Biocontrol – providing prospects for sustainable development of domestic agriculture

Abstract

Annotation Purpose. To study the dynamics of processes and the current state of the use of biological plant protection products in the world and to develop strategic approaches to the development of domestic production of biological products and the scientific basis for ensuring the ecologization of agriculture in Ukraine. Methods. Analytical, economic and statistical, comparative analysis, graphical, cartographic. Results. Against the background of significant growth in the production and use of biological agents in plant protection in the EU and the world, Ukraine continues to decline in the use of biosafe methods of protection. Thus, if in 1995 the protection of crops by biocontol was carried out on 3023 thousand hectares, which was 15.2% of all areas where the protection of crops was carried out, then in the future the area of application of biocontrol decreased and, for example, in 2018 amounted to 1967 thousand hectares (4.0% of all areas). With the growth of the range of microbiological means of protection, which are included in the “List of pesticides and agrochemicals in Ukraine”, sharply reduced production capacity for the production of biological products: in 2019 in Ukraine there were 24 biofactories and biolaboratories, and their total number of more 45, while before 1990 there were 268 biofactories and biolaboratories in Ukraine. Conclusions 1. It has been established that in Ukraine, the use of environmentally friendly biological plant protection products for a long time is at an extremely low level and tends to further decrease. 2. In order to intensify the transition to ecologically safe methods of plant protection, the development of domestic production of biological products for plant protection, as well as the process of greening the agriculture, strategic approaches to the formation and development of a common environmental safety system, plant protection methods and the development of a network of enterprises for the production of biological processing of agricultural crops are proposed on a new technological and organizational basis. Keywords: plant protection, biological pest control agents, biological pest control (biocontrol), integrated pest management, ecological agriculture, organic farming.