Biological pest control parasitoids

Biological control involves the introduction of predators and parasitoids to attack pests. The extent of control using this technique varies and can be quite good in some cases, but unforeseen ecological impacts occur when imported species attack nontarget organisms. 

Another success in resistance management involves not just a single key pest species, but a whole complex of phytophagous arthropod pests of apple in the United States (39). It also focuses on resistance management of a number of beneficial arthropod predators and parasitoids that provide significant biological control of a variety of secondary pests on this crop. 

Interestingly, plants treated with the plant activators did not show any consistent increase in volatile emissions. On the contrary, treated plants released less herbivore-induced volatiles such as indole, which has been reported to interfere with parasitoid attraction. The results support the yet undetectable and unidentified phenomena that plant activators are major factors for parasitoid attraction, and these attractants may be masked by some of the major compounds in the volatile blends. This study confirms that activators of pathogen resistance are compatible with the biological control of insect pests and may even help to improve it. 

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