In this article we will examine approaches to biological control and applications of these approaches in modern pest management.
Today's insectaries and air-freight delivery of natural enemies across the country or around the world are simply modern adaptations of these original ideas. The ancient Chinese, observing that ants were effective predators of many citrus pests, augmented their populations by taking their nests from surrounding habitats and placing them into their orchards. The use of natural enemies to reduce the impacts of pests has a long history. Congress, OTA 1995) indicates that biologically based technologies such as biological control could be more widely used to solve pressing needs in pest management. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment (U. The need for alternatives to pesticides is clear, but where will these solutions come from? A recent report by the U. In many cases, the pests themselves have indicated the need for change, with pesticide resistance now a common reality in many weeds, insects and diseases.
Many countries have instituted more stringent regulation of pesticide manufacture, registration and use, thereby increasing the cost, and decreasing the availability of these tools. In recent decades, elevated awareness of the impacts of pesticide use on the environment and human health have resulted in efforts to reduce reliance on chemical controls.