Biological Control Strategies for Crop Pests
Summary
Biological control harnesses the natural enemies of pests to reduce crop damage while limiting reliance on chemical insecticides. This approach encompasses classical introductions of exotic natural enemies to suppress invasive pests, conservation of indigenous predators and parasitoids through habitat management, and augmentative releases of mass-reared agents at critical crop stages. Strategies include provision of floral resources to sustain beneficial insects, deployment of banker plants to support alternative prey, and incorporation of microbial biopesticides such as entomopathogenic fungi and bacteria. By integrating these tactics into agroecosystems, growers can maintain pest populations below economic thresholds, slow the evolution of resistance, and promote ecosystem services such as pollination. Across diverse cropping systems, biological control contributes to sustainable intensification and global food security through environmentally benign pest management.
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Biological Control Strategies for Crop Pests publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in biological control strategies for crop pests across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Parasitoid: An insect, often a wasp or fly, whose larvae develop by feeding on a single host, ultimately killing it.
Augmentative release: The supplemental introduction of mass-reared natural enemies into crops to boost their field populations for pest suppression.
Host cues: Chemical or physical signals emitted by plants or pest eggs that guide natural enemies to their targets.
Conservation biological control: The practice of modifying the environment or existing farm practices to protect and enhance natural enemy populations.
References
- Use of Flowering Plants to Enhance Parasitism and Predation Rates on Two Squash Bug Species Anasa tristis and Anasa armigera (Hemiptera: Coreidae). Insects (2019).
- Evaluation of egg parasitoid Hadronotus pennsylvanicus as a prospective biocontrol agent of the leaffooted bug Leptoglossus zonatus. BioControl (2022).
- Annual and Seasonal Changes in Parasitism Rates by Hadronotus Pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) on the Squash Bug Anasa Tristis (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in Squash Fields: Implications for Augmentative Releases. Insects (2022).
- Host Finding Behavior of the Parasitoid Hadronotus pennsylvanicus (Hymenoptera: Scelionidae) for Egg Masses of the Squash Bugs Anasa tristis and Anasa armigera (Hemiptera: Coreidae) in Squash and Cucumber Fields. Environmental Entomology (2022).
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