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How organic producers can make classical biological control work for them

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 October 2009

R. G. Van Driesche
R. G. Van Driesche
Affiliation:
Biological Control Coordinator, Department of Entomology, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA 01003.
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Abstract

Organic producers have traditionally understood the value of conserving the natural enemies of the pests of the crops they grow. An equal appreciation of the value of importing new species of natural enemies is also needed. Given this understanding, the interests of organic farmers could then be promoted by efforts to stimulate greater activity by government agencies in charge of such importations. Furthermore, the focus of such importations could be altered to target more precisely pests of crops most commonly grown by organic producers. This would benefit organic farmers by permanently solving or greatly reducing the intensity of problems from many introduced crop pests. The potential benefit of a coordinated federal and state program of classical biological control could be very large for organic farmers. There is an increasing interest nationwide in expanding the use of classical biological controls. Organic producers now have the opportunity to add their influence to this trend to reshape the country's pest control agenda away from chemicals and toward biological controls and to focus this at least in part on those pests of greatest concern to organic producers. To do so, however, organic producers will have to learn a new lesson, i.e., the difference between native and imported pests and the value of importation as a means to control the latter.

Keywords

classical biological controlalternative agricultureintroduced pestsparasitespredatorspublic policy
Type
Commentary
Information
American Journal of Alternative Agriculture , Volume 4 , Issue 3-4 , December 1989 , pp. 169 - 172
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1989

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