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ARS Home » Northeast Area » Kearneysville, West Virginia » Appalachian Fruit Research Laboratory » Innovative Fruit Production, Improvement, and Protection » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #130638
Title: PLANT-PEST RELATIONSHIPS OF THE ORCHARD ECOSYSTEM

Author
item Leskey, Tracy

Submitted to: Concise Encyclopedia of Temperate Zone Tree Fruits
Publication Type: Popular Publication
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/12/2002
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: A pest is considered to be an organism in direct competition with humans for a valued resource. Pests have the potential to lower yields and reduce marketability of agricultural products. There are five categories of pests that can cause economically important damage in orchard ecosystems: arthropods, disease-causing pathogens, nematodes, vertebrates, and weeds. A particular type of damage can be caused by a single organism or by interactions between several organisms such as arthropod- or nematode- vectored diseases. Ultimately, damage in a particular orchard ecosystem is caused by organisms belonging to all categories, leading to economic losses.