Ecology is the branch of biology that studies how organisms interact with their environment and other organisms. Ecology is the study of these forces, what produces them, and the complex relationships between organisms and each other, and organisms and their non-living environment.

Why is ecology important? Ecology enriches our world and is crucial for human wellbeing and prosperity. It provides new knowledge of the interdependence between people and nature that is vital for food production, maintaining clean air and water, and sustaining biodiversity in a changing climate.

Ecology is the scientific study of the distribution and abundance of organisms, the interaction among organisms, and the interactions between organisms and their abiotic environment. Ecologists try to understand the inner workings of natural ecosystems and the species they contain.

Biological control is the suppression of populations of pests and weeds by living organisms. These organisms can provide important protection from invasive species and protect our environment by reducing the need for pesticides. It is ideal for researchers and students of biological control and invasion biology.

Biological control is the management of a pest through the use of their natural enemies (biological control agent). provides diagnostic services and information on prevention, management and treatment. provides biosecurity measures to prevent introduction, and to eradicate or manage current pests.

Biological control, the use of living organisms to control pests. A natural enemy such as a parasite, predator, or disease organism is introduced into the environment of a pest or, if already present, is encouraged to multiply and become more effective in reducing the number of pest organisms.

Now, let’s see how these pest control methods are used.

• Physical methods of pest control. This is one of the natural methods of pest control; it is a non-chemical pest control method.
• Chemical methods of pest control.
• Cultural methods of pest control.
• Biological methods of pest control.

Biocontrol reduces the pest population and their impacts on the environment. Biocontrol has many advantages. Natural enemies are an environmentally friendly alternative to pesticides that are often used to control invasive species. Therefore biocontrol can be cost effective in the long-term.

There are three general approaches to biological control; importation, augmentation and conservation of natural enemies. Each of these techniques can be used either alone or in combination in a biological control program.

There are three broad and somewhat overlapping types of biological control: conservation, classical biological control (introduction of natural enemies to a new locale), and augmentation.

Biological control is a method of pest control that manages the population of pests without chemical pesticides. When gardeners introduce lady bugs into their gardens to control aphid colonies, they’re practicing biological control — in this instance, the lady bugs are the biological control agents.

An example of biological control is the release of parasitic wasps to control aphids. Aphids are a pest of plants and cause huge damage to plants as they remove nutrients from the plant. The parasitic wasp lays eggs in aphids, as shown in the movie. In this way the aphid population will decrease quickly.

Definition. Biological techniques are methods or procedures that are used to study living things. They include experimental and computational methods, approaches, protocols and tools for biological research.

Biological control of plant diseases can be broadly defined as the use of one organism to influence the activities of a plant pathogen. Biocontrol organisms can be fungi, bacteria, or nematodes. Often several mechanisms function together to make an organism effective.

Cane toads, which were introduced in 1935 to control cane beetles in Queensland’s sugar cane crops, are probably the most infamous example of biocontrol going wrong in Australia.

Disadvantages

• The predator you introduce may not eat the pest.
• The predator could eat a useful species.
• The predators population may increase and get out of control.
• The predator may not stay in the area where it is needed.

This article will address five factors including: 1) not implementing a reliable scouting program; 2) not conducting a quality assessment of purchased natural enemies; 3) not releasing enough natural enemies; 4) releasing natural enemies too late; and 5) applying pesticides that directly or indirectly affect natural …

Let’s Recap:

Pros	Cons
Specific to a particular pest	Can sometimes fail in its specificity
Self-sustaining system	It’s a slow process
Cheap after startup	Expensive at startup
It works most of the time	Doesn’t completely destroy a pest

4 reasons to use biocontrol in 2018 crop production

• STRATEGY SPECIFIC. When choosing to implement biocontrol for pest prevention in your crops, the majority of BCA’s (Biological Control Agents) will only target the species of pest it is supposed to.
• SUSTAINABILITY.
• LOWER LONG-TERM COSTS.
• SUCCESSFUL PEST PREVENTION.

Most recent answer In open fields or orchards, it is more difficult to use biologicals because the farmer cannot manage the environment as well – rainfall, humidity and temperature cannot be controlled. Also, the crop is more open to a range of pests that may prevent development of a specific biological control.

The use of biological controls is playing an ever greater role in the sustainable control of diseases and pests. Unfortunately there have not been enough biological control agents available up to now for a large number of diseases and pests in agriculture, horticulture and forestry.

The great benefit of this method is its selectivity , There is a restricted danger of damage to non target plant species , Biological control does not create new problems , like conventional pesticides , Selectivity is the most important factor regarding the balance of the agricultural ecosystems because a great damage …

The most successful biocontrol agents to date are fish and the bacteria known as Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (Bti) and Bacillus sphaericus (Bs). Biological control has the advantages of safety to the environment and other non-target organisms, and there is much less risk of mosquito resistance developing.

There are several types of biocontrol, including the direct introduction of parasites, pathogens, and predators to target mosquitoes. Effective biocontrol agents include predatory fish that feed on mosquito larvae such as mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) and some cyprinids (carps and minnows) and killifish.

Camphor is one of the best natural mosquito repellents, so use it to drive mosquitoes out. Put one camphor tablet in a small bowl of water and place it in the room. Mosquitoes leave the room because of the odor. Replace the camphor every 2 to 3 days to keep repelling mosquitoes.