The Use of Bio-control Agents in Mulberry Pest Management: Successful Techniques and Important Issues

Abstract

Since bio-control agents target specific pests without affecting the usefulness insects or/and damaging the soil and water resources, it plays a role in conservation of ecological balance in the environment. A variety of insect and non-insect pests, as well as hosts of parasites (fungi, insect, and mite parasites), occur in silkworm sericulture. This method does not in any way influence the sustainability of environment through pest control as required by sustainable agriculture. Since bio-control agents are known to be harmless to human beings and other organisms that may be of equal importance in the ecosystem such as pollinators, wildlife etc., they also have safety advantages. This is a big step forward to eradicating pests as compared to the chemical pesticides which have been known to affect the human lives and other wildlife. In the meantime, the bio-control agents may be cost effective in the long run. Because bio-control agents could offer continuous control of pests with minimal extra cost, it is possible, even when the outlay of obtaining and developing such organisms is more expensive than straightforward chemical applications. Further, the use of bio-control agents may reduce the reliance on traditional chemical pesticides and hence cost outlay and pest control costs and also reduce the probabilities of pesticide resistance. In the farming of mulberry, bio control agents are one the most important components of integrated pest management and have proved be an effective substitute to chemical control. Bio-control agents offer long-term pest suppression in comparison to chemical control methods, whose impacts tend to weaken after several generations of treatment. The continuous use of chemicals may result in pest resistance to the pesticides used. Spraying synthetic pesticides leads to the formation of pesticide residues on mulberry foliage, which affects food products and environmental health.