Research Topic · Peer-Reviewed

Biological Pest Control

Biological pest control is the suppression of pest populations using living organisms or naturally derived products rather than synthetic chemical pesticides. It exploits the regulatory pressure that natural enemies and antagonists exert on pests, and is organised into three principal approaches. Classical biologica…

Curated from this journal's research 📚 12 peer-reviewed articles cited Cited 58× across the literature 🔖 ISSN 2639-3166 🗓 Reviewed July 2026

Overview

Biological pest control is the suppression of pest populations using living organisms or naturally derived products rather than synthetic chemical pesticides. It exploits the regulatory pressure that natural enemies and antagonists exert on pests, and is organised into three principal approaches. Classical biological control introduces a natural enemy, often from a pest's region of origin, to establish permanent regulation of an invasive pest. Augmentative control involves the periodic mass-release of beneficial organisms to boost existing populations during pest outbreaks. Conservation control modifies the environment and management practices to protect and enhance resident natural enemies. The agents employed include predators that consume multiple prey; parasitoids, such as endoparasitic wasps that develop within and kill hosts like mealybugs; entomopathogenic microorganisms, notably the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis whose insecticidal proteins act against caterpillar pests; and botanical biopesticides derived from plant extracts that deter, disrupt or kill insects such as aphids and armyworms. Effective deployment depends on understanding pest biology, host preference and life cycles. Within integrated pest management, biological control is combined with cultural, mechanical and judicious chemical tactics to reduce pest damage, slow the evolution of resistance, protect non-target organisms and beneficial insects, and advance the sustainability of crop-protection systems.

Research published in this journal

12 peer-reviewed articles, ranked by relevance. Each links to its DOI.

2017

The Changing Scenario of Agriculture

Narain PremCorresponding author
Professor and Independent Researcher
Agronomy Research Cited by 4 doi:10.14302/issn.2639-3166.jar-17-1901

How this research is being cited

The 12 articles above have been cited 58 times in the scholarly literature. Citation data via OpenAlex and Crossref, updated Jun 2026.

A sample of recent works citing this journal's research on Biological Pest Control, linking to each citing work.

Editorial oversight

Curated from peer-reviewed research published in Agronomy Research (ISSN 2639-3166).

Journal editorial board
Mahmoud Mohamed Hesham Okasha · Italy Anita Maienza · Italy Rusu Teodor · Romania

This page summarises published research for orientation; it is not medical or professional advice.