What is the term for a pest's ability to detoxify a pesticide and survive?

The term for a pest's ability to detoxify a pesticide and survive is resistance. This phenomenon occurs when a pest develops mechanisms that allow it to survive exposure to a pesticide that would typically be lethal. Resistance can be a result of genetic changes that lead to metabolic alterations, allowing the pest to break down and eliminate the toxic compounds in the pesticide effectively.

Resistance is a significant concern in pest management because it can lead to the ineffectiveness of commonly used pesticides, necessitating the development of new strategies or chemicals to manage pest populations effectively. Understanding resistance is crucial for the sustainable management of field crops, as it influences decisions on pesticide application and the rotation of different management practices to delay the development of resistance in pest populations. Resilience, adaptation, and survivability are related concepts, but they do not specifically refer to the biochemical ability to detoxify pesticides.