What are the different types of biocontrol agents?

List of Biological Control Agents
  • Insect-eating animals such as spiders, flies, ladybugs, wasps, beetles, and dragonflies.
  • Pathogenic microorganisms such as viruses, bacteria, fungi, etc. Coccobacillus bacteria are very dangerous to insects. …
  • Parasitoids lay eggs in the animal’s body and kill it.

What are the four types of biological control?

There are three primary methods of using biological control in the field: 1) conservation of existing natural enemies, 2) introducing new natural enemies and establishing a permanent population (called “classical biological control”), and 3) mass rearing and periodic release, either on a seasonal basis or inundatively.

What are bio controlling agents?

​A biological control agent is an organism, such as an insect or plant disease, that is used to control a pest species.

What are biological control agents give an example?

Biological control agents are natural enemies of insect and pests. Microorganisms like bacteria, fungi are the most common biocontrol agents. An example of a microbial biocontrol agent includes Bacillus thuringiensis. It produces a toxin called as Bt toxin which is toxic to insects.

What are the examples of biological pest control?

Some notable examples of classical biological control include the use of decapitating flies (several Pseudacteon species) against red imported fire ants, and a group of flea beetles, thrips, and stem borers used against alligator weed.

What are three basic biological pest control strategies?

There are three basic biological pest control strategies: importation (classical biological control), augmentation and conservation.
  • Importation.
  • Augmentation.
  • Conservation.

What is the importance of biological control?

Today, biological control is used primarily for controlling pests in crop cultivation. Advantages of biological control are that no artificial substances are added, and that pathogens / animals that develop resistance against biological control agents are rare.

What are the advantages of biological pest control?

Biological control is particularly desirable because the tactic is environmentally safe, energy self-sufficient, cost-effective, sustainable, and can be readily incorporated into integrated pest management (IPM) programs. Furthermore, in many cases benefits from the use of natural enemies accrue at no additional cost.

Why are biological control agents good?

Biological control agents not only kill the plant pathogens but also have no toxic effect on ecosystem. Biological control agents effectively reduce the crop damage by pests and disease development in plants. Biological control agents also have an important role in integrated pest management systems.

What are the characteristics of biological control?

The principal attributes of an effective biological control agent are: efficient searching ability, high parasitism or predation rate, high reproductive potential, minimal handling time, ability to survive at low prey densities and ability to adapt to a wide range of environmental conditions.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of biological control?

Advantages & Disadvantages of Biological Control
  • Minimized Safety Concerns. Unlike chemical pesticides, biological control agents, also called bioagents, leave behind no long-lasting residues that remain in the environment. …
  • Increased Selectivity. …
  • Cost Considerations. …
  • Dedication of Time. …
  • Skill Level. …
  • New Pests.

Which of the following is an example of biological control?

Several field crops, such as cotton, rice, tomato, and soybean have been genetically modified in this way to fight against various insect pests. Bt-cotton is one such example, which is being cultivated in many states of our country.

What are biocontrol agents give their significance Class 12?

The natural method of eliminating and controlling the insects, pests and other disease-causing agents using their natural, biological enemies is called biocontrol or biological control. The agents which are employed for this are called biocontrol agents. Microbes are one of them.

What is biological control of pest Class 8?

(a) Biological control of weeds and pests refers to a method in which a biological enemy of the weeds and pests is introduced in the field. This organism kills the weeds and pests. Other way of biological control is to develop disease-resistant varieties of crops.

What are biological agents in plants?

These agents include the natural products and chemical compounds produced by different sources, such as plant extracts, microbial metabolites, synthetic chemicals, and gene products [72].

What are the merits and demerits of biological control agents?

Biological control can either be less or more expensive than pesticides. You can incur significant expense studying, choosing, testing and breeding a bioagent. However, in cases in which bioagents are applied to low-level pest populations, pest control can be long-term and inexpensive.

Which bacteria is used in biological control?

Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt)

This bacterium has been successfully used for many years to control larvae of moths, beetles and flies that cause damage to crop roots.