WebQuest

Biological Pest Control

Introduction

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Biological control uses living organisms to combat pests rather than chemical pesticides.

An early example of this is from ancient China: farmers noticed that ants in their orchards fed on beetles, caterpillars and other insects that damaged their fruit. Moving anthills into the orchards and putting bamboo scaffolding between the trees helped to increase the yield of fruit.

As transport across the globe has improved and increase, it has become easier for non-native (or alien) species to be accidentally or deliberately introduced into an area. These species often have no preators among the native organisms. Bringing in animal predators and parasitic fungi can combat alien insects, whereas nematode worms or fungi are used to control alien plants.

Biological pest control can also cause problems if the predator that is introduced is not carefully chosen. Sometimes more than one controlling species is introduced, or an integrated approach is used with biological and chemical methods.

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http://zunal.com/webquest.php?w=104988
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