Question

Briefly describe the role of biological control of pests and diseases.

Answer 1

Insects are the largest group of the phylum Arthropoda. Insects cause damage to crops either by feeding on leaves and stem of the crops directly. This results in loss of a crop yield to the farmer. To avoid insect attack, farmers use several techniques; one among all is the biological control method.

Complete step by step answer: The biological control method is the method to control pests by introducing other organisms. This method relies on predation, parasitism and herbivory. In this type of control, human management plays a very crucial role.
Biological control can be of following types:
a. Classical/Importation- In this method, the natural enemy for insects is introduced to gain control over the insect’s population.
b. Inductive/Augmentation- In this method, for quick control over insects, a large population of insects predator is introduced.
c. Inoculative/ Conservation- In this method, the natural enemy population is maintained by their regular re-establishment.
Introduction of garden lizards, wasps, etc. can also be used to control pests such as Aphids.

Note: The biological control method can affect biodiversity through predation, parasitism, pathogenicity, competition, or other attacks on non-target species, which is one of the drawbacks of this method. Other methods for pest control are as below: physical pest control, pesticides, fumigation, trap cropping, cultural control, etc.