Trophobiosis

Trophobiosis (from Greek trophikos = nourishment + biosis = life) is a symbiotic association between organisms where food is obtained or provided. The provider of food in the association is referred to as a trophobiont.[1]

The term is also used for a theory of pest resurgence on crops propounded by Francis Chaboussou. Chaboussou was an agronomist at the French National Institute of Agricultural Research (INRA), and he published Healthy Crops: A New Agricultural Revolution in 1985.[2] The essence of Chaboussou's trophobiosis theory is that the application of pesticides to crops makes those crops more susceptible to pest attack, and as a consequence pesticide-based farming creates a cycle of increasing dependence on pesticides.[3]

References

  1. ^ Delabie, JHC (2001) Trophobiosis Between Formicidae and Hemiptera (Sternorrhyncha and Auchenorrhyncha): an Overview. Neotropical Entomology 30(4):501-516 PDF
  2. ^ Chaboussou, Francis, 1985, Healthy Crops: A New Agricultural Revolution, (2004 English trans), John Carpenter, UK.
  3. ^ Paull, John, 2007, Trophobiosis Theory: A pest starves on a healthy plant, Elementals - Journal of Bio-Dynamics Tasmania, 88, 20-24.