Role of Biological Control in Management of Invasive Exotic Arthropod Pests and Weeds in India

TL;DR

Biological control has been used in India for over 200 years to manage invasive pests and weeds, reducing pesticide use and supporting sustainable agriculture.

Contribution

The paper provides a comprehensive review of the historical and current status of biological control in India for managing invasive species.

Findings

Biological control has achieved excellent, substantial, and partial control of 16, 9, and 4 invasive species, respectively.

The use of biological control has contributed to a decline in chemical pesticide use in India over the past 15 years.

Seventy-seven of 174 imported natural enemies have successfully established in the field.

Abstract

Invasive species can cause loss of biodiversity and agricultural productivity, adversely affecting human and environmental health. Biological control of exotic invasive insect pests and weeds has been practiced for more than two centuries in India. It has provided control in the categories of excellent (16), substantial (9), and partial (4) of exotic insect pests and weeds. Further, biological control in association with other components of integrated pest management has contributed to the decline in use of chemical pesticides in the past decade and a half in India, leading to sustainable development and environmental safety.

Classical biological control of exotic invasive weeds first took place in India in 1795. Thus far, a total of 174 natural enemies have been imported into India, and out of these, 77 have established themselves in the field. Twelve exotic insect pests and four weeds were successfully controlled with a combination of classical, augmentative, and conservation biological control. Additionally, eight insect pests and one weed were substantially controlled. Augmentative biological control has been adopted as per the needs and availability of resources. Conservation biological control is ubiquitous and has been facilitated by the adoption of integrated pest management. In the past, biological control activities were sporadic; however, since 1977, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research—National Bureau for Agricultural Insect Resources has been regularly implementing classical biological control of invasive agricultural insect pests of economic importance. Unfortunately, the importance given to invasive weeds and insect pests of natural resources has fallen behind in recent years.