How to Control Forest Pests Using Biological Methods
An article about the experience of a flower clinic, on how to control forest pests using biological methods. The following is a detailed explanation by the editor.
The characteristics of biological pest control are safety for humans and livestock, no pollution, and no resistance formation.
Main methods include:
One, controlling pests with other insects
Using natural enemies to control pests is called controlling pests with insects, including the use of beneficial mites. Utilizing natural enemies is the most widely and frequently applied method in biological pest control. Based on the feeding habits of natural enemies, they can be divided into two main categories: predatory and parasitizing natural enemies.
1. Predatory natural enemies: There are many types of predatory natural enemies, among which some have good effects. Commonly used are ladybugs, lacewings, syrphid flies, insect-eating robber flies, insect-eating bugs, hornets, ground beetles, and predatory mites, etc. These natural enemies generally have a high consumption of pests, and they must eat several, dozens, or even hundreds of pest bodies to complete their development. Therefore, their role in controlling pest outbreaks in nature is very evident. For example, the use of ladybugs, lacewings, and hornets in cotton fields to control aphids and cotton bollworms has achieved certain results.
2. Parasitizing natural enemies: These natural enemies寄生 inside pest bodies, feeding on their body fluids and internal organs, causing the pests to die. They mainly include parasitizing wasps and flies. Parasitizing wasps: These are wasps that primarily parasitize other insects, widely used in controlling agricultural pests and achieving certain results. For instance, the use of Trichogramma,茧蜂 to control pine caterpillars, corn borers, rice striped stem borers, rice striped leafrollers, legume pod borers, legume Owlet moths, soybean heartworms, soybean armyworms, cotton bollworms, and apple leafrollers, among other agricultural pests. All parasitized eggs, larvae, and pupae cannot complete their development and die in the middle stage. Parasitizing flies: Often parasitize the larvae or pupae of butterflies and moths, feeding on the nutrients in their bodies and causing them to die. Parasitizing flies often lay eggs on the larvae or pupae of other pests, with the larvae hatching and entering the body to feed on body fluids. Some eggs are laid on plant leaves and enter the digestive tract of pests upon consumption.
Two, controlling pests with fungi
Controlling pests with fungi involves using the pathogenic microorganisms (fungi, bacteria, viruses, etc.) of pests to control them, among which bacteria and fungi are the most commonly used. The advantages of using fungi to control pests include rapid reproduction, low dosage, no residue, no harm, and enhanced efficacy when mixed with a small amount of chemical pesticides. In recent years, the usage has been increasing. Currently, the pathogenic microorganisms produced in our country fall into several categories.
1. Bacteria: The most commonly used insecticidal bacteria are Bacillus thuringiensis, pine caterpillar bacteria, and green caterpillar bacteria, etc., which are a type of sporulating bacteria. They can control some forestry and agricultural pests such as the cabbage caterpillar, cotton bollworm, corn borer, rice striped stem borer, rice striped leafroller, rice striped caterpillar, pine caterpillar, etc. These insecticidal bacteria have a strong toxic effect on Lepidoptera pests and are harmless to humans, livestock, beneficial insects, and aquatic organisms, and can be mixed with other pesticides.
2. Fungi: There are many types of fungi that can parasitize on pest bodies, among which the white muscardine fungus and green muscardine fungus are more commonly used. China has used white muscardine fungus to control soybean pod borers, corn borers, pine caterpillars, ground beetles (H), grubs, etc., with good results. Currently, the produced fungal agents are mostly in powder form and must be diluted according to the required concentration.
3. Viruses: Viruses have specificity in parasitizing pests, generally parasitizing only one type of pest and being harmless to natural enemies. The characteristic of viral infection is that after pests are infected with the virus, they experience reduced appetite and become lethargic within a few to several days, eventually climbing to higher places, gripping objects with their abdominal legs, and hanging upside down after death. The main route of virus entry into pest bodies is through the mouthparts, and the infected stage is always the larvae; adults can carry the virus but are not killed by it. The method of use is to spray powder or spray during the larval hatching period, using about ten larval equivalents per mu.
Three, using other beneficial animals to control pests Besides predatory and parasitizing natural enemies, there are also birds, amphibians, and other animals that play a significant role in controlling the development of pest populations. For example: using grey magpies to eat pine caterpillars; using ducks to peck at rice pests; during cotton harvest and drying, using chickens to peck at the overwintering cotton bollworms; using woodpeckers to control forest pests; amphibians eating various pests on the ground and in rice fields; and bats eliminating a large number of nocturnal pests and moths, such as beetles.
Therefore, it is necessary to protect the beneficial activities of beneficial animals in terms of organization, regulations, and technology to serve agricultural production.
The detailed content on how to control forest pests using biological methods has been introduced above. I hope it can be helpful to you!