The Pros and Cons of the Biological Control Method of Pest Management

The Advantages and Disadvantages of the Biological Control Method of Pest Management

The biological control method of pest management does not use

chemicals. Biological control uses various organisms that are either

predators or parasites to the pest. A pest is an organism which causes

damage to people and their crops, however this is an economical

definition, as opposed to a biological one. Something is considered to

be a pest when it reduces productivity by 5-10%.

Plants require certain mineral ions in order to grow well, however

there is a limited amount of these in soil. Therefore if weeds are

growing in a wheat crop, they will take some of the mineral ions that

would go to the wheat plants. Interspecific competition is the

competition between organisms of different species for the resources

that they require, and intraspecific competition is the competition

between organisms of the same species. Weeds also compete with crops

for water and light as opposed to just mineral ions.

Pests reduce the yield of plants in various ways. They can have a

direct effect by damaging the leaves of the plant. Aphids feed by

inserting their mouthparts into plant cells, this often results in

leaves curling up and becoming distorted. Considering the leaves of a

plant are the places where the majority of the photosynthesis takes

place, it follows that a plant with stunted leaves will not

photosynthesise effectively. As a result there will be smaller amounts

of sugars available to be transported to other parts of the plant such

as the fruits, seeds and roots.

There are already a significant number of successful biological

control methods and many other organisms are being investigated in

order to see if they are suitable for using in the control of pests.

The advantages of the biological control method of pest management are

-

· Using organisms would be safer for the environment, as opposed to

chemicals.

· There is minimal threat to non-target animals.

· Once a biological control organism is introduced, it does not have