2/24/2024

5.1 Classical Biological Control

- also known as Introduction of New Natural Enemies

when pest move to new location without its own natural

enemies, local beneficial species are inefficient thus exploration

Unit 5. Methods and Approaches

of natural enemies from the pest’s native location is made

to Biological Control Goal: to introduce safe, effective natural enemies to suppress

pest populations

Steps: Steps:
Identifying candidate or target pest species Quarantine processing of shipped material, rearing and safety
testing

Selecting favorable search locations

Field colonization and evaluation of effectiveness
Identifying potential candidate natural enemy species
Monitoring release locations for establishment of natural
Conducting the exploration enemies

Collection and shipment Program Evaluation

5.2 Augmentation Biological Control 5.2.1 Inoculative

Augmentation
Natural enemy must be
- when natural enemies are absent, able to:
occur too late or in numbers too small - control provided by reared
to provide effective pest control (best biocontrol agent and their offspring
time to release reared natural enemies) ✓ RECOGNIZE,
✓ LOCATE & 5.2.2 Inundative
✓ ATTACK the target pest Augmentation
- practical when circumstances
where permanent colonization of - control provided by the reared
suitably adapted natural enemy is biocontrol agent only
not feasible

1
 2/24/2024

Host preferences

Moderately effective Biocon agents Successful

may be enhanced in several ways: biological Rates of increase

control may
• increasing the number of individuals released be influenced Climatic tolerances (expose to variable temperature,
light etc.)

• selecting plant cultivars resistant to pest by differences

• selecting plants that improve searching efficiency of the in: Critical photoperiod for
diapause induction
Ex. long day (to some
may induce aestivation,
natural enemy diapause)

• use mixture of complementary agents (predators with

parasitoids) Degree of resistance to
some pesticides
Ex. spray small amount
of pesticide

✓Steps in testing, failure at any step (Eliminated)

Laboratory
tests Attack rates on target host That the Biocon agent develops to the adult stage on the
target host

required in That the Biocon agent attacks the host on the crop and
selecting develop successfully under climatic conditions at the site

useful Rates of population increase of selected Biocon agents is

greater than the growth rate of the target pest population
when reproducing in the presence of natural enemies
agents: Foraging ability on crop plants
Candidate Biocon agent should not attack other beneficial
species (degree of specificity)

Possess a well-developed ability to locate the target pest

(searching ability)

Quality
– acceptable quality for satisfactory performance of natural enemy
Cost of rearing
may be influenced by:

1) Securing quality agents to initiate rearing

- large, healthy founder population must be obtained to embody the – cultured natural enemy on sale should be
desired genetic diversity, free of pathogens, hyperparasitoids and competitive with other control options
contaminants
2) Retaining quality under commercial production conditions
• Natural rearing systems – produced using the
-factors to consider: natural host or prey reared on host plants
a) Genetics – reared population quality may be reduced by
inbreeding, depression, drift and selection • Alternative rearing system – finding cheaper
b) Nutrition – foods, prey, host used in culture can influenced the size, substitute at either the “plant host” or “herbivore”
vigor, fecundity, sex ratio and host recognition ability
c) Prevent contamination – in culture, contamination of pathogens
and hyperparasitoids can happen

2
 2/24/2024

Storage and shipping Application methods

– time the release of natural enemy and concentrate their activity in
– large organisms (predators, parasitoids, periods when pests are present include traps to collect the stages of the
herbivores) have relatively poor storage
target pest
qualities compared to nematodes and
microbial species - physical methods to release natural enemy must not be damaging
- cold temperature are used to prolong the in providing good dispersion, should be quick and low cost
period may be held and remain viable
- need to expose agents to hosts or host stimuli before release
- do tests to find the best combination of cold
temperature, relative humidity and lighting for
a given agent Product evaluation
- understand and employ the best storage
conditions for natural enemy for shipping so – evaluation on the strain of agent released, number released,
that they arrive in good condition frequency of releases in relation to phenology of the presence of the
pest, manner of release

Market development and continuity 5.3 Natural Enemy Conservation

– process by which new agents are brought into commercial production, Goal: enhance conditions for natural enemy survival and
availability of the agent is advertised to growers or other customers who reproduction so that pest population growth rates are
then adopt their usage lowered, and pest densities reduced over time
ex. Koppert Biological System
appropriate natural enemies should be present, if pest is an adventive
- need to develop markets for new products species (originated elsewhere), natural enemy must be introduced
first, then employ methods to conserve
- the choice between public and private rearing facilities
- issues related to seasonal and geographic need for reared natural
enemy natural enemies must arrive on time
- legal constraints on shipment of natural enemy between countries
- integration of augmentative agent into pest management be sufficiently abundant and attack pest of
interest

