Sterile Insect Technique: Principles, Deployment and Prospects
Résumé
This chapter describes the main principles of the sterile insect technique (SIT), a pest control method that seeks to gradually reduce insect reproduction by releasing sterilized males in large numbers. We highlight the potential and limitations of the use of SIT and explore various future research avenues. SIT is generally one important component of an area-wide integrated pest management programme. The aim is no longer to protect individual crop fields but rather entire regions, which requires cooperation among many stakeholders. This larger focus also underscores the need for transdisciplinary cooperation among researchers in the biological sciences and humanities and social sciences as well as key stakeholders from the early stages of a programme, whether pilot or operational. We explore examples from France, which has seen the development of several pilot projects in agriculture and health in the recent years.