عربـيBiological Control

Biological control is a tool to be considered in constructing an integrated pest management scheme for protected crop production. In a complete integrated pest management program, diseases, weeds, and plant growth must be considered as well as insects and mites. But because we are entomologists, this discussion covers insect and mite pests of greenhouse crops only. With IPM, each crop must be considered individually. Some greenhouse crops such as tomato and poinsettia are especially suitable for biocontrol for several reasons. Tomatoes and poinsettias have relatively few insect and mite pests. They are not grown year round so there is a break in the production cycle. Biological control organisms can be used especially effectively for caterpillars, spider mites and whiteflies.