Opportunities for Biological Control of Agricultural Pests in Developing Countries

Biological control is the use of living organisms as pest control agents. It may operate alone or as a component of integrated pest management. The most widely used and successful method, the introduction and establishment of appropriate organisms, aims at providing permanent control of a particular pest. Introduction, which produces long-term results, is preferred as no further input is required, biological or chemical, once control has been established. With the other methods, regular farmer cooperation is necessary. The most frequently used biological control agents are insects, which are released to control both insect pests of crops and weeds. The desirable qualities of these agents include their great diversity, high degree of specificity and ease of handling. This report emphasizes the method of introduction because of its many successes to date and the great economies it may offer relative to the other methods, particularly chemical control. The cost of implementing a programme of introduction is discussed and evaluated in terms of the convenient currency of scientist years.