Biological control has proven successful in protecting agricultural crops from pests, as it contributes to restoring the natural balance of the environment and reducing the density of agricultural pests without posing any health or environmental damage.
Some insects are classified as threats to all kinds of crops and cause large economic losses in the agricultural sector. Some solutions are there to get rid of these pests through the process of chemical pesticide control, but they have side effects on plants and human health. However, other methods are considered the safest to combat insect pests, do not cause any damage and are known as biological control.
Dr Mohammad bin Muslim Habees, Senior Plant Protection Specialist and Biological Control Expert at the General Directorate of Agricultural and Fisheries Resources in Dhofar Governorate, explained that biological control is also known as natural control.
“It is a sustainable method for managing agricultural, environmental and health pests and one of the attempts to restore the natural balance of the environment. The method proved beneficial in controlling pests naturally,” he said.
Biological control elements include the use of insect organisms such as parasites, predators and pathogens such as nematodes, fungi, viruses, bacteria and protozoa. Unlike chemical control, bio-control elements are completely safe and do not cause any problems to humans, animals and the environment. Some serious diseases like cancer, kidney failure, liver cirrhosis, congenital malformation, and chronic allergies are closely linked to the extensive and irrational use of chemical pesticides.
The agents that work as biological pest controllers on the Salalah plains enjoy a moderate climate throughout the year, with average temperatures of 25 degrees and relative humidity of 70 per cent. This is an ideal climate for natural agents to act against parasites and predators. The results of research and studies in the Salalah plain also showed the presence of a large number of local biological agents, most of which are highly efficient and important against harmful insects, including 13 types of parasites and 14 predators.
Dr Habees mentioned that among the successful projects for biological control in the Salalah Plain, an integrated project to combat the ‘black Nargil beetle’ was developed by the ministry in cooperation with the International Commonwealth Institute (C.A.B) by using the Baculovirus in 1989. This method succeeded greatly, and the parasite ‘Encarsia’ was also imported. Opulenta was brought from Florida in 1984 to combat the black citrus fly, and the pest was controlled.
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