Biological Control Strategies in Agricultural Ecosystems

Biological control employs living organisms and their interactions to suppress agricultural pests, integrating them within broader cropping systems to reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals. Classical approaches involve the introduction of specialised natural enemies, such as parasitoid wasps and predatory mites, to establish self-sustaining populations that regulate target pests. Augmentative releases supplement indigenous populations of predators or parasitoids at critical crop stages, while microbial agents—including entomopathogenic fungi, bacteria and viruses—offer species-specific toxicity against herbivorous insects. Conservation biological control focuses on habitat management, using intercropping, flower strips, hedgerows and cover crops to enhance food, shelter and alternative prey for beneficial arthropods. Advances in chemical ecology have revealed that plant-derived volatiles and semiochemicals can attract or retain natural enemies and may be combined with biological agents to heighten efficacy. Moreover, zoophytophagous predators can induce systemic plant defences that augment predation effects. A growing emphasis on landscape-scale design and temporal crop rotation underpins the optimisation of ecological networks, aiming to deliver resilient pest regulation across diverse environments, from protected greenhouses to broadacre fields. These strategies not only curb pest outbreaks but also foster biodiversity, soil health and long-term agricultural sustainability.

Research from Nature Portfolio

No recent Nature Portfolio content available.

Biological Control Strategies in Agricultural Ecosystems publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in biological control strategies in agricultural ecosystems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Biological control agent: A living organism, such as a predator, parasitoid or pathogen, used deliberately to suppress pest populations.

Natural enemy: A predator, parasitoid or pathogen that reduces the abundance or fitness of pest species.

Non-target effects: Unintended impacts of a control agent or pesticide on organisms other than the intended pest.

Intercropping: The practice of cultivating two or more crop species simultaneously in the same field to enhance ecosystem services.

Zoophytophagy: Feeding behaviour in which a predator also consumes plant tissue, potentially inducing plant-defence responses.

References

1. Non-target effects of bioinsecticides on natural enemies of arthropod pests. Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health (2025).
2. The effectiveness of intercropping and agri-environmental schemes on ecosystem service of biological pest control: a meta-analysis. Agronomy for Sustainable Development (2024).
3. Integration of Plant Defense Traits with Biological Control of Arthropod Pests: Challenges and Opportunities. Frontiers in Plant Science (2016).
4. Beyond Predation: The Zoophytophagous Predator Macrolophus pygmaeus Induces Tomato Resistance against Spider Mites. PLOS ONE (2015).
5. Phytophagy of omnivorous predator Macrolophus pygmaeus affects performance of herbivores through induced plant defences. Oecologia (2017).
6. Redefining the field to mobilize three-dimensional diversity and ecosystem services on the arable farm. European Journal of Agronomy (2021).