Biological control and integrated pest management

Abstract

A modern approach to the role of biological control in integrated pest management systems (MIP) should focus on the biological equilibrium between pests and natural enemies, and economic damage levels. The colonization and recolonization processes of beneficial arthropods in commercial fiber and food crops have been rarely mentioned in the literature. However, they represent fundamental factors to agroecosystems comprehension in regard to natural biological control. The three known kinds of biological control (natural, classical and artificial) will be viewed in this article as MIP tactics. In several agroecosystems they can be considered as a key tactic around which the other tactics are adequated. It is necessary to establish the "key pest" concept as well as the "key natural enemy". The "non action level" can then be included as a new MIP element for decision-making where natural enemy:pest density relationships are very useful. Environment manipulation for implementation of biological control in agroecosystems is also discussed in this paper under the scope of MIP, as preventive tactics against pest attack to crops of economic and social interest.