Conservation Philosophy
Flowering plants
• Ways to promote natural enemy conservation as food source
1) Limited and selective use of pesticides for parasitoids of
2) Refuges adjacent to crop for: rice pests
- Host and alternate hosts
- Supplemental foods (pollen and honey) Image courtesy of Le Huu Hai (Tien Giang University, Tien Giang, Vietnam

- Overwintering of natural enemy or passing periods

between host availability

3
 2/24/2024

Conservation Philosophy

• Ways to promote natural enemy conservation

3) With-in crop habitat improvement
• Cover crops
• Intercropping
4) Between crop natural enemy transfer
•Crop residue management Cover crops Intercropping
•Strip harvesting
•Alternate row pruning
•Landscape crop patterning
5) Direct provisioning
3) With-in crop habitat improvement
•Shelters (ex. beetle banks, shelterbelts, hedgerows, flower strips, intercropping, and selective conservation
of arable weeds)
•Food

Beetle banks Shelterbelts

Crop residue management Strip harvesting Food and Shelter

4) Between crop natural enemy transfer 5) Direct provisioning

Hedgerow Flower strips Pesticide Management

5 Categories
of Farming Field Management of soil, water, crop residues

Practices
effecting Crop Patterns

natural
Food and Shelter enemies’ Manipulation of non-crop plants, within or adjacent
to crop fields

5) Direct provisioning population:

Direct provision of food or shelter or control of their
antagonists

4
 2/24/2024

Can reduce natural enemy

effectiveness either by:
• Directly causing mortality Type of Pesticide Effects on Natural Enemies
• Influencing the behavior, foraging or - From spray
1. Agricultural movement of natural enemies Mortality
- From the residue on foliage
Pesticide • Affecting rate of reproduction versus
the pest - Reduced longevity
Management • Causing imbalances between host and - Reduced fertility
natural enemy populations to conserve
desired pH - Repellency
Other Effects
- Lack of hosts
Physiologically Selective Pesticides
– systematic testing to search for
- Homozygosis in host population
pesticide effective to pest but relatively - Catastrophic synchronization
harmless to natural enemies

Ecologically Selective Ways: Soil Management

• Tillage, addition of manures or chemical
fertilizers, to conserve desired pH
i. Reduce dosages
ii. Selective formulation and materials 2. Management of Water Management
iii. Limiting areas treated
iv. Limiting application time
soil, water, crop • Irrigation raises humidity in the crop
v. System re-design residues making the environment more favorable
for natural enemies

Creation and use of pesticide-resistant natural enemy populations Crop Residue Management
– over several exposures to pesticides (repeatedly done) in small • Conserving natural enemies of the
confined areas, surviving natural enemies over several previous crop
generations will have adjusted to the treatment ex. Crop residue mulch
- release and establish pesticide-resistant strains of key natural
enemies

Perennial crops (orchards, vineyards)

3.1 Single-Crop Patterns
•provide relatively permanent host plants for
pest populations and their natural enemies – Perennial crops: stable environment,
compared with annual crops allows local development of natural
enemy populations
Crop rotations (inter-field)
- Annual but large area (ex. rice,
•Enhances soil fertility
sugarcane): habitat stability results a
3. Crop Patterns •Suppress pests
•Enhance/Discourage colonization by
large part devoted to cultivation with
several plantings per year
insects including natural enemies
•Promote earlier colonization of new fields 3.2 Intercropping
by natural enemies
- the growing of two or more crop
•Enhance survival and reproduction
species in the same field at the same
Effective in: time
•Patches of 1 crop in an area over time - crop diversification delay or diminish
•Growing more than 1 crop in 1 field the number of pests colonizing the crop
•Distinct crops in an entire field or reduce their retention in the crop

5
 2/24/2024

Improve physical conditions or food Manipulating ground covers and

availability within crops border vegetation to augment what is
provided by the main crop (source of
carbohydrates, proteins for growth,
Weeds deliberately planted as ground covers development and reproduction)
4. Manipulation of or additional crop species in small numbers as
food source (ex. pollen)
5. Direct provision of
non-crop plants, food or shelter or
Carbohydrates: floral and extra floral
within or adjacent to Cover crops can lower soil temperature, raise
relative humidity, free water available
control of their nectaries
crop fields antagonists
Resources adjacent to crops:
•Source of plant-derived food (pollen, nectar)
•Source of other host arthropods (aphids providing
honeydew as source of carbohydrate) Protein: protein hydrolysate, yeast and
•Providing refuges for natural enemies in unfavorable
periods pollen required for reproduction
•Periods that are unsuitable for active growth and
reproduction of natural enemies (winter, dry season)