stems, and branches negatively affects plant growth, which reduces the level of harvested products to a certain extent.